Urgent rehoming appeal for precious puppy Ronnie

As you'll easily see in the video below, Ronnie is a gorgeous 7 month old puppy. He has been at the centre for about a month and although he is your normal playful puppy, he has a condition called megaesophagus that means feeding and drinking is more difficult.

Megaesophagus is a condition where the muscles in the oesophagus aren’t working properly. Normally, the muscles would expand and contract to push the food down while eating, but having this condition means that as Ronnie eats, the food and drink he takes in doesn’t move down into his stomach and instead stays in his oesophagus. The longer the food stays there, the higher the volume and this in turn can trigger the regurgitation reflex. This means Ronnie isn’t getting any of the food and not putting on any weight.

Having this condition means Ronnie needs some special attention during feeding times. As shown in the video, he eats up in the chair and is left for a while afterwards because gravity helps to slide the food down and settle in his stomach. Having feeding time in this way stops aspiration pneumonia – when food or drink could go down into the trachea and into the lungs.



Ronnie needs regular feeding and in the centre, they are currently doing this four times a day: at 8am, midday, 4pm and finally, those who live on site come in at 8pm to give him his last feed. This attention means Ronnie needs a very special home to give him all of the care that he needs.

Despite his condition, Ronnie is still your average loveable pup – he likes the company of people, enjoys being with other dogs and loves his toys. He doesn’t require any special food, but the food does need to be ‘mushed up’ to help it go down better. Ronnie also can’t have normal water; it has to be in jelly form.

Because of his feeding routine, Ronnie needs to be the only dog in the home. He also needs an active family and would be more suitable with older children. Due to his condition, Ronnie will be a part of our foster scheme and his new owners will receive financial support for any veterinary treatment required throughout his life.

If you are interested in rehoming Ronnie, please contact our Leeds centre on 0113 281 4920.

For more information about any of the dogs currently in our care, please visit our website.

VIDEO: Adorable litter born at Dogs Trust Ballymena (Northern Ireland)

Remember that post where I said we do get puppies? This is one of those times. Dogs Trust Ballymena recently accepted a dog who was already pregnant and this adorable litter is the result. (Mum will be neutered as soon as appropriate before being rehomed).

The pups are still too young for homes, but if you want to make any enquiries about them, please contact Dogs Trust Ballymena directly on 028 2565 2977.

Diary of a Dogs Trust rehoming: Daniel the Spaniel

Taking your new dog home for the first time is a very exciting experience. For Daniel the Spaniel and his new owners, it was all caught on camera.

Daniel's now living with the editor of our supporter magazine, Wag!. Deana had been along to the centre before with the family to meet the sparky little Spaniel, and noticed that her younger daughter was a little nervous, but needn't have worried as pup and kid have become firm friends already.

The video diary below marks Daniel's first 48 hours with his new family... watch for the bit at Dogs Trust HQ in Islington!