Gary's story

Gary’s journey at Woodgreen began on Christmas Eve in 2019. He’d been found as a stray in a shocking condition – alone and freezing. After being brought into our care, he was handed over to our Veterinary Team. Gary, a lurcher, was estimated to be around seven years old. His appearance was truly heartbreaking, with multiple wounds and scarring, mostly around his muzzle area. The team cleaned and treated his wounds, which soon began to heal nicely. He was also neutered and then placed in the care of a fosterer for some extra care and comfort. And it wasn’t long before we found a forever home for this friendly boy.

But, sadly, things didn’t work out. Five months later, he started showing aggression towards other dogs. We offered his owner advice on how to tackle this behaviour, but they found his behaviour to be unmanageable and decided to return him to Woodgreen. We wholeheartedly supported this decision and assured them we would help Gary more with his behaviour and find him a new home.

Our Behaviour and Training Specialists got to work on helping Gary overcome the anxieties that were causing his behavioural issues around fellow canines. This helped him learn how to be calmer around them.

While Gary was at Woodgreen, we had two Chihuahuas – Dave and Bear – in our care who were desperately ill and in need of blood transfusions to survive. Gary was the perfect candidate and it was his blood which saved their lives – what a hero! He joins a list of other dogs who we’ve called upon for help in the past. With dogs coming to Woodgreen on a regular basis, we always have suitable canines on hand in an emergency like this.

Finding an owner for Gary who could meet his needs wasn’t going to be easy. We were looking for someone who had the time to work on his training and help him blossom into the dog we knew he had the potential to be. Meanwhile, we placed Gary in the care of Woodgreen fosterer, June. Not only did he continue to make great strides with his training, but he also revealed more of his personality – an affectionate boy who loves a fuss! It was a match made in heaven, and June decided to make things official and adopt him.

From the moment Gary arrived at Woodgreen to the day he found his forever home, he spent a total of 11 months in our care. Along the way, he got all the attention, training and love he needed. June is besotted with Gary, telling us that her “loving, gentle boy” is very happy in his new home.

Give dogs like Gary a life of love and comfort by adopting a dog or fostering a dog today.