Having decided we wanted another Bully as company for Boz, I rang around a few rescue
homes. I wanted a bitch, and one younger than Boz, who was then two and a bit years
old. Other than that, the only pre-requisite being that the two dogs liked each other.
Breeding was never on the cards, so we were happy to have a bitch that had been spayed.
A call told me of a rescue bitch in the RSPCA in Shrewsbury. We drove over to meet
her, knowing nothing about her at that stage.
Martha was painfully thin, and not a very attractive looking Bully. She was timid
yet very affectionate, and I have to say it was love at first site. Her skitsy nature
I hoped would be soothed by our love and Boz’s laid back attitude to life, but first
we had to ensure they would mix well together.
On our next visit we took Boz with us. We need not have had any worries as they hit
it off from the start. So plans were made for our home visit assessment, and with
that successfully passed, one week later we drove to Shrewsbury to collect Martha.
Aware that meeting on neutral ground, is very different from meeting on Boz’s territory,
we hoped it would be successful, and we had separation strategies in place, just
in case.
There was no need to worry. Boz’s face when he first saw Martha was one of sheer
delight, his expression most definitely said “Oh wow, you have brought her home to
me!!!”
It was fabulous to watch them together. Martha was a very nervy girl, she had had
little in the way of socialising, so being at our home meant she was experiencing
a lot of things for the very first time. Boz, took her under his wing, so to speak.
He showed her around the garden, took her into his run and kennel, taught her how
to play with toys, licked her comfortingly when she got jittery, and snuggled up
with her at bedtime.
The first time we gave Martha an oxtail she hadn’t a clue what to do with it, and
watched and copied Boz as he, in his usual very focused manner, munched his way through
it.
It didn’t take Martha long to settle in. Whilst still a little jittery, she blossomed
and her true nature showed through. She was fun, mischievous, lively and so very,
very loving.
