Dog rescued from Romanian zoo (From Stroud News and Journal)

Dog rescued from Romanian zoo

3:00pm Saturday 20th December 2008

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THE FESTIVE season was once a cold and lonely time for Dina the four-year-old mix breed dog, but this year she can look forward to warm, cosy Christmas with her new family in Stroud.

Having spent years behind bars at a Romanian zoo which was later forced to close because of poor animal welfare standards, Dina was rescued and brought to the UK in October by the Born Free Foundation.

However, her experiences of living alongside the zoo’s grizzly bear pen, and having to beg for scraps of food, left her with a number of behavioural problems which needed to be addressed before she could be re-homed.

The challenge was taken up by Stroud-based dog listener Jennie Rudd, who, along with her partner Mark, fell in love with Dina and decided to make her a permanent member of the family.

“When Dina first arrived she was terrified and would not come out from under her bed,” said Jennie, whose interest in dog behaviour began while she was an inspector for the RSPCA in New Zealand.

“Now she trusts that we are not going to hurt her, her true loveable and excitable nature has started to show.   “She absolutely loves people, sofas and beds, but she does not know what to do with toys, I do not think she has seen any before.

"Having worked with so many mistreated dogs, and seeing them suffer so severely on a behavioural level, I wanted to learn a gentle technique that would help them easily integrate back into a domestic lifestyle.”

Her behavioural work with dogs was backed up by best-selling author and animal lover, Jilly Cooper, who said: "If anybody needs help, Jennie Rudd would be a wonderful person to seek advice from because she is kind, constructive, and loves dogs.”

For more information about Jennie’s business, Natural Leader, visit www.naturalleader.co.uk or call 07900361365.

Alternatively email jennie@naturalleader.co.uk.

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