History:
Mikey came into us after a change in his family’s circumstances.
Current:
Mikey is currently in foster in Worcestershire. He went to foster after he was neutered. His foster mum says this about him:
"He is an absolute darling! He loves nothing more than a cuddle whether in bed, on the floor or on the settee. He will nudge anybody to keep them stroking him and, to be honest, you wouldn't want to stop stroking him.
"He is a big ball of fun - does life at 100 mph in some moments where he will run everywhere, then spend the majority of his time upside down and happily play for hours with a ball! He does love to chew his toys to pieces though, so nothing soft unless you want to spend your days picking up stuffing.
"He will also chew to pieces most plastic ones! Watch out for your brooms/rakes too! Haha.
"Despite his size, Mikey is quite the escape artist. So he will need supervision in the garden unless it is literally 6 foot high fences with no gaps, nothing he can climb on or nudge out of the way. The smallest gap, Mikey has been proven to smash his way through.
"He is an angel in the house otherwise! He definitely isn’t a guard dog, he doesn't react to the doorbell or door knocking and just kisses anyone that walks in. He loves to watch telly - he is particularly partial to football and horse racing.
"He will happily take himself to his toy box to get what he wants and play alone. He doesn't fetch, but loves a tug and to have his ball thrown/bounced.
"Mikey very very rarely barks and it definitely isn't a big man bark...since his throat operation, his snoring has definitely reduced! Mikey will happily sleep wherever you let him, he is happy in his own bed, on the settee or hallway floor. If you do let him into your bed then he sleeps like a human, head on the pillow.
"Mikey's normal alarm clock is to roll around on the floor, he doesn't have a set time for this, but I don't think it's ever been too early and, to be honest, it is a lovely way to be awoken.
"Mikey knows sit, wait, come, paw (only with a treat), lie down is more of a sit and flop but he gets there at some point. He is getting so much better with walking on when it comes to outdoor distractions.
"Mikey has a fantastic smile, he makes some hilarious sounds and is full of personality! Everybody just falls in love with him!"
Walking:
On a walk, Mikey will happily trot along ahead or he does enjoy to stop and smell the roses. Mikey isn't too keen on getting wet/muddy, but loves to be dried off! He does have a bit of arthritis in his back right leg, it's more evident in a morning.
He has come on leaps and bounds walking on a harness, he will politely sit and wait to be strapped in and he is partial to a jumper.
Mikey is really good and doesn't tend to pull unless he sees another dog/cat/bike/child in which case he will pull towards them and Mikey is a strong chap. Although he is getting so much better with verbal redirection and will then happily carry on his walk.
Travelling:
Mikey is a good boy in the car, he just sits and looks out of the window. He loves a good view point of the road ahead and will give the passenger a good ear licking! Mikey is also quite the window watcher - he likes to watch the world pass him by.
Vets:
We use a mobile vet who comes to visit our dogs. Mikey has always been a good boy for his examinations, health checks, blood tests, vaccinations, neuter and operations.
Health:
When Mikey arrived, he was very overweight. During his health check examinations, it was thought he had a low grade heart mumour and his breathing was very noisy. He was neutered on 22nd January and it was discovered he had an enlarged heart and everted laryngeal saccules, which was causing his noisy breathing.
He was prescribed Cardisure and Frusemide tablets to help with his heart and has had surgery on his throat.
The operation was successful and the vet was very pleased with the outcome.
Mikey will have to remain on the tablets for his heart long term and he currently takes Loxicom for his arthritis, this doesn’t affect him in any way.
He takes his tablets just as they are, from your hand or in his food. He likes his steamed vegetables!
Ideal home:
• Mikey needs to be the only pet in the home.
• We aren’t sure if Mikey has ever lived with children and due to being a big boisterous playful boy, we think his human siblings would need to be age 15 years plus.
• Mikey can be left for short periods of time.
• He is house trained and hasn’t had any accidents whilst in foster.
Standard information:
Mikey is microchipped, neutered and vaccinated.
He is currently in foster in Worcestershire, but he can be rehomed anywhere in the UK, pending a successful home visit. However, any adopter should be willing to travel to meet him at least twice where he is now.
There is a nonrefundable adoption donation of £120 for Mikey and all money donated goes directly to helping all the Senior Staffies in our care.
We aim to acknowledge your application within 48 hours.