A poorly Dalmatian puppy who was bought from an online site has overcome her fears and found a new loving home.
As a puppy, Beau was purchased from an online site, but when she became ill in February this year, her owners could not afford the vet bills and she was dropped at an RSPCA centre. 
Beau was nine-months old when she was taken to RSPCA Millbrook Animal Centre by her previous owners and she was suffering from parvovirus, which can be fatal in puppies and is very contagious to other dogs.
She was extremely poorly and bleeding heavily when she arrived on Millbrook’s doorstep and was signed over into RSPCA care. Her previous owners were told that she had been vaccinated but they never saw vaccination cards as proof and four months later, the pup became very ill.
Staff at Millbrook had to keep Beau isolated so that she did not make the other 46 dogs in their care poorly, which meant she was in isolation for a month and missed out on all everyday things puppies experience whilst growing up.
Once she had recovered, she was rehomed in April this year, but sadly she was brought back to the centre because the family found her behaviour to challenging. Beau was frightened of doorways, she was fearful of entering the house and new noises, sights and smells all seemed to terrify her.
Staff at Millbrook spent the next six months carrying our behaviour training with Beau to build up her confidence. The centre has a mock-up house called Bounces Retreat, which is complete with a TV, kettle and hoover to get dogs used to being in a home environment.
With plenty of treats and encouragement they gradually increased the noise of household appliances, keeping Beau calm and happy.
Finally, Trudy who lives in Ascot, Berkshire and previously worked for British Dalmatian Welfare, rehomed Beau in September after hearing about her from her vet. Trudy has owned 12 Dalmatians herself over the years, as well as helping to rehome over 1000 dalamatians.
Trudy said: “It was Windlesham Vets who told me about Beau so I went to Millbrook and just fell in love with her. I’ve learnt so much from Dalmatian Welfare that I knew I could help. There is so much she hasn’t experienced, which is why she gets so nervous. She missed out on her puppy hood so she is still a bit of a puppy at heart.
“She’s getting better all the time and coming on leaps and bounds. The girls at Millbrook did a fantastic job with her and I’ve carried on her training and just getting her used to all the things she never had the chance to experience as a puppy because she was so poorly.”
Joss Iveson, from RSPCA Millbrook Animal Centre, said: “Poor Beau is a fantastic dog, but she had a tough start in life that really had a negative impact on her which meant she had no idea how to be a normal dog.
“It took a long time and lots of effort to try and build up her confidence and get her used to all the experiences she would encounter in a normal home environment. To Beau, these everyday things were completely alien because she had to be isolated in kennels for an important time of her life when she should have been socialising and being a typical puppy.
“Sadly we do see people buying puppies online without knowing very much information about them and often this can result in the puppy becoming very ill because they haven’t had the right vaccinations.
We’d always encourage people to consider a rescue dog, but if you are buying a puppy make sure that they see proof of vaccinations, ensure you see the pup with its mum in a home environment and make sure to ask lots of questions to ensure you get a happy and healthy puppy.”
