Anyone have rescued dogs?

[elysian]

Just wondering how many people have rescued dogs. My two girls both have rather dismal histories- Clara was left tied to a fire escape in high summer with no water. She was dehydrated, sick with a bowel infection (coccidia) and starved. When she was rescued she was likely only hours from death.

Lilo was surrendered when humane officers discovered that she and five other dogs on the property were left tied outside to dog houses all the time without proper food or adequate shelter. She was two years old and pregnant for the third time when she was rescued but she had an infection that killed all 11 of the pups she was carrying and she had to be spayed on an emergency basis to save her life.

Now they are safe in a loving home and are the best of friends. They've both been spayed, they have regular veterinary care and good food and today they are in robust good health.

Clara is the bigger dog. She is a Belgian Malinois/GSD mix. She is a good sized girl at 65# and she's about 4 years old. We have had her for two years and she's a positlve delight- bright, affectionate, a wonderful dog. Lilo is the smaller dog. She is a Chow/GSD mix, and she is about 3 years old. We have had her about a year and a half and she's a lot of fun. She's crosseyed and bowlegged and has a bit of an attitude, but she's very smart, she loves Clara to pieces and she never misses an opportunity to eat.

Sometimes Lilo likes to cram into Clara's crate with her:
http://home.att.net/~elysianhunter/claranlilo2.JPG

[QuantaFille]

We have two dogs, one was a stray that wandered onto our property and decided that we were her new family. She was in pretty good shape, and we have no idea where she came from or anything about her history. She was already spayed. She's a Rat Terrier / Jack Russel mix, with something else that makes her tall. Her name is Leah, and of course she likes to hunt things and is very hyper.

A lady found our other dog in pretty bad shape. We think that she ran away from someone who abused her. We don't know anything about her history, since no one saw her with any previous owner. The lady that found her took care of her until she was alright enough to be adopted, and we saw her at Petsmart. She is a border collie / spaniel mix, and her name is Autumn. She is understandably a little skittish around people she doesn't know, but with us she is very laid back, and loves belly rubs to the point where if you walk past her and make eye contact, she will roll onto her back and wait. She was also spayed already.

[elysian]

Your dogs are lovely! It makes my heart glad to see they are treated well and loved!

[$cirisme]

My dog Trooper was abandoned as a puppy. The whole litter was just abandoned, and he was doing the worst, but he recovered real well and everyone at the humane society called him a real trooper and the name stuck.

I think he was abandoned in a hole, he has always been terrified of any holes (especially sewer drains on the side of the road) and will run out to the middle of the street and run past it trying to avoid any sewer drains he encounters.

It just makes me mad that for as many great animal charities that exist, people can't be bothered to take their pets/strays there and let them have a better life than starving to death.

[elysian]

I have a real problem with people who get dogs and then just tie them to a doghouse outside. They need outside time and exercise, just like humans do, but they can't withstand inclement weather and extremes of temperature much better than we can. Dogs are also social animals- they need interaction with people as well as with other dogs, so they tend to be much healthier physically and emotionally if they are kept inside as part of the family.

Because of overpopulation as well as health risks to dogs related to breeding (fights, pregnancy complications, diseases of the reproductive tracts,) most dogs kept as pets should be spayed or neutered to prevent unplanned breeding. I got both of my girls through a rescue organization- Dogs Deserve Better (http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/home.html) - who works with the local humane societies and shelters to place rescued dogs. Part of DDB's mission is education on the proper care and treatment of dogs as well.

[QuantaFille]

Most of our neighbors leave their dogs outside here. Nobody ever plays with them, and they are rarely allowed inside the house. Even with the ones that make sure the dog has water, it's still sad to see the dogs lonely and bored all day. And it gets hot here in the summer.
And people wonder why the dog tries to dig its way out under the fence. :no:

[Rahab]

(((Elysian)))

We have two rescued dogs of the same breed. I had found out that there is a multitude of rescue organizations in various states who have a foster program for their dogs until they can be adopted. We adopted our first Pyr and fostered the second one until we broke down and adopted him. They will have the dogs vet checked for heart worms and treated if necessary, spayed or neutered. Many folks do not know of the existence of such rescue clubs dedicated to take in and rescue from "kill shelters" specific breeds and mixed dogs of those breeds.

Ours, the Great Pyr Rescue Club of Florida, took in dogs that had been extremely neglicted or abused. Such as one who had been found tied up like a pig and thrown from a truck. Others, covered with ticks and fleas, testing positive for heart worms. Since they can be treated only once for HW, some are simply condemned and have a limited longevity.

I was amazed to see how many of those organizations succesfuly foster dogs and place them with loving families.

The foster program is important because we do not always know the circumstances and origines of the rescued animal. Some need a time of readaptation, training or simply the reassurance that they are worthy of love. Some have been literaly traumatized by unscrupulous owners. They can become anti social. It is almost some sort of rehab program for some of those furry "persons".

We say of our Great Pyrs that they are like ...potato chips. You can never stop with one.

When living in Italy, we had rescued a female puppy abandonned on the side of the road in the Abruzzi mountains. It was not uncommon to find some of those Mastino Abruzzese females as the shepherds used mostly males to herd their sheep and goats. They kept one or two females for breeding and "dumped" the rest. Those dogs are cousins to the Great Pyr and the Kuvasz. White gentle giants, loyal and extremely territorial. They own you once you adopt them.

We had close to 60.000 stray dogs just in Napoli itself. Many would tragicaly end up as "road kills".

[Dave G]

I have a Boston Terrier mix that I adopted a few months ago. I got him from a Second Chance shelter.
He's a little crosseyed, stout and has a longer muzzle than full blood Terriers.
I think he's between 2 and 3 years old....I don't know how they came to get him.
The shelter has been great, though, giving medicine and treats as well as toys. I can continue to go to them with problems.
One problem with Buddy is he whines and howls incessantly when I leave.
But I started crating him again and that is seeming to do the trick.

[Rahab]

Most of our neighbors leave their dogs outside here. Nobody ever plays with them, and they are rarely allowed inside the house. Even with the ones that make sure the dog has water, it's still sad to see the dogs lonely and bored all day. And it gets hot here in the summer.
And people wonder why the dog tries to dig its way out under the fence. :no: Some breeds instinctively are a flight risk or dig huge pits because they love to rub and mess in the dirt! Our two "polar bears" have formed craters in the backyard despite of being primarely inside our home. Big breeds such as ours need to have large spaces to roam around and guard. They need to feel that they are given a task. They patrol around the fence each time I let them out to play. And once in a while our female will dig her way under the fence to go after a racoon or possum or some other critter which she percieves as an offender to her territory.

Our male, Milo, is absolutly superb when doing his patroling routine. Tail curled all the way up, majestic huge head sniffing into the breeze, paws (they have an extra toe in the back for mountain terrain) solidly planted and a bark which means to deter bears....quite impressive and so contrary to his "puppy" posture when rolling on his back to get his belly rubbed.

Such large working breeds retain a wandering/patroling instinct and it is very important to provide them with a balance between outdoor and indoor living space. In the summer, we have to "kick" them out for their potty needs. They know that AC is dog heaven!

I spend time each day having to collect dirt, grass, etc our "babies" bring back from our yard. Plus their year round shedding. When I brush their coat outside, you would think that a herd of sheep went by.

The problem IMO with folks not spending time with their dogs or leaving them outside all the time is that the cute puppy they fell for has grown to be a responsibility and a family member to care for and interact with. Sometime people want only the "cute fluffy" aspect of a dog and not the care that is necessary to provide.

[Kate]

We have had one rescue dog and one purchased through a retailer. Our dog, Dritz, is a lab/spaniel mix. He looks a lot like a field spaniel, but we're only making guesses as he was a rescue dog. He was 5 months old (thereabouts) when I walked into the Humane Society and fell in love with him (I was looking for a girl and a much smaller dog at that). The only story they had was that he was found the day after Christmas. He had been dumped by some railroad tracks. We have added bits and pieces to his story, but it's only theory. We are pretty sure that he was dumped when his first owners were making a move. He literally freaked out each and every time we moved. He starts to see the boxes accumulate and he would start chewing on the boxes. Our trainer told us to put him in one of the boxes and set him with the other boxes that were packed and ready to go and reassure him that he was going with us. We were shocked when this actually worked. We moved twice before settling for 7 years and then moved again just 6 months ago. This last move we did not see the normal chewing of boxes thing. So, either he finally realizes he's with us to stay, or he's just too old to care anymore. (He'll be 10 this July)

The other dog we have had was a Jack Russell / Beagle mix. The store we purchased her from had advertised her as a Fox Terrier / Beagle mix. She was, and still is, a beautiful dog. She is a very very immature dog and was meant for a family with no children, which is what we were when we bought her. She was 8 weeks (or so they told us) but showed signs that she had been weaned way to early. Anyway, after we finally had our first child, she did alright until he was able to walk. Then it was a constant battle to keep him from trying to corner her. Mind you that we lived in a two bedroom apartment, which is NOT ideal for raising a JRT. Anyway, she started to nip our son. Each time would get progressively worse, but she never broke the skin. Came close the last time, though. When we were on vacation, my parents were watching the two dogs. We had just found out I was pregnant with our daughter and while we were away, my parents called us and told us it would be best to just leave Katana with them. After much crying (l love that dog) we decided they were right and she has lived with them for 4 years this June. I get to see her on a regular basis now that we live 5 minutes away from her, so that is great.

Okay, so all of this was to tell you this: it has been my experience that rescue dogs seem to know that they have been rescued and you can see their gratefulness in their attitudes. The dogs that are purchased seem to feel they are entitled to the finer things in life. I may be way off base, but I intend to adopt rescue dogs and are done with purchasing them.

JMHO

[Crow]

My rescued dog died of old age about 10 years ago.

I bought him from a shelter for 40 bucks. They had probably spent several hundred dollars patching him together. He was a large dog and weighed 45 lbs. when I got him. He was still recovering from a gunshot wound to the face, and had put on weight while at the shelter. He came in at 35 lbs.

A year later he was a beautiful specimen of a Doberman with a small scar under his right eye from a small caliber gunshot. He weighed 75 lbs and was not fat. And he was one of the nicest dispositioned dogs I've ever met.

A breeder approached me at an obedience training class one night and asked what had possessed me to neuter such a great specimen of a dog, one that would have been a good dog for show and breeding. When I told her his story, she was shocked. She pointed out stuff to me that a non-breeder (my main breed was foxhounds) wouldn't know. Rex was show quality in conformation and had a show crop on his ears, something you wouldn't find in the pet market. Someone had spent a great deal of money breeding this dog, getting a show crop, and had gone through the considerable trouble and possessed the skill and knowledge to get a long crop to stand correctly. Someone had paid a great deal of money to purchase this dog. And then he ended up starved, shot, and wired to a shelter gate.

The human capacity for sheer bonecrushing stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

Anyone who thinks who thinks that you can't get an outstanding dog from a rescue is dead wrong. Excellent purebred dogs end up in shelters every day--they aren't just for mutts. Finding a rescue dobe in bad shape turned out to be an incredible stroke of luck. For thirteen years he was a well behaved and loyal companion.

Possums, however, are a different matter.........

[Nang]

My rescued dog died of old age about 10 years ago.

I bought him from a shelter for 40 bucks. They had probably spent several hundred dollars patching him together. He was a large dog and weighed 45 lbs. when I got him. He was still recovering from a gunshot wound to the face, and had put on weight while at the shelter. He came in at 35 lbs.

A year later he was a beautiful specimen of a Doberman with a small scar under his right eye from a small caliber gunshot. He weighed 75 lbs and was not fat. And he was one of the nicest dispositioned dogs I've ever met.

A breeder approached me at an obedience training class one night and asked what had possessed me to neuter such a great specimen of a dog, one that would have been a good dog for show and breeding. When I told her his story, she was shocked. She pointed out stuff to me that a non-breeder (my main breed was foxhounds) wouldn't know. Rex was show quality in conformation and had a show crop on his ears, something you wouldn't find in the pet market. Someone had spent a great deal of money breeding this dog, getting a show crop, and had gone through the considerable trouble and possessed the skill and knowledge to get a long crop to stand correctly. Someone had paid a great deal of money to purchase this dog. And then he ended up starved, shot, and wired to a shelter gate.

The human capacity for sheer bonecrushing stupidity never ceases to amaze me.

Anyone who thinks who thinks that you can't get an outstanding dog from a rescue is dead wrong. Excellent purebred dogs end up in shelters every day--they aren't just for mutts. Finding a rescue dobe in bad shape turned out to be an incredible stroke of luck. For thirteen years he was a well behaved and loyal companion.

Possums, however, are a different matter.........

This was a fine and uplifting story, Bird, and I am so glad such a fine animal found a good home with you . . .:thumb:

From what I am learning just recently, possums are very bad news, dirty and smelly, ill-behaved, crude, and deserving to be left out in the wild; never to be invited into civil surroundings.

Nang

[shadowpossum]

Why is everybody always picking on poor little possums?

[Nang]

Why is everybody always picking on poor little possums?


I was just running a test to see if possums read the Animal Husbandry forum.

Now we have a problem, for apparently they do.

:eww:

[Pilgrim]

I have a border collie that was the puppy of a rescued dog. The mother was found starving and pregnant. Then we think that our little Lily was mishandled by the children in the household where the pups were kept because she has a fear biting response.

We love her though and for the family is a wonderful dog.

[Nang]

I have a border collie that was the puppy of a rescued dog. The mother was found starving and pregnant. Then we think that our little Lily was mishandled by the children in the household where the pups were kept because she has a fear biting response.

We love her though and for the family is a wonderful dog.

Is that beautiful child in your avatar related to you? Gorgeous!!!

[Pilgrim]

Is that beautiful child in your avatar related to you? Gorgeous!!!

Yep! :beam: that's my little boy Theo. One month old last Thursday.

[QuantaFille]

Why is everybody always picking on poor little possums?

My dog Leah likes to chase possums.

[Johnny MacManky]

Our doggie was a rescue dog, but she'd not had a hard time.

As far as we can tell, she'd strayed and her owners didn't take her back. (There is a fee of about £50 / $100 if your dog gets taken to the pound.) I just cannot imagine why anyone wouldn't want her as she's a great dog... Maybe she was a Christmas gift puppy that they couldn't cope with... I dunno?

She is mostly a border collie, but with some other genes in there... so she's a really smart dog - needs stimulation and lots of exercise.

[Sparko]

My current dog, taz - miniature schnauzer was a rescue dog.

I got him through a schnauzer rescue society and found them through Petfinders.com

He used to belong to an old lady who used to show dogs but got too old to take care of them any more. I think he was pretty much raised in a kennel, because he had some really odd problems. He didn't know how to walk on a leash, and he didn't have a clue what stairs were. He would/could not go up or down steps. It was kinda funny.

The way I taught him steps was I put a dog treat on a step just out of his reach. He would whine and run around afraid to go up. eventually he would hop up and get the treat, then run back down. Then I moved the treat up a little higher. he ran up and got the treat and ran back down. I did this all the way to the second floor. It was hilarious watching him get almost to the top, and then run all the way back down with his treat instead of taking one or two more steps and being at the top where I was cheering him on.
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