Ernie

Dogs: To be the only dog in the home
Cats: Yes
Children: No

Ernie most likely once had an owner who let him walk himself, the reason we believe that is because the fur on his neck indicated that he had been wearing a collar that was a bit too tight.

In 2020 he was picked up by a local pound on the streets of Nis in Serbia and taken for their catch, neuter, release program. Once he was neutered, he was meant to be released back to where he was found but when he was caught the vet noted various bite marks on him.
Decision was made to keep him until a home can be found so that he didn’t have to go back on the streets.

Ernie was lucky enough to find his forever home in the UK and has been spoilt rotten for the last couple of years. Sadly, he’s having to move after him and the resident dog (also one of ours who was adopted first) had an altercation which resulted in poor Hester needing stitches to her leg.

They were home alone at the time and it is unknown what actually happened but due to Hester’s age, decision has been made that it is best that Ernie finds a new forever home. To be clear, they’re totally fine living together under supervision and have not had any dramas since the fight, however they don’t like being separated when owner leaves the house and current owner doesn’t feel safe leaving them together, just in case. His current owner is devastated but with our agreement we feel he’s better off in a home as an only dog so he can have all the attention to himself.

This is what his current owner has to say:
Ernie is an adorable and loving neutered 5 year old boy. He is a medium sized dog (about 14kg). He is a big fan of people, but is anxious around dogs. He has been living in London, but finds the noises and commotion stressful, so would be best placed to living somewhere more rural without other dogs or children.

He is an incredibly loving dog who loves a cuddle. He loves human interaction and he will follow his human around the house just in case you get up to something fun, or find a treat for him!

Ernie loves food and is quick to learn if there’s a good treat up for grabs. He can sit, stay, has good recall and will wait for his food. He loves positive praise and responds well to this type of reinforcement - likes to be told he’s a good boy. He doesn’t do well with being told off and will become fearful with shouting/anger.

Well behaved in the house, and can be left for a few hours - although he has been used to having someone around most of the time.

He is well behaved in pub/ cafe, enjoys the attention of others and will sit quietly under the table - Loves romping through fields or woodland. He is a very healthy dog and can walk quite a distance, but is also fond of home comforts, so doesn’t need excessive amounts of exercise to remain calm in the house.

Ernie loves cats and will want to make friends with them in the home (also loves eating their food, so it needs to be kept up high!) - He travels well in the car and will sit and be calm throughout journeys (he can be a bit cautious about leaving the house for the car, but is fine once he’s in there).

Loves a routine! He will wait until you wake up, but once you do, he’s excited to start his day with a roam around the garden and have his breakfast. He will take himself off to bed at 9pm. - Ernie loves a view and will happily sit at a window looking out for hours - even better if he’s got a spot in the garden where he can look out over fields.
He has long soft fur, doesn’t moult too much, you’ll just occasionally find a few hairs where he’s been sleeping. His fur doesn’t require much maintenance, he just gets an occasional brush and spring trim.

Ernie doesn’t like loud noises (won’t stay in the same room as washing machine/ dishwasher if on). He is also stressed by heavy traffic especially large vehicles (buses/ lorries etc). Some of this can be allayed through pausing and lots of positive reinforcement, but his instinct is to remove himself from the fear. He can be unpredictable with dogs and has a lot of dog anxiety which can lead him to snapping at ‘rude’ dogs or dogs which are very large. He would need to be walked on the lead around other dogs. Having said that, he is capable of being social has made some dog friends, and enjoys running/ playing with them, but can turn and snap if overwhelmed by them, so shouldn’t be left unsupervised.

Ernie is happy to walk on his lead, although he does pull. We have been working on this, and gets better after he’s had a run. He is also much better when there aren’t lots of things to make him anxious such as heavy traffic/buses or lorries. With work and focus (and lots of treats) this could be improved on

Ernie has visited some houses with young children, and can be ok if supervised. However, he is anxious with sudden/ unpredictable movements and is very cautious around groups of children (is very scared if playing games/football etc) so he needs to be in a home without children/ regular child visitors.

He mostly respects garden boundaries, however he’s quite the athlete if he spots a fox outside, so would need a secure garden with 6 ft fencing.

Ernie gets some acid reflux, which is cured by eating low fat foods and fed more frequently. He has 4 small meals through the day/evening to prevent him getting hungry; morning, lunch time, dinner time and bed time.

Current owner is happy to discuss in more detail with potential new owner and meet up for a walk to ensure a good match.

CRITERIA: We adopt our dogs to an area in England within a 3-hour drive of Cobham in Surrey. Any garden must be fully secure and have at least 6 ft boundaries. All our home checks are carried out virtually. If your initial application is successful, we will ask you for proof of ID, a video tour of your home and garden. Lastly, we carry out a video home check call.

If you feel you can offer the right home and you match our criteria, please complete our pre adoption form here: https://serbias-forgotten-paws.com/enquiry and press SEND. Please only apply if you are ready to adopt.

Home check and £400 adoption fee applies plus £25 for the safety harness that we insist all of our dogs are walked on until absolutely settled in their new home.

All of our dogs come with a pet passport, are vet checked before departing and arrive via a DEFRA registered transportation vehicle.

Serbia’s forgotten paws has been operating for over 10 years and has rehomed over 1,300 in the UK