At just eight months, this huge St Bernard puppy will be looking for her fifth home after she is rehabilitated by a rescue group urging people to stop trading dogs on Gumtree.
The pup, called Dakota, was advertised on the buy and sell site as "a St Bernard pup, typical Beethoven. Big goofy harmless baby".
But the team at Friends of Rescue say she is terrified and barks and growls, tries to hide from humans having suffered some very bad experiences in her short life. Today she is in her fourth home, a loving foster home where she is safe and in time it is hoped she will find the perfect forever home - which will be her fifth.
Read more: Adopt a dog to beat puppy farmers
A spokesperson for the charity based in Co Derry, said: "This week we welcomed an eight month old St Bernard pup. She was from a breeder, sold to whoever handed them money and then found herself on [Gumtree] last week.
"She was advertised as a St Bernard pup, a typical Beethoven, big goofy, harmless baby. Well wrong because these people write what they want and have no desire or care what cost that comes at.
"This pup is so afraid of men, terrified in fact, so terrified that she has learnt that if she growls and barks they might go away but no doubt about it this girl has had very bad experiences and she is only a baby. She has no vaccine card, no solid history and was homeless for the third time until she joined us.
"She reacted exactly how we expected her to on arrival, she wanted to be invisible, she growled and tried to get as far away as possible but her fosters are just letting her live in their home and letting her be, and she is enjoying being stroked and coming round slowly after each positive day and that’s all we can ask of her right now.
"The moral of the story is don’t use these buy and sell sites. The people on the other side of the keyboard just want your money. Your child having their fingers ripped off doesn’t matter to them. We have policies and procedures in place not because we don’t want to rehome dogs or make it impossible like some people suggest, but because we care, we care deeply about each individual life we rehome.
"So this is the start of Dakota’s journey, we are hoping with time, effort and consistency this girl can finally relax and be a pup, we just hope there isn’t any lasting damage from previous ownership. Welcome Dakota, you’re safe now."
If you would like to donate to the charity's ongoing medical costs to help animals like Dakota you can contact Vets4Pets Crescent Link in person or via phone on 0287131442, click their PayPal link: https://www.paypal.me/friendsofrescue or check out their donation page on the charity's merchandise shop: https://friendsofrescuemerch.square.site/donate
