A dog rescue charity in East Yorkshire has gone the extra mile to find the perfect home – over 400 miles away – for one dog!

Staff at Jerry Green Dog Rescue’s Gilberdyke centre has re-homed Benji, a 15-month-old Chihuahua cross Yorkshire Terrier, to a new home in Jersey.

Tina Syvret, an experienced dog handler, and her husband David contacted Jerry Green Dog Rescue when they learnt about Benji on a dedicated dog agility website.

Staff at the centre sent photos and videos of the dog to the couple before they travelled over 400 miles to meet Benji and adopt him.

“We noticed Benji’s high energy and flair with the agility equipment and felt he would best suit an active home to match his lively character. By advertising him on websites dedicated to dog agility, as well as our own website, we hoped to spark interest from people interested in dogs with such skills,” said Denise Brown, East Yorkshire Centre Deputy Manager for Jerry Green Dog Rescue.

“We are committed to finding a forever home for our dogs so we’re always happy to go the extra mile to make sure it’s a perfect match. Because Tina and David lived so far away we sent plenty of videos and photographs of Benji so they could get to know his personality. We spoke over the phone a lot too to find out about their home and if it would be a suitable environment.

“The couple travelled up from Jersey to finally meet Benji and it was clear that they were a perfect match. Benji has since moved into his new home and I hear he is settling in very well.”

Tina, who is an instructor for the Jersey Junior Dog Handler Association, added: “I was looking for a new dog to train and felt an instant connection with Benji when I stumbled upon him; there was something striking about his cheeky face that I couldn’t resist.

“The staff at Jerry Green Dog Rescue were fantastic and very helpful. Despite the distance I liaised with the centre with ease, we sent each other videos and had numerous phone calls before even meeting Benji.”

Tina and her husband David are experienced dog owners and now have a total of six dogs in their care, three of which are also rescue dogs. She trains all her dogs and regularly competes in agility competitions in Jersey and England.

“Benji is great and is settling in well. I am looking forward to training him, he has already shown me some of his skills on my agility equipment and he is full of energy!” she added.

Previously Benji lived in a family home in Hull but was passed on to the care of Jerry Green Dog Rescue in August 2013 after his owners found it difficult to provide the attention he required.

ENDS

Follow us on Twitter @jerrygreendogs
Find us on Facebook : facebook.com/pages/Jerry-Green-Dog-Rescue/
Visit: www.jerrygreendogs.org.uk

Notes to editors:

Jerry Green Dog Rescue was founded in 1961 in Broughton, Lincolnshire and is now one of the UK’s largest dog rescue charities. It has rescue centres in five locations:

 Gilberdyke, East Yorkshire
 Blidworth near Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
 Broughton near Brigg, North Lincolnshire
 Algarkirk near Boston, Lincolnshire
 Thirsk, North Yorkshire

Jerry Green Dog Rescue has a caring ethos which puts the dogs in its care at the centre of everything it does. It also operates a policy whereby prospective adopters are introduced to dogs in a neutral environment away from the kennel, resulting in less stress for the dog and increasing the chances of permanent homes being found.

The adoption process at Jerry Green Dog Rescue involves a number of introductory visits and the rehoming team provide pre and post adoption support to ensure the move to the dog’s new home is as smooth as possible.

The charity receives no Government or National Lottery funding.  This means it is dependent on the generosity of public and corporate donors/sponsors.