Please look out for Petula in the UK

Richard King - who is a fan of my Facebook page - has asked me to blog about a distinctive and beautiful lurcher called Petula who it appears has been stolen from Bath Dogs and Cats Home.

Petula is still very shy and timid after her experiences before she found security at the kennels from where she appears to have been stolen after hours on June 24, 2011.

You can read more about Petula - and if you are in the UK you can download a poster to advertise her loss - at the DogLost website.

Blogger seems to be playing up a little at the moment and won't let me add a picture. But you can see Petula on my Facebook page or on the DogLost website to which I've added links above. She has very distinctive black and white markings on her head.

Introducing Dino the Adorable

Today I want to introduce you to my new friend Dino.

He's REALLY hoping to find a new forever home soon and I think he's really earned a second chance so I wanted to tell you his story.

Dino is a lurcher - which you might know is the name that is given to a dog that is one of the 'sighthound' breeds - like the greyhound, whippet, saluki or deerhound - crossed with another type of dog.

Lurchers were traditionally bred for hunting so down the years people have bred sighthounds with breeds like border collies and bearded collies, bedlington terriers and Staffordshire bull terriers ('Staffies') to get the right combination of qualities they wanted to hunt different sorts of animals.

There's been lots in the news about how Staffies are often misunderstood. Yet Staffies make great family pets. They form really strong bonds with their human families and are very tolerant and loving with children. Combine this with the gentle, laid-back nature of a sighthound and the result is a dog with a fantastic, family-friendly temperament.

Unfortunately many of the bull lurchers in rescue centres are overlooked simply because people are wary of the ‘bull’ label, even if they don’t really know why. Because pit bull terriers are banned over here, under our Dangerous Dogs Act (there's a whole other blog posting to be done some time on THAT!), some people shy away because they think all bull terriers are banned.

Anyway, back to Dino. As you might have guessed, he is a bull lurcher.

He's about five-years-old and has been with Greyhound Rescue West of England for 18 months now.

He came to them via another charity, and was initially VERY insecure around other dogs.

It took this poor lad many months to learn how to politely say hello to another dog, and then how to make friends, but he’s just about got socialising sussed now. Dino is doing very well in a foster home, and has earned himself the nickname "Dino the Adorable". Now he REALLY needs a home of his very own.

So in case there is ANYONE reading this who knows someone, who maybe knows someone, who might be the family Dino is looking for, I'll let Dino himself tell you a bit more. Over to you, Dino.

"Thanks Winnie. Well, I'm clean in the house, happy to chill out in my crate or on the sofa, especially if the sofa comes with a human cushion or two (I do the best snuggles in the world) and can comfortably be left for a few hours. I love all my toys and am perfect for playtime as I have a bit more stamina than the average greyhound so can give it my best shot before flopping out for a good snooze! I am actually not at all bad at a bit of football and even better, I have now learned to apply both braking and swerving techniques so smaller people can also enjoy my fun-time. I take treats really gently, will do kisses if I think I can sneak a couple in and work very hard to make myself into an adorable giant softie. I do also try to honour my greyhound roots by sitting regally on the sofa, but it’s quite hard work so usually ends up as a lollop!

"Out on the lead, I am now much more confident and generally walk quite nicely with other dogs, especially once I know them. I sometimes still get worried, usually by the other dog’s behaviour, but if the person with me is calm and knows what to do, it soon blows over (GRWE will help you, don't worry!). I have actually started to get myself out of tricky spots and go to dogs I know for reassurance which is a sign of my growing social skills.

"My most wonderful quality though is that I will be your bestest and most devoted friend and make you smile every day. I love to share my cuddles and cheeky moments and once you become one of my special humans, you will remain so forever. I have room for a few more special humans – do you have a space for me?"

If you can help Dino, or know someone who could, the GRWE would LOVE to hear from you. You can call them on 07000 785 092 or visit their website contact page. There is also an email address - lisa.webb@grwe.com - specifically for enquiries about Dino.

I'm rooting for you, Dino!!

What a nice start to the week

What a lovely surprise when I was catching up on the news from my namesake - The Other Winnie Cooper - last night and found that she had very generously passed on to me the Awesome Blog award.

I felt very privileged and proud.

If you've not met the other Winnie yet - she's a Shih Tzu and very very cute and clever. So do stop by and say hello to her.

As is the way with these awards I now have to tell you a few things about myself that you might not know. Hhhmmm! Let me think.

1. My dad was an Australian greyhound called Hahn Bale who came over to the UK to sire puppies. I look a lot like him going by the picture on Greyhound-Data.com

2. His dad - my grandad - was Head Honcho who died in 2001 was one of the inaugural inductees in to the Victorian Greyhound Racing Hall Of Fame in 2009.

2. I love sharing Sunday roast dinner with the family - well they save some for me to eat after them - but it does mean some rather bad smells coming from the direction of my bottom on a Sunday evening which I pretend are nothing to do with me.

3. I like having my teeth brushed with chicken-flavoured toothpaste.

4. If we see people jogging on our walks I act like I want to join in (you can take the greyhound of out of the stadium but you can't stop her wanting to run).

5. My favourite toy at the moment is a squeaky plush reindeer that I had for Christmas - but that will change again soon.

Now for the blogs that I would like to honour by passing on the awesome award. This is really hard because I LOVE all my virtual friends who I follow. But here's who I have decided to recommend to you this time.

Presley the Lurcher (also known on Facebook as 'King Presley') - A Lurcher from Scotland with a lovely accent

A Scratch Behind the Ears - Always makes the LOTH feel peaceful and smile

Dogs for the Paws - Inspiring stories of rescue dogs

Finn's Dog Blog - He's a handsome bulldog

Granted Wishes Greyhounds - Greyhound rescue and training experiences

Hope you find some new blogs there that you perhaps didn't know about.

Have a lovely week. It's school half-term here so I may get busy helping the LOTH look after the BOTH (he's not only on holiday from school but he's got a nasty cold too) so if I go a bit quiet you will know why.

Two new friends - but neither of them are ducks

There were lots and lots of ducks in Rolleston brook when we walked that way this morning.

The Lady Of The House likes them - I can take them or leave them.

Can we go now?

I enjoyed our morning walk earlier this week when I met a new friend called Lucy when we walked down the Kingfisher Trail.

From a distance, I thought Lucy looked a bit like me, but when we got closer I could see her ears were very different. Hers were quite feathery and hung down. She was actually a cross between a Saluki and a Lurcher. I would like to have shown you a picture of her...but the LOTH was so busy talking to the lady that Lucy owned that she forgot to take her camera out of her pocket.

Lucy's story was that she'd been adopted from kennels in Tutbury some years ago having been abandoned by travellers. She was very nervous at first and showed signs of having been treated harshly. She also has some scars on her front leg which look like they might have been barbed wire injuries.

Anyway, Lucy is a very pretty girl now with a happy life and clearly devoted to the lovely lady she owns. I hope we meet her again and if we do I'll nudge the LOTH and try and bring you a picture.

I also met a new virtual friend yesterday - Mayzie - and she is celebrating her first anniversary of blogging tomorrow (Jan 27) by trying to get as many people as possible commenting on her blog. For every comment she gets on that day's post her mum is going to give 25 cents to Second Chance Animal Rescue Foundation which rescued Mayzie.

So do pop across and say hello to Mayzie and add your comment tomorrow.

Abandoned puppies and mum saved by greyhound charity

My heart goes out to Saluki Cross Suri and her eight pups recently rescued by Greyhound Rescue West of England (GRWE).

This charity says it's seen a worrying rise in cases of lurchers being abandoned and needing rescue space.

The dog they named Suri was found tied to the fence outside a dog pound and, although no trace could be found of them, she had obviously had puppies recently.

Two days later eight six-week-old pups were found in a cardboard box outside a vets in the same area.

The vet contacted GRWE having spoken to a national animal rescue charity who said that they would only cover the cost of putting them to sleep. GRWE immediately took them in and placed them in foster care.

Although they were in very poor condition, mum and the pups are slowly on the mend.

The plight of dogs like these, dubbed Britain's unwanted pets, was highlighted in a special edition of the BBC programme Panorama earlier this month.

GRWE currently has about 80 dogs in its care, including 21 puppies.

To offer a home to one of the dogs or to help the charity financially, visit http://www.grwe.com/ or call 07000 785 092