Sooooo number 2?

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Hubby and I are united in the belief that woofbag needs a partner in crime. Work (not that I do much anyway - mainly half-days, the odd full-day I do we leave dog with lots of kongs to fill his time and hubby ducks out of work and drives 30 mile round trips to visit him at lunchtime - spoilt dog!) is about to die off completely between June - October so I'm going to be at home full-time to settle a new woofbag in.

We don't want to go back to the rescue come pound we got number 1 at - wasn't very happy with how well they knew the dogs to be honest and we just got incredibly lucky. Dog number 1 is some German Shepherd/Collie/some kind of Terrier mashup - about collie sized which is perfect for us - walked twice a day - 40 mins to an hour AM - hour or so evening - incredibly well-behaved, if a bit stupid. House is ruled by a three legged stroppy mardy cat - who still dislikes the dog immensely, dog defers to his feline overlord's rule and just gets out of the way whenever she hisses at him - so again, need a cat friendly dog (a dog-friendly cat is pushing it!).

Hubby has unfortunately ruled out my top two requests for a German Shepherd (too large :( - sorry Valhalla - we both love them really!) or a Greyhound (I love them he says they're boring :( ) so we're looking at Collie/Spaniel sized dogs really... probably starting the hunt in earnest in May (basically when I know for sure I've got test marking money coming in I can use to pay the homing fees).

After some recs for GOOD rescues in the East Midlands area... currently being drawn to the idea of a Collie - would be nice to have a dog with a not-vacant space between his ears (hubby's boss recommended wiccaweys... quite why hubby and his boss were sat looking at rescue dogs at work is beyond me) but just not sure where's good to look at E.Mids area (we're slap bang between Notts and Derby) - nearest Dogs Trust is Leeds. Won't rehome via the RSPCA for my own principles unfortunately (I refuse to support organisations that use chugger methods of fundraising).

Why not go for a Staff or cross? Clever, nthusiastic dogs of thr right size anf will be FAR easier than a collie or most spaniels IMO.

Drop an email to Denise at Dogwatch - www.dogwatchuk.com/ - she'll steer you in the right direction locally. I work alongside her regularly and she's super. Email - [email protected]

Wiccaweys will, I believe, rehome in most areas and although Valgrays, another good Collie rescue, prefer to rehome in their own (Surrey/Home Counties) area they will go further afield for a good home provided they can secure a homechecker. Contact there is the owner, Val.

Your area may well be covered by Trudie Jame's rescue, Doris Banham. Have a look at Fritz on here - he may or may not be for you but oh my, he's so much like my late, much missed ex-pound boy Monty. :(

Jerry Green's has rescues roughly in your area but I note that they only homecheck for large breeds/SBT etc so I would urge caution and would strongly advise that you INSIST on one regardless if you see a dog you like with them, for YOUR sake as well as the dog's, so that any potential problems can be ironed out in advance. Better to be told to fix the hole in the fence before the dog arrives than to spend two weeks of heartaching looking for him once he's got there and escaped through that hole, only to find him dead on the local railway line. I have only had brief contact with one branch of Jerry Green's so can't recommend personally.

There are also the many breed rescues which rehome across the country too - are you sure about not having a GSD...? :o

I would LOVE a GSD (got a soft spot for the one at the park with a wonky ear)... but we don't have space for a larger dog! Think the dog would love a GSD too to be honest - they're the one real type of dog he goes nuts to play with - I'm working on the husband on that front! Think it would terrify my step father though who's quite dog-wary, really didn't like ours when he first met him and then reluctantly concluded at 3am in the morning apparently "that dog's very strange, he doesn't slobber, he doesn't bark or jump up - I think I like him and he can come to stay again"... think he'd run away screaming from a German Shepherd!

Many Tears often has quite a few collies, springers and "sprollies" (springer x collie). Depending on your doggie preferences, that may be a cross made in heaven or hell . You can guarantee, though, that it wouldn't be boring!

It is always hard for me to resist looking at Prodogs direct. Mostly the dogs are in London and SE but I noticed that May is in foster care in Loughborough.