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.

Dog of the Week: Raffael @ Dogs Trust Kenilworth

Introducing... Raffael!

Age: 8 months

Breed: Rottweiller X Hungarian Kuvasz

Likes: I like other dogs, and patient humans who understand that I can find it a bit difficult in a home because I've been in kennels since I was tiny.

Dislikes: New situations can be a bit scary.

Needs: I need to be rehomed with another dog. A lovely lady at Kenilworth takes me home now and again to get me used to the idea, and as I can be a bit reactive in strange situations I need very special, really patient owners. Do you have time for a boy like me?

Contact: Call Dogs Trust Kenilworth on 01926 484398 or visit the centre's online gallery to see more dogs.

If you are willing to consider a special needs dogs, please check out the Special Needs and Sticky Dog galleries on the main website.

Happy Dog Stories: Sarah and Alfie

Finding a home for a dog with an ongoing medical condition can be hard, so owners like Sarah Kane who will take on such a dog are much appreciated. Here, Sarah tells Alfie's story:

"It has been just over a year now since we rescued our Rottweiler, Alfie, from Dogs Trust Bridgend. He was known there as Philip!

"'Philip' had spent most of his early adulthood in kennels and was also suffering from elbow dysplasia. He had undergone some keyhole surgery prior to our encounter and had also had lots of hydrotherapy. Due to his condition, he was offered on a part foster basis, but he had been in Dogs Trust for a long while, overlooked by visitors.

"After much thought - and as I already owned a dog with a similiar condition - I could not resist him any longer; after a sucessful meeting with our other dog we took 'Phillip' home.

"One year on Phillip aka Alfie is now 2 years old and you would never know he had suffered from dysplasia; he has made a miraculous recovery, and being so impressed with his development, we even took our other dog to the same surgeon that Dogs Trust used with Alf!

"Alfie is a big boisterous boy, and loves to run flat out in the fields we have near by. He is slightly nervous in some situations but loves children and adults to make a big fuss of him. He is a bit of a soppy dope at times, but you must stay one step ahead of him because he is very clever when it comes to food! Many a times the locks on the cupboard doors have been cheated and we're familiar with seeing a Rottie delighted with himself as he's managed to raid the bin...!

"It is always a risk rehoming a new dog, especially one which is 'breed branded' but with patience and consistancy you will get many years of delight from your new friend. Dogs Trust saved Alfie's life and gave him a new opportunity to have a great quality of life, as well as defying his breed's unfair reputation."

If you have a happy story about your rescue dogs (whether they came from Dogs Trust or not), please email me with a photo and your tale and it could appear here soon! If you're interested in adopting a dog, please visit our website for more information.

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