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~ Annie ~

Dear R.A.T.S.

One day in November 2009, just a month after losing my dad to cancer, I visited RATS with my eldest son and my sister to see about getting a dog. My sister wanted a small dog and my sons and I wanted a big one. Well, that soon went out of the window - my sister fell in love with a rather large greyhound cross called Willow and my son and I fell in love with a little staffie cross called Annie. A week later I came back with my younger son to see if he liked our choice and when Mandy asked him whether he liked her he almost shouted "I LOVE her!" and that, as they say, was that.

A couple of weeks later, Willow was at home with my sister and her husband and Annie was at home with us, checking out all the new sights and smells and people. She has settled in with us very well and learned all sorts of new skills, like going to the toilet outdoors, playing with sticks and balls and some obedience work. She has mastered the "sit" and "come" commands but is just not getting "stay" - as soon as I get a couple of paces away she panics and follows me. She is a bit clingy but is so sweet-natured, it's impossible to mind. We do occasionally get glimpses of what her life prior to RATS must have been like, for instance she was terrified of my kitchen broom at first and she won't have anything to do with men with very short hair (even if, like my plumber, they try to tempt her with bacon strips) but it is very occasional now and it is lovely to see how much confidence she has gained.

I am attaching some photos of Annie in her new home. The boy with her in the first photo is my younger son Ben, we have a theory that Annie thinks he's her puppy because she's always washing him and the second photo is of her enjoying her favourite thing in the world, a tummy rub.

Thanks again for bringing the light back into our lives with this dog, we wouldn't be without her for the world.

Yours sincerely, Christina Cope (Mrs)

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