Bubba Bear - Adopt Me!

Bubba Bear, is looking for a home with another calm dog and older children or no children. He arrived here at the start of the first lockdown in March 2020, but was a little stressed from travel, so we decided to keep him here to decompress. He was like his sister Liza a bit shy. His life started when he was born in a field in Portugal, we don't know if there were more to his litter, but by the time he was found, his mum was starving an in very poor health and unable to continue feeding him and Liza. She tried to find food but was shooed away and this is how they came to the attention of our partners in the Algarve. All three were taken into care, but within a few weeks his mum had organ failure from chronic starvation and died the very day his sister Liza set off on the Happy Bus to the UK.

Bubba arrived a few weeks later as lockdown started and was very out of sorts, he was missing his sister and his mum and had become shy and withdrawn and scared of strangers but loved dogs. He quickly formed a bond with my Tigger2 and after we gained his trust, very much enjoyed being given affection.

Within the first couple of months his started limping and was diagnosed with Elbow Dysplasia in his front left leg. His other front leg was also scanned with the MRI but found to be normal. Fortunately, we had him insured and got him the best care we could find, but sadly this is a genetic defect and the surgery done to date, including Stem Cell Therapy has made only a very small difference. He shows no signs of pain, has never winced or cried in pain but he has had only very restricted exercise.

Given a chance he would run all day, but need to be restricted to around 15 to 20 mins walks. Otherwise he will need to rest for a day before returning to his normal slightly limping gate.

He is good in the car, is calm for most of the day, but his instinct is to guard, as we think he comes from a breed that is used to guarding cattle and livestock. He has a deep and fearsome bark, but if you look at him, he runs the other way. Bubba is neutered, house trained, good on a lead, he is Labrador in size and weights 36kg. The breed we think he may have in him is https://www.yourdog.co.uk/…/cao-castro-laboreiro-breed-pro…/

He is still wary of strangers, even with Tigger2 at his side but if he meets people walking their dogs, suddenly the person becomes invisible and all he wants to do is say Hi, to the other dog.

We are looking for a home with a calm dog to give him more confidence, either with older children or no children.

Some will ask why are we not keeping him? Well if we can’t find a good enough home we will. However, as we have lots of visitors to us for adoptions etc we are a busier home than most. He would much prefer a quieter home life, with another dog (this is essential) and will only need limited daily exercise to manage the pain from his dysplasia.

In return for giving him a lot of patience (to gain his trust) and the home he deserves, this 1 year old loyal and loving boy will give you lots of love and security. We want any potential adopters to live within 30mins drive of GU52 and our Adoption form can be found here. https://dogsnhomes.org.uk/adopt