Polly

Polly is a 10-month-old Jack Russell Terrier who is deaf. 

She has had a rough start to life, living with a family who were unaware of her deafness and she has had to put various coping mechanisms into place as a result.

It would appear that Polly has previously been startled when eating and sleeping and is now having to learn not to guard her food and possessions or to be on her guard upon waking. 

When she first arrived in rescue Polly would wake up grumpy and aggressive, but with a few decent nights sleep and nothing to be defensive about she is now waking up naturally as part of our routine and is happy-go-lucky. 

Polly spent 3 weeks with a behaviourist, where she learnt to be less hand-shy and worked on learning hand signals. She understands sit, down, no and can recall. 

She loves to play with the other dogs and adores tennis balls. Polly is coming on in leaps and bounds and this evening we had a really great game of rough and tumble where she was prodded and batted, rolling on to her back to have her belly tickled. There was some typical puppy mouthing but she stopped as soon as the hand was withdrawn, relaxing into being stroked. 

This said, Polly can be grumpy and will warn you if she does not want to be disturbed and has been known to bite if pushed. Her food guarding is currently her biggest issue, at times she will guard the cupboard where the dog food is kept, if distracted early this will not escalate but if not she will become very aggressive and will bite. She is currently being fed by hand.

Polly is looking for a home without young children, she could live with dog savvy teenagers who understand the difference between her half-hearted grumbling and her warning them off. 

If you are interested in giving Polly a new home
please email
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Polly is currently in foster with 4 other dogs who are very laid back and ignore a lot of her adolescent displays, putting her in her place when she oversteps the mark. She would benefit from a similar dog in her new home.

Polly is young enough to turn a lot of her behaviour around and to learn fully trust people again.

In the right home she will be a wonderful, loving companion, she adores a cuddle. It is important that we get it right for this little girl and she continues to move forward with her rehabilitation and not regress to the frightened, distrusting little girl that first came in. We will, therefore, be taking our time to find the right home for Polly. If you feel you have the patience and experience to offer Polly a permanent home then please email us.