Introducing myself - Ria

I've been involved with fostering rescue dogs for two years, and am currently fostering Tucker, a beautiful Staffordshire Bull Terrier. You can read all about him on this forum. I also have a Patterdale Terrier, called Phoebe, who is 5 years old.

I have tended to take the 'problem' dogs because they are the ones that are harder to shift from rescue. If they don't get a chance in a normal environment, their behaviour spirals out of control in kennels, and the likelihood of them being chosen for adoption diminishes. I also am not afraid of biting or aggressive dogs, which is often how the frightened dogs in rescue present themselves. You cannot assess a dog in kennels without a structured rehabilitation programme, so fostering again is an ideal solution. Aggression and biting is so often plain and simple fear. However, it is imperative that you also involve the correct trained professionals, and I am not that, so I rely on support from the right quarters.

I am very lucky to be able to take my dogs to work - it helps when you own the business. It also means that I can deal with dogs with separation anxiety issues. When we first fostered Tucker, he couldn't be trusted for five minutes. He is now more than happy to be left for the occasional half day.

We live in Tenbury Wells, which is beautifully rural and we are blessed with wonderful country walks all around. I'm very happily married to Phil, and we've been together for over 33 years and married for 32 (now I feel old ). Our software business is also in Tenbury, just a couple of miles from home. For some reason, Phil is seen as the oracle on all things computer - I think a few of our friends in this group will admit their technophobia and their reliance on him to sort them out!

My own background before I joined the business was senior management in the Post Office. I took voluntary redundancy in 1993 and then trained in complementary therapies (aromatherapy, reflexology, shiatsu), fitness (personal training, exercise and nutrition counselling) and counselling (NLP Practitioner and personal coaching). My certificates are somewhat dusty now, but it's like riding a bike - you never forget!