Barney Knight – Irish Retriever Rescue

TRAGEDY STRUCK in May 2013

A totally devastated Shelley has contacted us to say their beautiful boy collapsed and was suddenly taken from them on 2nd May.

Barney had a wonderful home where he was very much loved and it is a total tragedy that he didn’t get the chance of the good, long life with the people he adored just as they had imagined it would be. Our hearts really go out to them at this very sad time.

HISTORY

In 2010, Bailey was a 6 year old boy who had been reluctantly surrendered to IRR by his owners as they felt they weren’t giving him the life he deserved. Whilst he has been loved and cared for, a house move and working hours meant that Bailey was having to be left tethered in the garden during the day and he was becoming a little noisy. His owners bravely made the heartbreaking decision to part with Bailey in order to give him a better life with more company so he would no longer feel the need to shout for attention.

NEW HOME UPDATE

Bailey is now Barney and has been rehomed with Shelly and Andy. They said. “What can we say, we are the new owners of Barney. Barney has settled so well into our life it is like we have had him forever. Barney is our 3rd golden retriever we never thought it would be possible to find another super dog to share our life with.

We drove to Tipton in the Midlands on Monday 12th April to meet Barney having heard lots about him from Andy and Val his fosterers. We left early as we live 7 miles north of Brighton and knew it was going to be a long journey. Arriving at lunchtime we were met by 2 Goldens, one medium sized bitch (Smudge) and a very large male (Barney). We knew straight away that Barney was for us, he is a very laid back big bear of a retriever who likes to walk around rather than bound.

The journey home was totally uneventful with no sound coming from the back of the car (we stopped to check he was okay as he was so quiet). When we arrived home we let him explore his new home and then took him on a quick lead walk in the fields near our home. We were all pretty tired so settled him into his bed in the kitchen and went upstairs, nearly a month later and he has never disturbed us at night, he settled from the moment he arrived. In the middle of one night there were fireworks and he was not keen, quietly barking, so Andy went to the kitchen and sat at the table and did the crossword until the fireworks stopped just to let Barney know he was not alone.

He was not very fit when he first came to us but with two good walks a day and lots of rabbits to chase he is getting fitter! He has been on his first visit to the sea near here and loved all the smells but never tried to swim although he loves the water nearer home.

From the first few days he has spent his walks off the lead with his recall very good, even when he is on the scent of something exciting he will come back for a game with his favourite toy.

We would like to thank his previous owners for doing the right thing and signing him over to IRR. We will always love and look after him to the best of our ability.

Barney is a true gentleman of the breed and although weighing in at 38kgs a real softie at heart who has found his way into our hearts. Here is a picture of our lovely boy.

UPDATE 26.07.2010

Shelley writes: “Barney is very funny, we were at training and his sit and stay was remarkable. In fact he had dozed off and I had to wake him. He is very laid back (when he wants to be) he does not particularly enjoy training!!! He is already quite well trained – we go for the socialising and I really think he cannot see the point. When we do the sit he is usually already sat down and leaning against my leg, it is a source of some amusement. Barney is proving to be a real character and the tales are endless.”

UPDATE 27.09.2010

Shelley says. ” Barney is settling well into life in Sussex. He has now got into the routine and is very very excited when we come down to him in the morning. He knows he is going out for a walk. We meet a few people and other dogs every walk and he is getting used to it. Originally he would have a bit of a strut with other dogs! We think he had not been socialized very much. He loves it now. It is great to see him learning to play with other dogs and their owners. He can sniff an owner with a treat in his pocket from the other side of the field!

He is still not keen on water even though we spend a lot of time on the beach but as you can see from the picture below a wallow in the stagnant mud is great!!!!! He washed off fine and the smell eventually went away!

He likes to sit and look into the garden, bursting forth out of the door when an unsuspecting pigeon dares to fly over. Barney is fed twice a day after his walks and like all retrievers he loves it. Following this he likes a nap as you can see from the picture of him asleep in front of the fire.

He really is a lovely dog and we feel so lucky that he has come to live with us.”

UPDATE 16th January 2011

Shelly said. “Barney loves Christmas. We were lucky enough to have 2 Christmas days. One in Cheltenham with my family and the other here with Andy’s family. Barney was in his element and had lots of pressies. He is very popular with all and moves around any room receiving attention and cuddles from all. Some of the family sneak him titbits too!

Barney loves the snow and we have had so much of it. One night we had about 18 inches overnight. We were the first up with the snow and it was up to Barney’s chin in the field, he ran and ran and sniffed and jumped and rolled. It was great to see him enjoying it.

Both the children are back at University now so life is getting back to normal. When they are home the house is full of students coming and going, all of which make a fuss of Barney, he has been known to share cheese on toast with 5 others at 3am on some nights!!! This break Barney joined them sledging and raced up and down the hill many times. He slept for hours when he got back and was a little stiff the next day!!

All in all he had a wonderful time and was a pleasure to be with, the perfect dog. THEN HE ATE A TURKEY LEG – BUT THAT IS ANOTHER STORY!!!!!”

Second year report from Barney’s forever home April 2012

My husband and I adopted Barney on 12th April 2010 and the time has flown by. He is the most affectionate boy we have ever had. He is a faithful companion who loves everything. He can be a very vocal boy, not when people arrive but when he is rolling or stretching, anything like this is accompanied by a rumbling and quiet barking!

Here are a few photographs of him in his usual position. We love him and are eternally grateful he came to our home.

Third year report from Barney’s forever home April 2013

Shelley says “Doesn’t time fly? Barney has now been with us for 3yrs.

He is asleep at my feet at the moment and, although I told him I am writing about him, he just could not stay awake!! He has always been a very laid back chap who would rather lie than sit or sit rather than stand.

When we became his new Mum and Dad, we were told he was a big, boisterous boy but, on the contrary, if he breaks into a run we all applaud!! When we are out in the fields, he sees many rabbits and squirrels etc and he does his own version of chasing at a pace where he would never catch them. They seem to know this because they just amble away.

We don’t really need a lead for him although, of course, we do use one for crossing the road from our house to the fields. He loves the streams, the hedgerows, the woods and meeting his friends who play and play together but Barney will sit and watch and only very occasionally joins in. He is far more interested in the treats to be found inside the pockets of the owners rather than running around with their dogs and he goes from owner to owner to have his ears tickled.

We are very proud of our Big Bear Barney as he does whatever we say and never attempts to run away, preferring to know where we are at all times. He will be 9yrs old in October and we hope to have many, many more very happy years with him.”

Tragedy has struck May 2013

A totally devastated Shelley has contacted us to say their beautiful boy collapsed and was suddenly taken from them on 2nd May.