April 6th:
On March 27th we managed to get Moss into one of the play pens. This was with the help of resident Mel and Ambassador dog Dart. It took a lot of time and patience but we were all excited about this step forward for Moss. It does not seem like much but for Moss (and us) it was huge. This dog is really screwed up and probably one of the worst we have had to deal with as he does not want to have a relationship with anyone, prefering to hide in his pen. We have seen this dog sink his teeth into a door trying to escape and run into a wall rather than be touched but those days are sinking into the past.
On Saturday we got him in the play pen again and by the end of the day we had him walking in an indoor playpen on a lead. It was not graceful but it was another huge step forward. Not just because he was on a lead but because he trusted us enough to keep both bladder and bowels under control!
As his end of year assessment gets nearer we feel we will have made significant progress to be able to say, yes, we can give this dog a quality of life.



Update 15/01/10
Moss is taking baby steps but very slowly we are seeing an improvement. He cannot stay forever as he is so we have given him until the end of summer to show significant signs of coming round, before re-assessing him. There is no rush as long as he does not go backwards.
He now looks directly at us when we go in the kennel. He moves around to allow his bed to be changed and he eats his food within the first 15 minutes of it being given to him. It is a very small improvement but nevertheless it is good news. When the weather improves we will see how he responds to a little bit of new scenery.

October 11th
Moss now sits in his bed, which is a great move forward for him as previously he has rejected any form of comfort. He still refuses to have any bedding but at least he has made a start. He now looks at us instead of hiding his head and it has taken three months to get to this stage so it is a very long slow process.
We thank everyone who has sponsored Moss and we are really grateful for your support as we are going to have Moss for a long time, if not permanently.
If anyone would like to help Moss by sponsoring him, or any of our older or permanent resident dogs, please contact us for a chat and we can send you the information needed to help these dogs.

Update September
Progress will always be slow with Moss. We have been able to move him to an outside pen in the Meg kennels, which should be much better for him except he still prefers not to come out of it. He is still petrified when we put a lead on him but he has become much cleaner in his pen which is a sign he is feeling more settled and we have heard him bark once or twice. He is eating well, gaining weight and is quite happy in his little safety zone but he will have to learn to start coming out before too long.



Previous
Moss is a severe cruelty case and may never be able to be rehomed but we are keeping him on this page so we can keep you updated of his progress.
He has been in the Trust for nearly one month and he is only just being brave enough to not hide his head when we go in his pen. At first he used to scuttle on his stomach when we took him out but now he does walk a little bit. If anything at all scares Moss, and most things do, he pees and poos all over himself. He is a sad little lad but very very slowly he is coming round and we are not rushing him.