Ben was found incredibly underweight and petrified of humans on the side of the road in Spain. But this pocket pointer soon caught the attention of Lily from Southampton who was looking for a rescue dog to match her active lifestyle.
“Adopting a rescue dog was my first thought and I needed an adult as they would be coming to work with me every day so they had to be old enough to hold their bladder and not chew wires! I considered a lot of different breeds initially and had to think about my lifestyle and what would work best as I’m often out walking, running or enjoying the sea – it didn’t take long for me to settle on a pointer as my first choice.
What first captured my attention with Ben was how mischievous he looked in his photographs and the fosterers had commented on his gentle nature so he seemed like the perfect match. I found the adoption process with Pointers In Need very straight forward, the kind lady who came to inspect my house was very friendly and everything went smoothly – before I knew it Ben had turned up in his transport!
When I first met him I felt an immense amount of joy knowing that Ben was now safe and loved. I knew it would take time but I was determined to prove to him that he would be safe and loved as long as he was with me. At first it was difficult to get Ben outside of the house, he had an issue with doorways and wouldn’t go through them. I’d taken a week off work for him to get used to me but on one of those days I took Ben to the office to get him used to what would soon become his daily surroundings – well, it took me an hour and a whole chicken to coax him out of the car and into the building! Thankfully he now jumps out of the car and runs to wait at the door ready to be let in.
It’s safe to say that Ben had now adapted to his role as lord of the manor! And asides from a joint of gammon going missing he really isn’t any trouble. He’s much more confident in himself too – for example there are a group of around eight dogs who gather in the park in the evening, at first he wouldn’t approach them and would actively run but now when he sees them he goes bounding over for a play. Ben has also started playing with me and coming over for a fuss, he isn’t hugely affectionate but does like to be near me and have a fuss on his own terms.
I can’t thank the PIN team enough for bringing Ben into my life, he really has been a blessing and the support from the team has been amazing – if at any time I need some advice someone is always on hand to help.”
