Many years ago when Leos were rare and the thought of one ever needing to be re-homed was as obscure as the thought me ever winning the lottery, the committee of the day had the fore thought to set up a rescue fund. The money began to trickle in, mainly from breeders who would donate £5.00 for every puppy sold and of course raffles and donations. Not very long afterwards it was decided to expand the fund from just rescue to welfare and the Welfare Fund as we know it today was born.
Back at the beginning I put my hand up and offered to co-ordinate rescue, all that was required back then was to answer breed queries, and steer people towards the information they requested. If the occasional Leo came up for re-homing it was taken back by the breeder as they usually had a huge list of people waiting for puppies, and quite often the people on these lists expressed an interest in an adult if a puppy was not available.
Back then it was quite normal to wait over a year for a puppy. You would never see a Leo advertised, so only people who had thought long and hard about the breed ever bought one. Often you would see people without Leonbergers at events for up to a year before their puppy was even conceived, so by the time they purchased their pup they had been mauled, flattened and covered in hair at numerous events so their Leo was no shock to them. They had seen them being angels and seen them with the Devil in them more than once. Really life was a rescue coordinators dream.
Then it began to change very slowly but it did change, they became numerically stronger and easier to obtain, you began to see adverts in the paper, so they were sold to people that just wanted a large dog not a Leonberger. This of course had an impact on the number that needed to be re-homed, the breeders were still brilliant and took back all that they could, but they no longer had the list of people waiting anymore. Rescue started to co-ordinate a list of people willing to re-home an adult and a very informal scheme began. Successes led to a donation the Welfare Fund and all was well.
Sadly the numbers increased a little more and they started to have to come into Rescue for re-homing either because the breeder was not in a position to take them back, or frighteningly, sometimes because people did not want to return them to the breeder. This was the point that welfare as we know it today began and the whole process needed to be a little more formal.
IF YOU NEED TO RE-HOME YOUR LEO
Today anyone wanting to re-home their Leo has several options which I will attempt to outline below;
Firstly you should contact the breeder ( the owner of the dam) you may even have a contract that insists upon this. If they cannot take the dog back then your second option is to contact the stud dog owner, they may chose to help if they can. A stud fee should not be a responsibility free income, should it?
If the breeder and stud dog owner cannot help, or you chose not to inform them then you have a further two options:
The first being to re-home the dog yourself. I will happily pass on names and telephone numbers from the waiting list, I will give any advise requested on a strictly friendly basis. It must be emphasised that the resulting change of ownership will be a private arrangement. It will be your responsibility to home check and satisfy yourself that the new family are suitable for your dog.
The second option is to sign the dog over to Welfare and we will re-home him for you. This is sometimes the easier option, as trying to find a suitable home for a dog you love can be very stressful.
This has
to be a very formal arrangement which I will outline below
1. The dog must be signed over to The Leonberger Club of Great Britain by all
the legal/registered owners.
2. You will be asked if we have your permission to contact the breeder & stud
dog owner and inform them that a dog they have bred is in welfare. If you do not
wish them informed we will honour your decision.
3. Once the dog has been signed over to the Club you will have no further claim
on the dog.
4. The dog will remain the property of the Club for the rest of its life, his
new family will be his custodians not his owners.
5. Whilst I will be happy to let you know how the dog has settled in to his new
home. Most custodians chose not to have direct contact with old owners.
6. You will be asked to compete a detailed questionnaire about the dog to enable
me to find the most suitable home for him, please be as honest and thorough as
you can be.
7. We ask that you supply as much relevant documentation as you can, i.e.
pedigree, vaccination record, microchip/tattoo paperwork, health screening
results, medical history etc. we will not pass on the dogs registration to the
new custodian but if I have the relevant information here I can pass on anything
useful if the dog become unwell or anti social in the future.
Is there a dog that we will not take into Welfare, sadly the answer is yes. We will not take a dog that has bitten a human with intent. The committee have decided that legal implications of re-homing a Leonberger that is so out of control as to have bitten with intent, are such as to mean this is not an option.
If your Leo has reached this stage you should consult both the breeder and a behaviorist who specialises in aggression and take their advise as to the best course of action. If you wish to call and chat then I will gladly lend an ear and act as a sounding board for any course of action you are considering.
IF YOU WISH TO OFFER A HOME TO A LEONBERGER
You can download the questionnaire from this website or you can send me an A5 SAE and I will post you one. On receipt of the completed questionnaire and a signed copy of the accompanying letter I will add your details to the list of people waiting.
When a Leo comes in I do not work down the list chronologically, I try to chose the most appropriate home for that particular dog.
If a suitable Leo comes into welfare for I will contact you and arrange for a home check and for you to visit the dog which is usually here in Lincolnshire. I will need to meet all the members of the family that will be living with the dog and to see the dog interact with any dog you already own before a decision can be made.
If all goes well then you will become the dogs custodian, The Club will always remain the legal owner. If you cannot keep the dog for any reason he will come back to the Club for re-homing.
If you have given your permission I may also pass your details to a breeder or owner who wishes to re-home their Leo privately. This will be a private arrangement and it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that the dog is suitable for your family.
Please feel free to call me if I can’t help myself I can usually find someone who can. If you just need information, can I ask that you call before 7pm. If it is an emergency you are welcome to call anytime, my mobile is nearly always with me and the answer phone is always on the land line, leave a message I will get back to you. You can always email but If you require a detailed answer I talk better than I type!!
Enjoy your
Leos they are never with us long enough.
Contact: Midge Clayton
01205 260696 (answer phone),
Mobile: 0790 4382315, Email:
clayville2@aol.com