Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary is a fairly small cat and dog sanctuary which opened in 1992 just outside of Bristol, in Wild Country Lane, Barrow Gurney.
A wide range of adorable dogs of different ages are available for adoption, including Jack Russell Terriers, Lurchers and Crossbreeds.
Below are 19 of the rescue centre’s adorable dogs, who would love to find a permanent home in Bristol. Some of these cute animals are living in the kennels at the centre, whilst others are staying at a ‘home from home’.
Could you be their new fur-ever family? More information about the adoption process is available via Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary’s website.
1. Snoop Dog, 7 year old male Jack Russell Terrier
"Meet Snoop dog. He came to Holly Hedge from another kennel, and they don’t have any history or knowledge of his previous life unfortunately. What they do know is this charismatic boy has some typical Terrier traits ‘fo shizzle’. He is a bit of a busybody, interested in investigating and sniffing, and is a very smart boy. Snoop loves his food, and he loves toys, whether these things he’ll ‘drop it like it’s a hot’ we’re not sure. Snoop does have some fur loss (which will grow back) from a flea allergy, which has been treated. He's done a little bit of socialising with other dogs here, and with careful, slow introduction he can walk parallel to, but Holly Hedge think he would be best suited to being an only pet. Snoop is also friendly, cuddly, and easy to fall in love with. He has so many admirers here ‘it’s kind of hard bein’ Snoop D-O-G’" | Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary
2. Bruce, 6 year old male Staffy
"Meet the very handsome Bruce, this lovely boy is desperate to find himself a home. Holly Hedge didn’t know much about Bruce when he came into their care; he’s been with them a few months now and they feel he is ready to find his forever home. Bruce is a loving boy and does take some time getting to know you, but loves his food, so nothing a treat doesn’t fix! Bruce loves his walks and having a good snooze when he gets back! He is super smart and loves all his enrichment feeders and puzzles. He enjoys a cuddle with his carers, and is very emotionally intelligent so will pick up on how you are feeling, while also being a sensitive boy. Bruce loves his human company and can struggle here when being left and sometimes when he gets overwhelmed, he can jump up and grab the lead and this can turn into him humping. But this behaviour has lessened massively over time and he is very quick to stop if you ask him to, and he only shows these behaviours when he is feeling worried. So we do feel that with company and a routine, this shouldn’t be an issue once settled in a home. Bruce has been checked by the vet and has been given a clean bill of health. " | Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary
3. Suki, approximately 3 year old female crossbreed
"Meet Suki, the gorgeous crossbreed who loves absolutely everyone that she meets and is a firm favourite with all the volunteers. Suki loves nothing more than spending time with people and loves to sit on your lap for cuddles (she is a giant lapdog!) She is so affectionate and always puts a smile on our faces. Prior to arriving at Holly Hedge, Suki had quite an unsettled start to life and therefore she does struggle with separation anxiety. Because of this, she is looking for a home where there are multiple people around so that she does not have to be left by herself whilst this is being worked on and Holly Hedge will provide support to help her new owners work through this with her. Suki walks beautifully on the lead and loves going for long walks around our woodland and having a good run around our secure fields too. However, Suki is equally as happy to just spend time with her humans and loves learning new things and having various enrichment activities to keep her mind busy. She’s super smart and loves any opportunity to use her brain. Suki is not the biggest fan of wet, cold weather and would love a comfy sofa to snooze on! A quiet home would be ideal for Suki where she has access to walks away from other dogs as she can be quite reactive to dogs. We are currently muzzle training her to help with this and she’s picking it up really quickly." | Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary
4. Lily, 3 year old female Lurcher
"Lily is a gorgeous young lurcher who came to Holly Hedge as a stray and therefore they have no background history on her. Unfortunately, Lily arrived in kennels at a very young age and has been with them for some time. Consequently she has spent most of her life in kennels, so can find things that most dogs have been exposed to from an early age very overwhelming. Her new owners will need to be patient and take their time to desensitise Lily to a home environment. Lily is super smart and they are yet to find a puzzle she cannot solve! She will need a home that provides her with both mental stimulation and appropriate exercise. Lily has some good basic training for her new owners to build upon, knowing sit and having fairly good recall in our secure field. She’s ready for someone to continue her training so that she can mature into a well mannered girl. Lily can be quite a worried girl and finds the world overwhelming at times (likely due to spending most of her life in kennels and not having much exposure to much of the outside world). Therefore we are looking for a home with someone patient who is willing to gently expose her to new things that she may find scary, so that she can grow in confidence and learn that the world isn’t such a scary place after all. Whilst Lily is good with dogs, she can be a little full on for most dogs and can also get quite frustrated when she cannot play with them. This is something that we have been working hard on and she has made lots of doggy friends here at the sanctuary who have helped to improve her social skills! However, we feel that Lily would be best as an only dog whilst her new owners continue her socialisation. They’ll also need to ensure she has down time when she can relax and decompress. Lily sometimes struggles with self control and can get a little frustrated at times. This can lead to her jumping up and grabbing in an attempt to cope. However, she is easily redirected from this behaviour into something more positive and makes good choices with a little guidance. This is a behaviour we see much less of now. Lily is super affectionate and loves to snuggle up on the sofa for cuddles. We feel that Lily would benefit from having someone home most of the time so that she has the company and reassurance that she needs to help her settle into a home. Lily forms strong bonds with the people who care for her. We feel that she will be an incredibly loyal, loving girl as she has so much love to give!" | Holly Hedge