Our Lifers - Last Chance Hotel

Last Chance Hotel has rehomed hundreds of dogs over the years......

......so many of which literally on their ‘last chance’. But not all dogs that come into rescue find a new sofa to snooze on… these are our ‘lifers’, remaining in loving ‘end of life’ foster homes, often because of a medical or behavioural issue.

We are gradually building this website page, with information on our Lifers, please look in from time to time as we add more dogs. Hover and/or click each individual photo to read their full story.

Donations towards our Lifers are warmly welcomed.

Click to go to our donations page

12 year old Gemma has been in foster with Carla since she arrived in January 2019. A timid girl, she has come a long way since joining LCH and is now comfortable and feels safe with Carla’s Staffie boys. In July, Gemma underwent tests for Cushing’s disease, and was diagnosed positive. Cushing’s disease cannot be cured, but can be managed, and treatment will cost approximately £49 a month, even without the essential regular blood tests. Gemma deserves a chance of a full, happy life, and LCH will be there to support her all the way.

ODO Older dogs, in general, are much harder to rehome. But when faced with this 13 year old boy on death row, we could not turn away. Handsome Odo, now 16 years old, is in ‘end of life’ foster care - loved, and wanting for nothing in his twilight years. Three years ago, he found himself in the pound and due to be PTS until LCH stepped in. He came to us with mast cell tumours which were removed and to this day have stayed away, so fingers and paws crossed they will never come back. Odo is in end of life foster care with Carla and her Staffie family. She says "He is the most gentle soul I have ever met in a dog and loves everyone and every dog. I will never understand how his owners ever dumped him. He is the most beautiful boy ever." Odo has thrived on love, care and a sense of safety, which is what every dog needs and deserves in life. His expression says it all..... "Thank you for looking after me"

Squiddly Diddly the polydactyl puss Squid was born in April 2019 with badly deformed back legs and 26 toes (a normal cat has 18). Sadly his mummy cat rejected him, most likely due to his deformities. Luckily for Squid, his owner decided to hand rear him herself. His legs were gently massaged and then splinted and are now as near to “normal” as they can be. Due to his extra toes he may well need two of his inner thumbs removed later on in life as the claws on these toes will not get any natural wear and can grow into his pads. Also due to his deformities at birth he is highly likely to get arthritis as he ages so will need ongoing vet care to manage any pain. For this reason it was decided that he will stay within LCH under the care of one of our fosterers to ensure that he receives any medical treatment necessary. HIGH 6 SQUID!!

MEET TOBY This sweet boy has been in end of life foster with Paul since November 2017. At 15, Toby has various age related problems, and has recently had to have a lump removed from his paw. Whilst he was under anaesthetic, the vet also removed some warts from Toby’s head and body, because they were getting a little sore where he was catching them. The estimate for his vet work was £420, on top of his average monthly bill of £40 for most of 2019. But Toby is worth it, just look at him, posing for a pic with his dad. We would like to thank the many very kind and generous people who donated towards Toby's vet bill. His operation was a success, and he is back home with his foster dad.

SKY...This beautiful girl came into rescue in March 2018. Her previous owner had taken her to have her PTS, but thankfully the vet contacted us, and she went into emergency foster with Gina. Not only was she very obese, but she was shut down with fear, and it was hard to get her to eat. This little soul had very likely been used for breeding....Shortly after her rescue, Sky moved in with her new family who adore her. They took time with her, got her weight down, and spoil her, just a little... Sky is 13 now, and we hope she has many very happy years ahead of her, with LCH at her side.

DO YOU REMEMBER HENRY? Henry came into rescue from the pound in late 2017, just 3 years old, and severely disabled. A super friendly, chatty lad, Henry made himself at home with foster dad Andrew and family. Assessed by our vet and then taken to Somerset for an MRI, the results were not good, - firstly his back, and also maybe some brain damage. The vet thought he may have been hit quite hard on the head… The decision was taken to make the remainder of Henry’s life as enjoyable and pain free as possible and shower him with the love and affection he deserves. Andrew says “So now we have this crazy, lovable dog, several teeth missing and chatty as anything, loving life to the best of his ability, wrapping my wife and I around his little finger, taking up most of the sofa and the bed” "Loving Life" - those two words sum it up, don't they?

WHIZZY Not all of our Lifers are elderly souls with health issues, - some remain in our care due to psychological damage from their previous life. We are fortunate in having experienced and patient fosterers who will do whatever it takes to make these dogs feel safe and loved. Whizzy is 12 years old. He came into rescue in October 2016, and went straight into foster with LCH volunteer Sue. It quickly became apparent he had no trust in humans due to past abuse. It was also obvious that this boy was not able to be rehomed due to his issues. So, he has remained with Sue ever since as an end of life foster. She says "It has taken a long time and a lot of work for him to realise he can trust me, but I love him with all my heart, he is such a character. He loves his tennis balls (although they have to be the Kong ones, cheap ones are not good enough for him!)" No more worries for Whizzy, this boy is now safe and content.. in the loving arms of LCH.

FREDDIE... From loneliness to love…. Michelle Douglas, one of our fabulous ‘end of life’ fosterers, tells her own story…. "Freddie... at 13 he was put into kennels because after 10 years with a family he was being left alone so much he became destructive... they put him in the pound... He came to me with a broken heart and a smashed back tooth...he had anxiety attacks that would come at night.. I didn’t leave his side for over a year as panic would set in if I even left the room.. he wasn’t used to living with other dogs and some made him grumpy!  So many rescue dogs don’t have issues, but I am not sure if he had ever properly been loved, and the isolation he had suffered had broken him.  Fred is 14+ and we are in love!! He adores his dog family now and his life... he is my constant friend, a loving, faithful, intelligent soul.. working through things together has made our relationship intense and wonderful.  So many dogs are dumped.. old and young.. please help them, please adopt.. they need you xxx” Thank you Michelle for taking Freddie into your heart and home, and giving him the life he deserves.

LCH Sanctuary dogs....

Doods and his friend, strawberry

Doods when he arrived into rescue

The mammoth shaving session

Meet Doods, the Puli who shed his dreads

Doods had spent years in kennels where the owners and staff did nothing. He was in a lot of pain; we couldn't stroke him or touch him it hurt so much, he was incredibly aggressive with it. We rushed him straight over to The Dog House groomers after some pain relief given, and KD shaved his fur right back. The knots were so bad it took a long time. His skin underneath was badly infected, with massive welts and cysts all over. It was oozing.

As soon as we put him on the floor and took his muzzle off he was a different dog. Doods had learnt over the years that aggression kept people away and after 2 years he still carries that legacy when out of his comfort zone. Sometimes a dog is what he is, and no amount of training, etc will work. Doods is Doods and we are alright with that... we maintain his 'bubble' to keep him content.