Our Special Friends (OSF) was contacted in November 2022 by Havebury Housing Partnership’s
Hoarding and Wellbeing Support Advisor who was concerned about one of their tenants, ‘Rob’,
who was unable to clear out his house as he was feeling overwhelmed with his dog Alfie’s
behaviour. Rob was walking Alfie four or five times each day, which was not ideal physically as
Rob is an amputee and this much walking wasn’t giving him enough time to rest his leg or sort out
his house. Rob also has PTSD and Alfie’s demands were starting to affect his mental health, so he
wanted some support with walking Alfie.
OSF’s Animal Companionship Practitioner, Gemma, got in touch with Rob and it was clear that he
loves Alfie, but was struggling to keep up with the amount of exercise Alfie seemed to demand.
However, Gemma’s professional experience led her to believe that Rob and Alfie would benefit
from some behavioural advice, as even the most energetic dog doesn’t have to be walked as
frequently as Alfie was already. OSF volunteer Lucie, who has Veterinary Nursing experience and
is a dog trainer, agreed to visit Rob and Alfie to conduct an assessment. Lucie gave Rob some
behavioural tips alongside reassuring him that he didn’t have to walk Alfie so frequently, and that
a game or training session could be a good replacement for a couple of the daily walks.
A week later, Rob contacted Lucie again to say that although her advice had been successful, he
was finding everything a bit much and asked whether it would be possible for someone to take
Alfie for a few days to give him a chance to sort out his house.
In the meantime, our Lead Practitioner Bin had been speaking to a lady, Sue, about a dog, Belle,
who we had been asked to rehome as Belle’s owner had sadly died by suicide. Sue was an
experienced dog owner, who had lost both her husband and dog in recent times. Although Sue
was a good match, following Bin’s emotional support, a member of Belle’s previous owner’s
network had decided to adopt Belle. Bin explained this to Sue, and asked if she would consider
fostering, as she was in a good position to do this as she had no other pets. Sue agreed to foster
Alfie for a few days, and OSF lent Sue a crate to help Alfie settle in.
Not used to travelling by car, Alfie was a bit anxious on the journey but quickly settled in at Sue’s
house and responded well to Sue setting down clear rules. Alfie used the crate as a place of
comfort, as had been intended. After six days, Rob had been able to make progress with sorting
out his house, so Sue returned Alfie home, along with the crate which OSF had agreed Rob could
keep as part of Alfie’s behaviour plan. Alfie has since been matched to a new volunteer for dog
walking support, giving Rob a further chance to get on top of many of his household tasks. He says
the crate has been very effective in settling Alfie down, and on our recommendation has bought a
special harness to assist with calmer walking and give greater control.
Meanwhile, Sue’s fostering experience with Alfie led her to realise she didn’t actually want a fulltime
dog of her own, and although she would consider fostering again, she would prefer it to be a
smaller and quieter dog that didn’t pull on walks. This level of clarity is good for OSF as an
organisation so we don’t waste people’s time trying to match them with unsuitable animals, and
has also prevented Sue from adopting a dog that she later regretted and/or had to return. Sue has
since taken in a cat to foster for an owner who has fled domestic abuse.
