Churchill The Wonder Dog Down At The Beach

We're having cold mornings and evenings in Perth, Western Australia but recently the days have been just brilliant! Sun, sand, surf, one contented dog.

As some of you who follow me on Facebook know, Churchill is a rescue dog. He's around 5 years old and we've now had him about 8 months now. He loves our two cats, he loves us, and at around 50 kilos it's just as well!

I still have to call out to people walking their dogs (the ones who look kind of shocked that this big fella is heading towards their little dog) that he's okay. And he is. He loves being with his doggie kind, but all he needs is to meet and greet them, then he's off and no longer interested. 

When we got him we were told he was aggressive to other big dogs but not the little ones. My husband (who is more dog inclined than I am) took him down the beach after he'd been with us for a month, and let him off the leash. Wow! Freedom...and guess what? Churchill was a true gentleman-dog. No issues whatsoever. Happy to have the little dogs yap at him and just wanted to sniff the big dogs. 

I'd been taking him on the leash to the local park for a few weeks, and I did notice a bit of a change in Churchie. He feels a little threatened when he's on a leash and another dog isn't (perhaps due to whatever happened to him in his first 4 years). In the last few days I've taken him to the beach instead and he's happier there - because he's off the leash. He comes back when called (most times) and interestingly enough, if I stop walking he somehow knows it and turns to check where I am. He does this with my husband too. So he's still not 100% sure of himself without his new mum and dad. Otherwise, he's a true blessing in the house. A big Captain Chill, really. He now even stops to doggie-chat to men and that was a big no-no for the first few months. He was terrified of most men.

Tomorrow I'm going for gold and will let him off the leash at the park. 

Got to love a rescue dog. I had heard this said before but didn't understand the real impact. And what's more, the more people we meet at the beach and the park, the more we see how many dogs are rescue dogs. One lovely older gentleman said to me yesterday, "They've got a sixth sense, these rescued dogs. They know love when it finds them."

Isn't that beautiful?

Jennie x