Fairytale ending for Tinkerbell

When teeny Tinkerbell first arrived at Blue Cross she was in a very sorry state.

The little dog was handed into our care after being picked up by the dog warden and she needed urgent treatment.

Her left ear was so diseased that it had grown into a lesion, and had become so bad that our vets had to operate to remove her entire ear canal.

Lisa Kent, a Blue Cross Animal Welfare Assistant, says: “What initially would have started off as an infection that could have been easily treated was simply left to get worse.

“The surgery means that Tinkerbell is now deaf on one side and she also almost lost the hearing in her right ear too, but fortunately our vets were able to treat it before it got too bad.”

Once she had recovered from her operation at our Victoria animal hospital, Tinkerbell was taken to our Lewknor rehoming centre to find a new family.

Lisa adds: “When she arrived, her fur was still long and she was in need of a good groom, which we gave her straightaway and she looked much better afterwards.

“She settled in really well, and has shown herself to be a gentle natured girl who is very friendly and affectionate.”

New beginnings

It wasn’t long before Tinkerbell found a loving forever home with new owners Lynn and Keith Reveley. The recently retired couple had wanted a dog for a long time but work and travel had always got in the way before. Now the time was right.

Keith says: “We went down to the centre to visit her the next day and on the way home I asked Lynn what she thought. We knew Tinkerbell had had some behavioural problems but after meeting her we knew we couldn’t leave her there, so later that week we went back to pick her up and bring her home.”

Lynn and Keith had the feeling that the match was just right for them during their first meeting. Keith explains: “She had a little yap at us when we first met her, but we went out to the big outdoor exercise area and she played there with her ball and then came running back to us.

“She was still wary, but there was just something about her that made us say, ‘right, we’ve got to have her’.”

Lynn adds: “You could see she was timid and not very courageous, but I think she’s got a big heart so that’s why we settled on her.

“We played with her, had a walk with her, and that was it – she came back with us.”

A fresh start

Tinkerbell’s life is now full of fun and her ear is much better. She loves nothing more than to play with her ball – which really shows how far the little terrier cross, who once didn’t know how to play, has come.

Lynn explains: “The first thing she does in the morning when she sees her lead is go to her bed and pick her yellow ball up. She has a special step on the stairs where she keeps it during the day!”

It’s clear that Tinkerbell is well and truly part of the Reveley family and has made herself at home.

Lynn says: “When she comes back from a walk she will take her ball upstairs and goes and sits with her ball on the bed – burrs, grass and everything, dirty feet – the lot! In fact being on the bed was one of the first things she did that we said we weren’t going to let her do.

“We had a long list of things that I said she couldn’t do when she came, but she’s ticked them all off!”

Keith agrees: “She wasn’t going to be allowed upstairs, or on the settee. Then it was on the settee but only on her bed, but that didn’t happen either. She certainly knows how to charm us!

“When we saw her we knew we couldn’t give her up. She’d had a really bad life so we thought; let’s give her a good one.”

And Lynn confirms: “This is her home for life – there’s no doubt about that.”