Saffy, Staffie, 6 years old

Saffy, Staffie, 6 years old



Her Story: Found stray in Yorkshire with a chronic untreated skin condition which we now believe was due to malnutrition/abuse. Some background detail was found due to her arriving microchipped i.e. her age and name.

Salient points: Saffy is a slender frame brindle Staffie who has had many litters in her past. She mixes well with dogs outside, tends to put her paws on their back as a greeting inside her house. Very loving nature. She is nasally ... a snorty Staffie but not barky! Only pet with close relationship with her owners like in the bedroom at night. Query past abuse by 10-17 yrs olds as very wary of them.

Advert: Saffy is very special we have to admit winning your heart totally. She knows all the tricks in the book; the coy look in her eyes, siding up to you. She is around 6 yrs old, 18" to the shoulder, is beautifully proportioned with a beautiful head and face with a velvety rich orange brindle fur so soft to touch. She loves company, but can be left ... but be prepared for her doing the bends on your return. She doesn't like the rain or snow and needs persuasion to use the garden on such days, but has very good housetraining and holds despite. Saffy uses either an open dog bed or crate, a sofa or chair to relax in. She understands house rules. We are looking for a situation where she is spoilt and inclusive in her family. Saffy gets wary when closed in a crate or behind a grid so this is not advisable only as a must for travelling. She also gets very excited with cats! Saffy is neutered, vaccinated and chipped. Fostered in Kingston.

Saffy arrived into rescue in a dreadful state with physical and psychological signs of abuse/neglect. Her skin and fur have improved greatly and she is her ideal weight now. Ideally her family would only use kennels in an emergency. Saffy loves people and will accept dogs in her territory once introduced outside on neutral territory until she knows them. When sharing with another dog Saffy can react to 'claiming food', but not toys or other objects. So food needs close management with other dogs, but isn't an issue with humans only in that she can be an opportunist! She is very gentle in taking treats. She can play with humans touching with her mouth, but clearly playing, expressing fun and love. Saffy is hyper alert to 'hoodies' and wary of children particularly 10-17 yrs olds, this has indicated she has been taunted or actually abused by this age range in the past and we will home with this awareness. Saffy is a rescue favourite so only special families need apply!

Please visit our FORUM to see this dogs individual thread, find out more about them and follow their progress.

If you are interested in re-homing please visit our website and complete our online homing questionnaire so we can ensure our dogs are matched and will suit your circumstances/lifestyle.

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Such a beautiful girl, with such a sad history......

Hope you find your forever home real soon, sweetheart

Oh Saffy...now her health and beauty is truly revealed...





With her John...her foster dad





With her Dee... her foster mum




At play...






Thanks to Dee & John, Saffy’s fosterers, Saffy is in peak condition and so ready for her forever home ... where are you?!!!!

An updated from Dee, our rehomer, who is fostering Saffy:

"Our poor little Saffy girl has not been having the best of times recently!

Since we have had Saffy there has always been a limp when - it seemed - too much exercise or too much lying around! Only to be expected for a dog that was so skeletal and had no muscle that it would take time for her body to build up and get used to the exercise, etc.

When it did not appear to be getting better as quick as expected we took Saffy to the vet to have a chat about this and her general health and what supplements could best help. Due to her extreme malnourishment her body has never healed quickly and as Christabel noted there are signs also of abuse - in likelihood being kicked in her leg. General opinion seemed to be that it was just going to take a long time for her body to return to the sort of condition you would expect in this age of dog. The malnourishment had - as you can imagine - had a severe effect on her overall condition.

So we put Saffy on Glucosamine and Chondroitin added cod liver oil and evening primrose oil and started a slow and steady exercise regime to help build her muscles slowly.

Slowly Saffy put on weight and muscle started to develop but the limp was still very evident at differing times so she remained on restricted exercise.

This is really not helped by our house! There is nowhere you can go in our house without going up or down stairs - lovely design but not very practical for old dogs or dogs with problems with their legs or hips! The steps into the garden are particularly steep and sadly these were the steps that Saffy used all of the time.

We recently noticed that the limp was getting worse and were convinced that the garden steps were really not doing her any good so we swapped our rooms over and found a different room we could use that would still keep Saffy separated from our dogs and would minimise the steps for her to go outside! Having done this we did expect to see an improvement after a few days but sadly there did not appear to be any difference at all so we went back to our lovely Christabel who took x-rays and found to our dismay that Saffy has Hip Dysplasia in both hips. It is particularly severe in the right hip. There are also signs of Spondylosis at the base of her spine.

A hip replacement not really suitable for Saffy for many reasons so the treatment for her is ongoing joint care supplements and daily pain relief. These will now be ongoing.

So really the home that is out there for Saffy needs to be either a bungalow or have very few stairs as of course these will worsen her condition. Her onlead exercise regime will need to be strictly adhered to no more than 15 or 20 mins per day. Ideally there will be lots of visitors to give her love and affection and will also need to be committed to keep her weight at a healthy level. Currently we need to get 2kg off my beautiful girl to ease any undue pressure on her hips.

Such a beautiful, loving, funny and bright girl who has so much to offer the right family regardless of these conditions. Again right home needs to be very loving and very affectionate and a home that really appreciates what an amazing little dog she is (know this is true of all of our dogs and homes but hey this is Saffy!).

Can not tell you the amount of times that Saffy has bought light into an extremely dark day. The times where things so hard going (as we all know rescue life can be) that all I have wanted to do is weep and hide and yet she has had me smiling and then laughing when I thought I did not have it in me.

She is so very special and we are looking for a home that appreciates the amazing gift that is our Saffy".

Saffy is still patiently waiting for her forever home to come along. Where are you?

An update from Dee, our rehomer, who is fostering Saffy:

"Saffy still such a little delight.

Has days where her legs are causing her pain but being a typical little Staffie she doesn't let that stop her!!
Honestly the way she can run round on three legs and her tail going like a rotor just amazes you.

Just really feel for her. She so much wants to be part of the pack and has now started joining in when the others bark at the door. Sadly they just will not accept her.

Hoping for that special home to come up for her. Some where that she is able to potter about and join in with normal family life.

Harsh for her hearing the others doing things (well nothing really, but she doesn't believe it!) and her just being stuck in here with me.

She just is the most adorable and funny little girl. Not a day goes by where she doesn't have us both laughing so much at her antics. She is so amazing and so clever.

Loves to pin John to the settee when he comes in and then alternate between giving him a few Staffie kisses and holding her cheek to his.

A fox has been hanging around on our driveway recently and she has been transfixed with it. Fox is of course completely aware of Saffy being there and also aware that Saffy cannot get to it! When rushing the window got no effect on the fox she talks, does the odd little bark and generally tries to get the fox to take notice of her all to no avail. Each evening now she sits watching waiting for it to come. Bless.

Come on all you empty homes out there!!

This baby girl such a delight and those eyes just make you melt and whoever has that Saffy shaped hole just waiting to be filled with never regret it.

Beautiful, funny girl who deserves a whole family that can keep her filled up with fun and cuddles"!!

Oh she is gorgeous. What a shame she's so far south! Wah! I really really hope she gets a forever home soon!

Saffy has been with us in rescue since September 2009! She is still in a foster home waiting for someone to offer her the chance of a forever home. She really needs to be settled and unpack that suitcase for good!

Are you able to consider adopting her? Do you have a Saffy shaped whole in your life?

If you are interested in adopting Saffy please complete our online homing questionnaire on this link: our homing questionnaire

Poor Saffy, she is adorable, I love her smile. She's gorgeous and I really really hope she finds a forever home soon. She's just beautiful.

Saffy’s has been with us in rescue since September 2009! Most of that time has been spent in a foster home with Dee & John. We are now in desperate need of another foster home or a forever home for Saffy and as we know so much more about her, we have re-written her ad …



Saffy was lucky survive last summer having been found in a near-to-death state. You only have to meet Saffy to appreciate just how special she is, but she has had a hard life. She adores people especially the men in her life. She is frightened around children; gets guardy if put behind bars either in a car or closed in crate. She can be left, she isn’t barky and she is oh so very loving to all. She loves visitors and adores the garden. We discovered in the summer that despite her near complete recovery physically, her hips have been affected. She has now been diagnosed with hip dysphasia. She therefore should only have short walks and should avoid stairs. She has been on a diet to try and take her excess weight off to help her hips.

Saffy has been fostered happily with Dee and John in Kingston. She however has not been mixed with their other 3 large dogs as she gets excited around dogs. We are looking for a foster or permanent home for her as an only pet. Children free. Where she can have companionship ideally sleeping on the bed or next to it; no stairs and easy access to the garden. She cannot be insured, but there isn’t any treatment required just pain killers when she has a bad day.

Saffy is very, very special we can't stress this enough. She needs a retirement home where she receives the company and love she offers in return. She needs a quiet life, she'll make you laugh and you'll have full conversations with her as she is a bit of a chatterbox with her little Staffie snorts and huge smile.

Please visit Saffy's thread, in Staffierescue Rescue Remedies on our Forum to find out more about her and follow her progress.




If you are able to foster Saffy please get in touch by completing our Fostering questionnaire online.
If you are interested in re-homing Saffy please complete our homing questionnaire so we can ensure our dogs are matched and will suit your circumstances/lifestyle”.

We still very urgently need another foster place for Saffy. If you could foster Saffy and have no other pets then please get in touch by completing our Fostering questionnaire online.

Thank you!