Welfare and Rescue Scheme

The Hungarian Puli Club of Great Britain

Welfare and Rescue Scheme

The W & R Scheme had been established as long as the HPC of GB itself.  As the name would suggest it has a dual purpose; offering help and support to owners of the breed, and a service to help rescue, and potentially rehome Pulis as and when the need arises. To make use of the service, the Puli needs to be domiciled in Great Britain and their owners do not necessarily need to be members of the HPC of GB.  Unfortunately, due to limited financial resources The HPC of GB is not in the position to offer a Rescue service to Pulis domiciled outside the UK, or brought to the UK for rehoming, however, our Welfare and Rescue team members, will offer help and advice with regard to their welfare wherever we can.

Welfare

Dog ownership at the best of times is not without its difficulties and most Pulis develop without any great difficulties to become well-adjusted members of your ‘family’ group.  There can be occasions when we all need help or advice in our lives and dog ownership is no different in this respect.

All Puli owners, experienced or not, can have problems with their Puli’s coat from time to time, especially when the puppies begin the cording process, and have found it useful to have someone to talk this problem over with. It is not without good cause that this time is known as the ‘nightmare’ phase, and there is no shame in finding it difficult. Sharing this with either the breeder or someone from the HPC of GB’s W & R Scheme can prove very useful. Early intervention is better than letting the problem grow into something unmanageable and inevitably it is better for the Puli itself.

As the Puli can be naturally wary of strangers, a characteristic also mentioned in the Kennel Club’s Breed Standard, we would always recommend that your puppy is taken to socialisation classes; however, sometimes different techniques to those suggested to you at those classes are needed.  Again this is where speaking to someone with experience of the breed, or just to reassure you that you are on the right track, is something you may find helpful.

It is impossible to list the types of questions a Puli owner can have about the breed, but given the great depth & breadth of experience of Puli owners who go to make up the W& R team, hopefully at least one of them is likely to have some knowledge to help you with it.  As a resource it is here when you need it and whilst the answer or solution may not be immediately available, we will do our best to help you as best we can.

Rescue

In a sense this is a misnomer, as very few Pulis ever need rescuing in the true sense of the word, but sadly life is not always as straight forward as we would like it to be. Life events such as death, divorce, and job relocation or changes in working hours/conditions, can result in the need to find your Puli a new home.  We would always recommend that you speak to the breeder first, but where this is not possible or you feel that you would wish us to act as an intermediary with the breeder, or have no contact with the breeder; we will step into this role.  It is much better and kinder to do it this way than donate your dog to an animal shelter or advertise your dog for sale in the local newspaper not knowing if the potential new owner knows anything about the breed.  However, it should be pointed out that we cannot be involved in any transaction where the dog is offered for sale or you expect some payment for it.

We usually have a waiting list of people, the majority of whom have owned a Puli in the past, or at least know the breed well, waiting to adopt a Puli, so therefore you know your Puli will go to a home where it will be understood as a breed, and not potentially offered for rehoming or sale as something of a curiosity, fancy or fad.  The people using our scheme are vetted and wish to adopt knowing that we will only accept them if they offer a ‘forever home”.

There is a process that a member of the W & R scheme will talk you through and whilst you will no longer have contact with, hold a claim to your Puli, or know its whereabouts, you can still be given information from your local W & R Officer as to how it has settled in.

We operate a ‘best match’ system, so say for example you have children, we will look to place it with a family with children if possible.  Equally if your Puli has not had regular contact with children or is used to a more sedate lifestyle, we would look to place it in a situation where similar conditions apply.

On rare occasions, such as an owner going into hospital for a procedure and prolonged rehabilitation will be required, we will look to see if we can find a foster home if possible.  For short term admissions, we would recommend that you contact local kennels. Unfortunately, whilst we understand that this may be a costly option, we are not in a position to help with the funding for this.

The W & R scheme is only possible due to the donations made to pay for expenses of running the scheme, and all money is to be accounted for and is verified in the HPC of GB accounts which are presented at our AGM.  No member of the W & R scheme is in a paid role or is paid for the time spent working on a particular dog.

Therefore, we would anticipate, finances permitting, that anyone who has the need to seek help in rehoming a Puli, or adopting a Puli, to give some form of donation to keep the scheme running for the future.

Finally, in order to comply with the founding Constitution of the HPC of GB, the club cannot involve itself in the importation of dogs from ‘kill shelters’ around Europe, and as the name of the club indicates, our activities must be limited to Great Britain.  Whilst the Officers and Committee are sympathetic/empathetic to the plight of these poor dogs, there is a limit to finances which in turn dictates the area of operation, and to involve the club would in matters that are outside the remit of our area would be to break the Constitution on which the club was formed and registered with the Kennel Club.

Making Contact

Please use the contact details below if you have any queries or advice you feel you need assistance with.  It may be as simple as a coat care issue you need to be guided or as difficult and as stressful in finding someone to help you to re-home your Puli. It matters not: if we can help in anyway, we will try our best to do so.  If there is no W & R Officer in the areas listed below, please contact the National Coordinator in the first instance.

Welfare and Rescue Officers

National Coordinator

William Fulton, Dumfriesshire, (01461 204232)

North & Central Scotland

Anne Mc Manus, Ayrshire (01563 535338)    EBriarhill62@outlook.com

Dumfries & Galloway, Borders and Cumbria

William Fulton, Dumfriesshire, (01461 204232)       E CordantePulis@aol.com 

North East (Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, Durham, North Yorkshire)

Mike Gilchrist, Tyne & Wear.      (0191 385 3645)    E Silkata@talktalk.net

North Lincs

Jane Owen  (07985 243191)  E janieowen@hotmail.co.uk

South Yorkshire & South Manchester

Amanda Mills, S. Yorkshire. (07828406695)    E millsamanda@hotmail.co.uk

Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire & Lincolnshire

Robert Corah, Nottinghamshire.(0781 5049795) or Maria Corah (07811 509765)   

E puli_mad@hotmail.com

Norfolk & Suffolk

Christine Hudson (please contact the Coordinator in the first instance)

Herefordshire & Gloucestershire

Jacki Evans, Herefordshire. (01544 230789)   E evanszaydahpuli@aol.com

Powys

Jenny Dennis, Herefordshire  (01544 230223) hartmoor633@gmail.com

South Wales

Michelle Chesher, Pembrokeshire   (07971 921933)   E m.chesh@btinternet.com

Southern Counties

Izzy Butler, Buckinghamshire.      (01628 602659)

Essex

Lesley Cook, Essex.(0779 5435489)      E l.cook73@sky.com