The Basset Rescue Network of Great Britain

#NOBASSETGETSFORGOTTEN 

Bertie came to stay with us at the beginning of February this year, about a week before his second birthday. Bertie had come from a multi-basset home and settled very quickly into our own mixed pack of basset, beagle, collie and basset-x-cocker.

Bertie had not lived in a house full time previously, but took to it very well. There were a few marking tiddles in the first couple of weeks and since then has been house-trained. He will let us know with a squeaky whine if he wants to go out.

Sleeping is one of Bertie’s favourite things! He will sleep through the night and the day and has been left for an hour or so with our dogs without any issue. The dogs all sleep in the living room, where they have a selection of floor beds and two sofas.

When it comes to meal times, Bertie can be quite noisy during preparation, barking encouragement for his humans to hurry up! He has two meals of kibble a day and is fed with the other dogs but slightly away from their bowls. He has not shown any signs of food aggression and loves to have a pig’s ear or rabbit’s ear on occasions. Every night before bed all the dogs have a dental chew, and again Bertie will vocalise if the human is not quick enough handing out the treats but will wait his turn.

Bertie is the large and chunky type of basset hound. He is around 30kg but quite agile when he wants to be. Although a beautiful big boy, it was apparent Bertie had too much loose skin on his forehead and this pushed over his eyes. He visited our local vet a couple of days after he arrived and was diagnosed with severe ear infections in both ears and his excess forehead skin was causing him difficulties in seeing and aggravating his entropion condition (where the eyelashes turn inwards into the eyes). It was agreed that Bertie needed the excess skin removed from his forehead and his entropion condition surgically corrected, however, before that his ear infections had to be brought under control. The infections took about a month to clear up due to their severity, this included a deep ear cleanse under anaesthesia (and he was neutered at the same time). 

(above pre op) 

A referral was made to a specialist veterinary practice and after a few weeks Bertie had a consultation and surgery took place. He recovered really well and took all his medication and wound washing without complaint. Bertie has now had his final sign off from the vets and although his vision will never be 20:20, he can see so much better than he ever has before and most importantly he is pain free from the entropion. 

Bertie is currently having daily eye drops,  he has undergone a post op Schirmer test. This is to test for dry eye, a score of 18 is ideal and below 12 means dry eye. Bertie had a score of 16 in his right eye and 14 in his left eye, so at present eye drops are still being used, but this may well not be needed in the future.  

Bertie loves his pack, human and hound, he adores being part of the family. However, he is very stranger reactive and will bark and lunge at those he doesn’t know in a quite an intimidating way and this will need continued work to improve his socialisation skills. We have found that the ‘stranger’ having food treats is a great way to win him round.

Around the house and garden, Bertie is a very relaxed boy, he is not fazed by anything. He doesn’t mind the vacuum, although does need encouragement to move out of the way. He has been really good taking medicine, having his ears and eyes cleaned and loves a groom but has hundreds of tickle spots, which send his back legs into a twitching frenzy.

Bertie post op:- 

Bertie is a dream in the car, he will have a short squeaky conversation for the first 2 minutes of a journey and then just sleep. If he needs a toilet break, he will sit up and give his “I need to go …” whine. He would probably get in the back of the car with a bottom lift but to save his back and ours we use portable steps which he uses with ease.

Walking with Bertie on a lead is a breeze, he has a martingale style collar and will waddle alongside. When he is off the lead in a secure field or around the garden, he is just happy to amble behind a human. He will occasionally play with the pack when they are having their mad chasing games, but often prefers to sit back and watch. 

(below Berty after surgery)

Bertie has met cats, chickens and goats and has chased them all in a very determined way. He has an exceptionally high prey drive and will not be able to live with any small furries. He does enjoy the company of our dogs and gets along well with them but may suit being an only dog, as long as he had his humans around.

We have loved having Bertie as part of our family, he is an amazing, loving, loyal, handsome basset. Bertie took a major operation in his stride, patiently accepting all the aftercare and it has been a privilege to be part of his transformation into a better sighted and pain free hound.

Although we will miss him so much, it is now time for Bertie to find his happy ever after with his furever family.

Bertie’s needs:-

–  A family who are willing to work with Bertie to gain his trust in the early days of his new life

– Small fury free family, no cats, chickens, rabbits, goats, sheep……..his prey drive is incredibly high 

– No small children, we may consider secondary school age children who are dog savvy

– A quite house with few visitors, or visitors who are willing to work with Bertie to not be “stranger danger” – this includes school friends, Bertie will guard his home and family

– A family who understand Bertie will need guidance and training (preferably professional assisted training) with his issues around strangers.  All training must be positive reinforcement.  

–  Bertie would be happy living with a calm hound, or on his own, he loves humans he trusts and that woudl be enough for him

Taking on a rescue dog is not the easy option. You need to be prepared to help a confused and troubled hound find their place in your family. They have been through a massive upheaval and will need time to settle into a new way of life, so please consider this BEFORE you fill in an application.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

Bertie is subject to an adoption fee and a successful home check. If your home check is successful, your family including dogs will need to be able to travel to their foster home to meet him and his foster family.

You will also have a telephone call with a member of the team, plus Bertie’s  foster family, so that all of his history can be shared with you in person, and that we can be assured that you can fill all of his needs, demands and requirements.

Bertie comes with 5 weeks free insurance via our rehoming partner, Agria.

Bertie, as with all of our hounds will have full rescue back up for life.

Bertie’s applications will close on Monday 26th June at 8pm

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