DUSTY came into the rescue in June 2011 who was found as a stray and taken to the pound where ‘her time was up’ and she would have been destroyed.

She was very scared, very thin and had some baldness on her legs. We took her into a foster home where her foster carer was able to gradually win her trust so that she could be handled.

When we take in a dog like Dusty, we never know how things will turn out medically or behaviourally; all we can do is commit to providing that dog with the very best care and attention that can be offered. Dusty needed time to settle and learn to trust before facing vet assessment and treatment.

Once that stage was reached, she was able to have antibiotics and baths with special shampoo to help her skin. She was found to have a pyometra and so underwent an emergency hysterectomy. She did really well through out and started to put on weight slowly.

Over time, Dusty, became more and more trusting with women but continued to find men hard to trust — she started to play with the other dogs and even learned to play ball. Three years on and Dusty is still with us; she is a good weight now and in many respects is an ideal, easy dog, but she still struggles to trust most men.

In the right environment, Dusty could thrive but she would need a quiet, experienced home, perhaps with a single person, with few visitors and heaps and heaps of patience and understanding.

Few homes would be able to cope with Dusty so at present she remains as one of our permanent foster dogs —we are happy to keep her for as long as she needs us. We have a number of dogs that we are unable to rehome, if you can offer help or donate towards their costs, please visit southerncountiesgsdrescue.co.uk or call 01425 473907.