03/12/2025
For all of you that love my darling Finn. Kelpie Welfare has another bitey kelpie in desperate need for his last stop. Angus, like Finn has been in rescue for far too long. 🥹
‼️Help needed for Angus ‼️
The time has come for Angus to move on to the next chapter in his life.
Angus has been with us since he was a year old and he is now 4.5, he was in a wonderful foster home for 7 months when he first landed and then went to a new home only to be returned a year later. Fortunately for Angus, and us, his previous foster carers offered to take him back into their care as a short term solution, this has ended up being 15 months! They now need to get on with their lives, as they put everything on hold for the predicament that Angus found himself in, they have well and truly done their bit and have gone above and beyond when it comes to his care and recovery. He now needs a permanent home where he will continue to be rehabilitated and have his training continued.
Here is a potted history of Angus so I will start at the beginning and try and keep it relatively short. Angus has always been a tricky dog and was initially rehomed by his first owners because he was too much for them (no judgement, young kelpies can test the patience of a saint and can be challenging to say the least). He went, at 17months, to what we thought was the ideal home. Sadly this wasn’t not the case and Angus was returned a year later having bitten numerous times and was clearly a very unhappy boy. All of this could have been avoidable had our advice been heeded. On his return it immediately became apparent that he was in significant discomfort as he was not happy about being touched and would snap if touched in certain places, there was also an obvious tell tale coat change. The snapping wasn’t an entirely new thing for Angus but it was something that had gotten a lot worse, to the point where he no longer tolerated his harness or being put on/taken off or touched beyond his head. His foster carers noticed soon after arriving that Angus was getting tired on relatively short walks and that his back legs were circumducting so it was off to the vets for pain trials, imaging and a referral to physio. All have proved very useful and the vets have told us that Angus had a back injury from an inappropriate amount of exercise (yes, that is a very real possibility, even for a kelpie) and that he has mild hip dysplasia and historical damage to his knees, however neither of these things really explain his reluctance to being touched. The vets didn’t think that he needed surgery at this point in time either and that management and physio would be sufficient.
This hasn’t stopped Angus, whilst he’ll never make a working or sports dog he can still very much enjoy life and is a natural at man trailing and scentwork. He adores camping with his foster dad and loves his walks and the company of other dogs if introduced correctly. Angus will need an experienced, firm but kind handler (he is a sensitive soul) that will work with desensitisation to be touched and also work further on his training.
Angus has been so fortunate to have such loving and caring foster carers for most of his life. He has learned to live with another Kelpie welfare dog, and they now co-exist very happily together, and he has been a part of family life and is very much loved but he now needs somewhere to call home for the rest of his life.
If there is anyone out there who has been watching his journey and been tempted, if you feel you can offer Angus a permanent or foster home and are confident dealing with the issues mentioned above then please contact us. Kelpie Welfare cannot take on any more dogs until the ones we have are in their forever homes. We are NOT a sanctuary and cannot afford to keep dogs permanently in foster care or private kennels. We cannot keep turning dogs in need away, it’s heartbreaking, soul destroying and not what we ever thought we’d have to do. Angus isn’t perfect but he is a character, clever and does have some wonderful attributes, in the right environment and for the right person Angus will be an amazing companion.
Kelpie Welfare UK Dogs for adoption 🧡🇬🇧
