Dogs’ Home’s Appeal for XL Bully Re-Homers

Adoption Would Come with Specialised Support

Local institution Cheshire Dogs’ Home near Grappenhall is currently seeking responsible and loving forever homes for three beautiful XL bully dogs who have recently come into the Home’s care.

As these are special cases given the upcoming change in government legislation around the XL bully breed  (dogs will have to exempted before 31^st December 2023), the Dogs’ Home is offering comprehensive support packages to the right adopters, including ongoing advice, muzzle training and priority neutering and spaying vouchers. All the dogs come insured and the insurance provider, a household name in pet insurance, has committed to providing ongoing health insurance beyond the breed re-classification if the new owners keep up insurance payments.

Eden, aged one and a half, was found stray. She’s very friendly around dogs as well as people so she could potentially be re-homed with another dog if they were a similar size to her, subject to a monitored meet-up at the Dogs’ Home. Eden is playful due to her young age and can be giddy at times, and because of her large size she needs an adults-only home. Dogs’ Home staff have been working hard with Eden on muzzle training in line with recommended best practice for XL bully owners, and this will need to be continued by her new owners after adoption, with ongoing support from the Dogs’ Home if needed.

Bonnie, four, was also found stray. She is described by staff as a “very loveable” dog who is very fond of tennis balls (she likes to fit four of them in her mouth!). As with Eden, Bonnie has been busy muzzle training and working on socialization around people and dogs. Because Bonnie is quite an attention seeker, liking to have fusses and cuddles to herself, the Dogs’ Home is looking for a forever home where Bonnie can be the only dog. As Bonnie was found stray, she comes without a previous history so would need to go to an adults-only home.

Cheeky Apollo is just one year old, and staff say he has “a personality you can’t help but fall in love with”. He’s very friendly around people, and although he enjoys playing with other dogs he prefers females so the Dogs’ Home would prefer him to be re-homed either as an only dog or with a large female. As he was found stray, he comes without previous history so would also need an adult-only home.

Home Manager Anna Stansfield says: “Our charity’s motto is ‘Give a dog a chance’, and this is all about re-homing dogs who have come into our care through no fault of their own. The upcoming legislative changes have put shelters across the country in a difficult position with regards to re-homing XL bullies, but we’re hoping that the right owners can be found and that we can support them with a specialized care package to make sure that the dogs and their new owners can thrive together going forwards.”