Jessie's Story: Jessie came into Rescue on welfare rounds. Rescue Remedies offered a Rescue place saving her life. Jessie is now neutered, chipped, and fully vaccinated. Jessie came in to our Rescue Centre near Gatwick whilst awaiting her new family.
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Please note: Dog laws have changed, with zero public tolerance and prejudice against bull breeds and terriers in particular. Our Rescue asks new owners to keep their dog on a lead in public spaces and manage and support its encounters with new dogs and people, so as not to place the dog's life at risk. Destruction and Control Orders are commonplace nowadays.
Jessie's progress through our Rescue is below. We work with our dogs, who often reveal an evolving picture and positive skills as they build trust.
Original referral information: We have been asked to help Jessie saving her life
Jessie is just so lovely
I spent the whole of yesterday regularly visiting Jessie, initially she was rather shut down and then slowly, slowly her beautiful smile appeared and I just knew that we were going to be friends
Jessie is a darling, she is rather shy and so I was very gentle in her kennel, I let her come to me and in no time at all she was wagging her beautiful tail and then this most amazing smile appeared and that was me gone
So once we were friends and Jessie was comfortable we headed out on a lovely relaxed walk, this girl she is all about the sniffy walk her whole demeanour changes and she absolutely loves being out and about, the smile did not leave my face and every time she looked at me I couldn’t resist a gentle little cuddle. I cannot think of a better way to enjoy time than with a dog by your side, this girl she is built to be by someone’s side
I agree with all that Jude has said. Jessie is a very special soul.
Jessie looks sad in her kennel, but the minute you take her out, her tail goes up and her smile lights up her face. She was very happy to be going out with Kiera and I yesterday. She jauntily strode along until we reached the woodland and then it was all about sniffing. We did her photoshoot. Jessie is typical bulldog, doing her own thing in her own sweet time, taking no notice of the camera. Back in the car park, Jessie was delighted to be able to make new friends.
I met gorgeous Jessie today. She was looking sad and unsure in her kennel. I approached her very slowly and quietly and she enjoyed some sausage treats. After a while, she came off her bed, let me give her a little stroke and allowed me to clip her leads on.
We headed outside. She was hesitant to move far from the door and was amusing herself with the grass there. After a while though, she allowed me to take her further and we had a slow plod up the lane a little and around the grounds.
She was keen to go inside the hut and have a little rest. She hopped up on the sofa, gave me a good old sniff and let me stroke her which she seemed to enjoy. She was a very gentle soul. We stayed there a while together.
On our way back to the kennel, she became a little reluctant to keep heading back. Luckily, the distraction of another walker's treats gave her the impetus to start moving again and we carried on back to her kennel just fine.
Jessie is very sweet and I will certainly be walking her again (if she doesn't get a lovely home beforehand which I hope she does).
Oh Jessie is a sweet girl! After some gentle encouragement to get leads on and out of the kennel, and some more encouragement to leave the grounds, she thoroughly enjoyed her sniffy walk.
She walks at a pleasant leisurely pace and is happy out and about.
When in then grounds she spotted a few of her friends and she stopped to say hello. After that she was much happier to start her walk.
She can be shy in her kennel, but with patience and yummy treats you will soon make friends!
Jessie is a super special dog. She is just adorable. She let me harness her up easily and we were out. She was adamant on going a certain way so I didn’t test any boundaries as this was my first time walking Jessie. Jessie walks at a great pace with slack leads all the way, loves a sniff and looks up to you to check in every now and then. She passes other dogs with ease too. When we got back, I allowed Jessie to sniff and she was sniffing for a good 5 minutes in the same patch of grass. We had a little cuddle before saying good bye. A very very special girl who would make the perfect companion.
A few walkers sent me pics of Jessie saying I would love her and they were right. She is an utter delight to be around. A few unsure barks when she saw me first thing but welcoming when I came to take her out. She is a sweet, loving girl. I hope someone spots this little treasure x
Jessie was good as gold in the car and seemed excited to meet us properly! We took her for a calm beach walk, she loved finding good new sniffs and walks mostly with a slack lead, its a real pleasure to stroll along with her. When we got her home she loved playing with her new teddies and digging in her bed to make it extra comfy.
We showed her the garden and the pond, so she wouldn’t mistake it for grass but she surprised us and decided to take a dip! It was so funny! She was brilliant trusting me to bath her gently afterwards with a peanut butter distraction and she loved being towel dried after.
First night she took herself to bed after night time wee’s in the garden and slept like an angel on the sofa, I could hear her little snores - so cute. No accidents through the night and again did first wee’s and poo in garden Saturday morning. Such a good girl!
First day out I decided to take her to Shoreham, with some encouragement she hopped onto the train, whilst on the train she allowed a lad to stroke her, he respected her and she was so gentle with him, happy to receive the attention. In Shoreham it was market day so abit busier than usual with people and dogs but she’s a real social butterfly and proved this wasn’t a problem! We went on a lovely river walk along the Adur, with a couple of refreshment stops along the way. She paddled in the river, she loves water! She saw many dogs, a cat and swans on this walk. She’s excitable, waggy and goofy when she makes friends, some dogs really enjoyed making friends with her and they bounced around together. She likes to say hello to every human that walks by too, its as if she’s saying “Will you be my forever family??”
She’s generally a confident girl out and about, trains and traffic doesn’t seem to phase her and very occasionally in ‘full bull dog fashion’ she will let you know which way sheeee wants to go, having a little bit of cheekiness/stubbornness just adds to her funny, entertaining character, she will suggest which way she wants to go, but she will then decide to follow your way, especially if treats are involved. She’s understandably slightly less confident on night time walks when its darker, walking a little more cautiously whilst making out the shadows. She prefers doing wee’s and poo’s in the garden I noticed, too busy focussed on sniffing on her walks. She sounds like a little piglet when she snuffles around.
On the Shoreham walk she found one very large black dog a bit scary, she backed away telling him to back off too (they looked like a black Lab X Great Dane) I reassured her and wondered if she’d had a bad experience in the past and this maybe jogged a memory, or if this particularly big dog just made her jump..Luckily with ALL other dogs she just wants to be friends with and play!
She must have made about 20 dog friends this weekend. She even made friends with a black Lab X Staffy, so it isn’t just a black dog thing. Overall she’s been extremely social and shows great body language to other dogs. She’s also very active, she loves her walks, and can go for hours!
She sits and waits patiently for her breakfast and dinner, and loves her treats, chews and licky-mats. She knows to leave rubbish/food on the street if you tell her no, and she knows ‘Sit’ when there aren’t too many loud noises or distractions around.
Sunday we had a day out in Brighton, popping into shops for treats and we got a doggy Ice Cream on the beach before returning home as it got abit warm. We played with the hose (gentle shower setting) in the garden which then gave her the mega zooomies which was hilarious! It was then time for a siesta!
Jessie is the perfect balance of independent and affectionate. She’s not needy or anxious when you are not near her (e.g doesn’t follow when you go into a different room or go to bed) yet she’s so happy to receive love, cuddles, kisses and a fuss. Every morning she greets me with a waggy tail whilst laying in her bed or on the sofa. She sleeps so well through the night, even if she gets up for a drink she goes straight back to bed and snores minutes later.
She isn’t picky with food, seems so grateful for anything and she is not possessive around her dinner bowl.
This girl has the longest list of qualities and I cannot wait for her to get snapped up by a very lucky family. All she needs is TLC and she will reward you by being your bestest little friend.
Check out our video to watch her adventure:
How could anyone resist this face!
Jessie knows how to work the puppy dog face!
She also has what me and my partner describe as 'the softest head and ears in the world!'
What an absolutely amazing post on Jessie
Thank you so much for such an informative write up, it gives all the information that you could possibly wish for on this glorious girl I knew that she’d be wonderful in a home environment, sounds like she smashed it
Jessie is the most adorable girl, so deserving of her most wonderful forever home, come on all you bulldog lovers, Jessie is an absolute dream
