Dogs Gone By/Bear

This week the rescue story that made the AP rounds was about the challenges of adopting out Big Black Dogs. It's great people are becoming educated about rescue, and the reality is the large black mixed breed dogs are the hardest to adopt out, and in many many many cases don't get another chance at all.

It's funny now to look back on how naive I was when I met Bear. He'd been a street dog for as long as anyone could remember, in a part of town where dogs running loose is commonplace. He was well known and well liked and so someone took him in and contacted us in the hopes of giving him a better life. I went over to meet him and he seemed like a nice enough dog to me, so I agreed to foster him until he could find an adoptive home. Not only was Bear a BIG BLACK DOG, he was also a chow mix. Of the breeds people tend to be leery of, I'd say chows are pretty near the top. AND not only was he an all black, large-sized chow mix, he wasn't especially pretty either. What did I know? It seemed to me he was a nice dog and if that was enough for me, it would be enough for someone else too!

As it turned out, Bear had heartworm so he stayed here throughout his treatments and recovery. And then he stayed and stayed and stayed some more. It was looking like perhaps I had made a mistake in taking him on. That fall was the first local "Dog Days of September" festival, a whole day of dog fun. Almost all the area rescues had their dogs there. One man spent literally the whole day meeting dozens of dogs, carefully weighing which one would be the right choice for him. He came back to Bear over and over, and finally Bear became his dog. A year later they stopped to say hi. Bear acknowledged me with a hello, but he never took his adoring eyes off the man who chose him.

Aussies!

We all have "our" breeds and for me, while I love a lot of different dogs, the breed I believe is absolutely perfect are Australian Shepherds. I mean, c'mon! They're beautiful, smart, energetic, and have enough of an attitude to be challenging. They're a great size, not too small, not too big, and don't require a lot of grooming to look nice. I started off with Winter when she came in as an "extra" on transport one December day. She was a fluffy gray puppy with gray eyes and it was love at first sight for me!

She was so much fun I said someday I'd get another. That someday came the next 4th of July. 4th of July seems to be the worst weekend of the year for rescue dogs. Some probably run from fear of all the commotion and are never claimed. Others are probably dumped off by people who don't want to pay the cost of boarding when they head out of town. Either way, the pound is invariably packed after the holiday. About 4 years ago, among all of the others, there was a small, young tri-colored aussie sitting nicely in his kennel, wagging his docked tail as sweet as could be. How could I resist?? Since then, Banjo has been my most loyal companion, the dog who would literally do anything at all for me. At 40 lbs, he's the one who I am sure would do whatever it took to protect me or this house.

Since then, there's an occasional aussie at the pound I go to, but it doesn't seem to be a breed that shows up a lot of the time. So, what are the odds that not one but two of the prettiest aussies I have seen show up at the same time AND go unclaimed by anyone?! Look who I picked up today!! I cannot get over how gorgeous these dogs are! They're young too, and sweet natured. Goes to show, really, that ANY dog can end up on death row. Yeah these 2 will get another chance, but don't believe for one minute that is always the case.

I'm calling the blue merle "Blue" for now, because it amuses me. As it happens, a friend of mine lost one of her blue merles not too long ago, so he will go to a great home with her.

And this is Ruby. Right now, we're not sure if she'll be available for adoption......or not. :)

Puppy Mill Dogs

Some of the puppy mill dogs we've saved.

Shelly and Sherman, before: we were shocked to find a purebred schnauzer under all that!

And after: the grooming part was easy. Teaching them it was OK to be dogs took much longer.

Otto Von Bismarck is another one who came in as a mystery breed.

Look at the sweet dog under that matted filthy coat!

And then there's Fiona. Her ears had been infected for so long they will always be deformed. Her adoptive family were such dedicated Scottie rescuers, they flew here from Oregon to adopt her.

accolades for Oprah

I watched her puppy mill show at my mom's. Big mistake. I cried through the whole hour. You'd think those of us who know all of this already would become immune but it never happens. I was surprised at how hard hitting it was. She didn't pull a single punch. Here's dogs with missing feet, dead dogs left to rot. I'll never get the images of the dogs being "let out" of their tiny box cages to run in hamster wheels out of my head. And yes, SHOW these dogs being walked down shelter corridors to their deaths. Even in rescue, there's so many people who don't want to face those facts. You have to. They die. All the time, all over, nice dogs who really do want to live, and then they're packed up like the garbage many believe them to be, and hauled away, to make room for still more.
I don't know how much change an hour will make but I do believe making these facts mainstream will have a big impact. In a way it seems nearly shocking this is still "new" to anyone. Rescue is very big here, pet stores that sell puppies are nearly non-existent. Still there are certainly puppy millers. I see those dogs all the time. Thank you to Oprah for giving them the attention they deserve.

One More for the Stupid Files/Rory

A week or two ago, there was a really nice-looking cocker spaniel at the pound. The dog warden said the owner signed him over because she "didn’t like how he was acting" around kids. She said he hadn’t bitten anyone. He seemed nice enough to me, wagged his tail when I talked to him, let me rub his back and check his teeth with no problem. I brought him back here before he went to rescue. He’s great with my 9 year old, although that doesn’t really count as much of a "kid evaluation" because all dogs love her. She has him on her bed while we get a picture and she says, "hey, there’s some kind of metal thing stuck to his leg." I look, and sure enough, someone had wrapped a metal headband complete with wire prongs so tightly in his fur that he yelped and tried to get away when I barely touched it. Can you freaking believe it? Some kid was probably playing "dress-up" with the dog, and once it got completely tangled, was trying to yank it out. The dog does what any of US would do too, and tries to get away or her to stop. Next thing you know, he’s tossed in the car, and dropped off at the pound, without his owner making the least amount of effort to find out WHY he was suddenly acting out.

Oh yeah and imagine the outcome if he had defended himself by biting. Then he would have been put down as aggressive and no one would have ever bothered to find out why.

As it ended up, Rory was happily adopted to a family with a whole bunch of kids.

Names

I know when you read about the fox and Boston terriers, you'll be thinking "where in the heck does she come up with these names?" Well, I didn't name those two, but there is logic to the choices. Boston terrier: Cheers. Get it?

The rule when I started going to pounds was whoever brings them in gets to name them. That is a fun fringe benefit.....for about the first few 100 dogs. I still name some of them, the intake coordinator names some of them, and sometimes the foster parent gets to name them, as thanks for taking them in. Without the fosters, none of these dogs get out of there alive. Fact is though, when I come up with a name I really really like for that dog, the new owner almost invariably changes it. When I toss one out in desperation at the last minute at the vet's office, the dog will almost certainly be stuck with it for life.

Whisper

I was at the pound today picking up:
Carla Tortelli

and Cliff Claven
.
(Sorry about the lousy pictures. When it's freezing in April, you see how long you want to stand around getting a dog to look nice!)

It's not unusual to head on over there and find more or different dogs than I went for in the first place. Today when I walked in, the dog warden said a woman was just there and dropped off her mother's dog. She died and no one is able to care for him. He's a schnauzer mix, 1 1/2, neutered, just had his shots. His name is Whisper. Sight unseen I say, sure I'll take him. I walk back to the kennels and there's this tiny gray dog, backing up and barking his head off at me, obviously scared to death and looking like he'd be more than happy to bite me if I move too quickly. I go back out to the car to get a leash and a treat to try to win him over. When I walk back in, the little dog is running across the room, with the dog warden's 90 lb red doberman in hot pursuit. The dog warden had gone back to see if he could grab him for me, and he raced out of the kennel instead. The dobie loves other dogs and really only wanted to play. I'd just about bet if he were chasing any of us, "oh he just wants to play!" wouldn't be the first thought that crossed our mind, and it was no different for a 8 lb little dog who doesn't know how the hell he ended up in this place to begin with. We got the dobie out of the way, which left Whisper snarling and snapping in a corner. I wouldn't mess with most dogs if they were acting this way. This one got another shot at it because he just came in and had no time to adjust before he was hit with all of this chaos, and also because he's a tiny little dog. Fair or not, little dogs get away with more. I looped the leash over his head, gave it a tug and he was happy to get the hell out of there, even if it was with me. He got right in the car with no problems. We had to take the other dogs to meet the foster, and every time I stopped, I talked to him a bit, and by the time I got home, he would let me pet him. Still he's absolutely terrified. It's heartbreaking. I put him in the crate in my bathroom/short term boarding kennel for pound dogs and leave him to chill out a bit. Every time I check on him, he is a wreck, growling, backing into the corner. I leave the crate door open so he won't feel as trapped. I still can't get near him again. He is shaking so hard the water in the bowl in his crate is moving. I talk to him the whole time, tell him I know he's very scared but no one is going to hurt him and he has to get over it. He just looks at me with some of the saddest eyes I've ever seen. I'll tell ya, I am notorious for ending up with fosters who take forever to get adopted and while I'm sitting on the floor with Cujo Jr snarling every time I move my hand towards him, I'm thinking this one isn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon either.
As luck would have it, one time I walked in eating a piece of pecan bread, and since I'm always willing to share, I held out a small bite. Miracles of miracles, he scooted right over and ate it right out of my hand! And then a few more bites. Then he let me pet him again. And from there on in, he is my new best friend. He came right out of the crate, walked by me, walked around the room, came when I said "come here," got on my lap, nudged me to pet him. Pecan bread. Now there's a training tip I'd never tried before! He's still going to need some time, and he's not going to be a dog that will work out in every home, but he is a sweet little guy and before too long, he'll be settled in for his second chance.