RIP Reggie pt1 Easter hunt

After 4yrs without a dog, we decided we were going to rescue one. We ended up at Ponda Rosa and the little staffy cowering in the corner was my wife Debbie's choice.
The 2nd visit we took our daughter Carrie-Anne, to see how he was with kids, he took to her straight away and we bought him. Two days later we picked him up and brought him home for the first time. He was named Reggie, was 16months old and a bit skinny for a staffy. He had fur missing from his neck where he had been tethered, we vowed he would never wear a collar.
It was a bright sunny day but he seemed so solemn and sad and just laid down curled up, I lay on the lawn along side him, cuddling him for some time. Then I headed off to get him a treat.
On my return I gave him a ham bone and off he trotted, but when anyone went close to him he started growling loudly, he looked all teeth, protesting more loudly and as I inched closer to him. Then My pal Darren came walking into the garden, casually strolled straight up to him, ignoring the snarls and started patting him on his neck, he picked up his bone and ran with it over to Carrie-Anne, we knew then he was staying. Bit risky I said to Daz, “Well if he's gunna bite anyone better me than one of the kids” he said. He didn't come in the house all day, we all came to him in the garden. As the day drew on we tried to get him to come in the house on several occasions and he wouldn't. I had to carry him in on the 1st day, we had bought him a basket and had set him up to sleep in the porch.
On day two we took him out shopping in his new harness. There was a flight of stairs leading from road level to the car park and he refused to climb them at first, took some persuading to follow me up. As we walked round he was weary of the undercover walkway and wouldn't go into any of the buildings, not even the pet shop. He was still reluctant to go in the house, we thought he must have been kept outside previously. That night it came in cold and Debbie said let's bring him into the main house with us, and there he stayed for evermore.
We put food out for him all the time and made a point of petting him while he ate, he was greedy and growly at first but that soon subsided. He was allowed the run of the house and slept in the bedroom of his choice, which varied at his will. My son Daniel and Carrie-Anne were both eager to take him out at first, as kids are. Carrie-Anne would sit with him in her bedroom while doing her make-up. She even painted his nails different colours. I'm sure he deliberately walked on the grass rather than the pavement all that day so he didn't chip them.
He grew to love his home and would bark at anything that changed, Daniel had bent the rear axle on his car, we had replaced it and the old one was round the back of the house. A few hours later we let Reggie out and it wasn't long before we could hear him barking and growling at something. It was the axle. He barked if Debbie left the sweeping brush out. At balloons or carrier bags that had blown in the garden. Anything that shouldn't be there was seen as a threat. I took a video of his treatment of a birds nest that he took such offence to, it's on youtube as scary birds nest.
We all took him on walks and he would never do his business while out. He always waited until he got back home. The first time I trusted him and let him off the lead, he was off. Running full pelt down the path, with me and the kids running after him. He had gone, the build up of adrenaline as the reality dawned on me. And then a distant bark, he had run off to the horses in the next field, they had foals and he was stood a safe distance barking at them. We had found him and rushed towards him calling his name, he came to us and went straight back on the lead. He did get better and came back when we called him, but we only ever let him off the lead when there were no other animals including other dogs around.
He hated travelling in the car, the first time we took him away with us it took him 3-days before he allowed his bowels to move. Every time we went anywhere it was the same, he would hold it in as long as he could. And he always instinctively knew when we got near home, he would wake from his slumber about a mile away from home and start getting giddy. He couldn't wait to get out of the car on arrival and survey his garden.
We took him everywhere with us, always had to search for dog friendly accommodation or we didn't go. Our first holiday with him, Deb sat on the grass holding his lead, when a crow landed close by, he shot off towards it, sending her spinning a full 360 and levelled, still clutching tightly onto his lead.