Magical ending for stray dog Wizard

Thin, starving and nearly bald on some parts of his body, two-year-old saluki Wizard was in a really sorry state when he arrived at Blue Cross. 

He had been picked up by the dog warden in Swindon, Wiltshire, as a stray and brought to our rehoming centre in Burford, Oxfordshire, in February, to recuperate and find a new home.

Vanessa Margrave, Animal Welfare Officer, says: “As Wizard was a stray we didn’t have any history for him. He was underweight and looked as if he’d been shaved in some places as he was nearly bald on several parts of his body.

"I really wouldn’t like to hazard a guess as to why he’d been shaved, although I guarantee it wasn’t for a good reason.”

After some nurturing and plenty of TLC from the team at Burford, Wizard made a full recovery and was put up for rehoming on our website where he was spotted quickly by Claire Meadows and her husband.

They had lost their beloved cocker spaniel and former Blue Cross dog, Susie, in February, and knew that they wanted to turn to our charity for another companion.

Remembering Susie fondly, Claire says: “Susie had had a good innings at 12, but we always want them to carry on forever, don't we? We'd got Susie aged nine from Blue Cross in Burford in 2017 and it had been such a wonderful experience, so the Blue Cross was the natural choice for us to adopt again. 

“We're not people to let the grass grow under our feet – we love to have a dog around us. We found Wizard on the Blue Cross website the day after Susie passed away.” 

Having only ever owned spaniels, Wizard was a completely new breed to the couple, but they were ready to give him that quiet loving home he so badly needed to regain his confidence. 

Affectionately known as Wiz, Claire describes: “Wiz was different to what we'd had before as well as a youngster at just two years old. But there was just something about his face.

“The adoption process with Blue Cross was as excellent, as before – compassionate and reassuringly thorough. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, we couldn’t meet Wiz at the centre, but the staff had the lockdown rehoming process down to a fine art. They sent us a video of how he reacts to other dogs and tips and tricks on how to handle him. He was home with us within a week.”

Now settled in to his new home, they see Wizard’s personality shining through and his confidence gaining day by day. 

Claire says: “He's a big goofball – he's funny and doesn't seem to know how big he is. We're working with a professional trainer, but he's very eager to learn and is coming on leaps and bounds. 

“We get the feeling he wasn't shown much love before he came to the Blue Cross, so we always want to make sure he feels secure and loved. He wears different coloured jaunty bandanas everyday which emphasise how handsome he is.

“We love him to bits and can't imagine life without him. Thank you to the Blue Cross for bringing us together.”