A few months ago our rescue dog had to be p.t.s. and because we were planning to move house it seemed kinder to find a house and move before bringing a new-to us dog into the family. So we moved and then waited - it's a lovely house but didn't feel like home - no dog.

I didn't want to support breeders, so puppies weren't an option - nor did I want to rescue a dog that had come from a hot country. Why? Because around 60% of dogs from hot countries have been in contact with a horrible illness called Leishmaniasis which is caused by a sandfly bite. When I contacted GSRS about Axl, his location history was my first question!

After the form filling and home check we met him on neutral ground (thank you Liz) and butter wouldn't melt in that boy's mouth. When we eventually collected him he was on his best behaviour for around 10 days. Walked well on his lead, rarely barked, was friendly but not pushy with the odd visitor - the perfect dog. On day 11 he must have woken up thinking "I've sussed this out now and know who's in charge". Him. He barked at anything and everything, expected both of us to be in his line of sight at all times (which made going to the loo a challenge), decided the dog walking field that backs onto our garden was his and his alone and tried to make sure other dogs and their walkers knew that.

We had a long conversation about him. Had he just realised he wasn't going back to his previous family (he hadn't been in kennels), is he unhappy with us, are we mentally feeding whatever is going on in his head - you name it - we discussed it.

We decided that a lot of it was settling in + we were probably giving him too much attention + he was testing us + we weren't being as consistent as we should had been. With time passing and some changes being made in our behaviour things have settled down wonderfully.

He's still the centre of our universe but knows we have boundaries now and is happy with them. We're with him 24/7 other than the occasional test - we tell him we're going out for awhile then go and hide behind the garage for a few minutes - not a sound. He has a girl friend - a standard poodle who he has meet-ups at the dog park with and she runs rings around him. Between regular walks, a change in feeding pattern and lots of brushing a waistline is appearing and he seems happier and healthier for it.

Our house is a home again thanks to Axl and the wonderful ladies at GSRS. We, and I hope everyone, appreciate the work that you do.