Rowdy the Rescue

What a little love and patience can do!

Well…I had one Yorkie. I didn’t want any more dogs. Our life was planned, organized and peaceful. Then I got an email from Okanagan Small Dog Rescue – a Yorkie needed transport and possible foster care. “It will only be a couple weeks” An abandoned Yorkie lived in a drug house with backyard breeders, exposed to drugs, smoke, and then left in a Trailer Park in the middle of winter. I picked up a skinny, very smelly, shrieking little dog – and wondered what in the world am I doing? I made a committment that day and I would never turn back. We have had our Rowdy boy for 2 years now and we love him to bits! Not to say we haven’t had our ‘moments’ and we have been tested, but nothing more than we can handle. We are proud of that, and proud of our little guy! We need to stop ‘Backyard Breeding’!

New Puppy

I just wanted to share this story. My mum is a 66 year old retired lady. She has 2 cats but hasn’t had a dog in years and has always missed having one. She’s not overly mobile so I never thought a dog was a good idea and I kept telling her that. But she has her own mind and as the rare saying goes – you can’t tell a Heinz pickle nothin’. Why? Because it just doesn’t listen!

Anyway – she decided she wanted a Papillon – because they don’t require a lot of exercise and she has a big, safe backyard. She told me she could get one for $1500. Now, she’s on a pension and doesn’t have that much money so I thought this was ridiculous. I encouraged her to ask around and see if there might be one that needed rescuing. She did inquire around and found a breeder who had a one year old Papillon that did not sell – he’s kind of unfriendly and skittish. She let my mother have him. Now he’s in a good home and seems to be pretty happy. I figure it was a good thing to encourage. She loves the dog and the companionship.

My Beloved Furbabies

I love Boston Terriers!!
I have always wanted one and when I finally started searching, I found it was quite difficult  to find one. They were not that popular 12 years ago and, unfortunately, dogs’ popularity can be fueled by what dogs are popular in the movies (eg. A few years back many celebrities were toting Chihuahuas around and they became the “IN” thing. Unfortunately many ended up in pounds when the phase blew over.)

Well back to my story.It seemed that Bostons could be found at pet stores and I saw a sweet ‘lil one in Ontario while vacationing but I opted not to buy because of what I had heard about the puppy mill business. It is hard to resist the temptationto save the little guys!  But if we buy into that these mills will continue to exist! So be strong - in fact, don’t even go there looking for one!

I finally found an unexpected add in the newspaper about a litter of Bostons. Now, I know this can also be a front for puppy mills so do the homework!  When I called she said all 5 pups were gone. She had 2 dogs that she would breed from time to time and she said she’d put me on a list for the next time she had a litter.

A year later, she called and told me to come and pick one out from the litter!  Make sure you see where the puppies are from. She showed me the mom, dad and litter. We spent time talking to her, asking questions about health problems, etc. We picked out a male pup from the litter and 8 weeks later we brought Kermit home!  He was such a wonderful addition to our family and, except for the occasional ear allergy (which was soon fixed by switching his food), he was in very good health.

Two years later we called the breeder again and a year after that, we added Daisy Darling to our family!  They have been such a source of joy in our family. Unfortunately this past Dec our beloved Kermit passed away and we miss him so much, but Daisy is still with us and hopefully has a few more years to go! Dogs are such wonderful animals and all I can say is please “do the homework before buying!”  We need to end abuse and stop puppy mills!

Fostering a puppy mill dog

My husband and I have recently had the honour and privilege of fostering a dog from a puppy mill in Quebec that was recently shut down. We were expecting him to be scared and timid but were shocked by his level of fear and the way his spirit was so obviously broken. For the first 5 days he had no interest in life, shook when we went near him and slept the days away. It was heartbreaking. He didn’t even know what to do when we went outside for a walk- it was more of a drag. It enrages me that people do this to animals-that they show no compassion or kindness. These animals are broken and treated like objects. There needs to be tougher laws in place for this kind of abuse and the people who did this need to have the book thrown at them- they are ruining innocent lives. I am happy to say our foster is slowing coming out of his shell and is now showing interest in life. He needs a lot of patience and kindness and we are happy to give that to him. It has been so rewarding for us to see him come around and I hope more people think about fostering and adopting these dogs/animals that need us so badly.

Scrappy and Leo

We adopted Leo in 2010 from a local rescue group. Leo is a senior long hair miniature dachshund who came to us after a year of being in the rescue. He spent part-time at the foster home and the rest of the time kenneled at the rescue. People were nervous of him due to aggression issues. There was just something about him that caught our attention.

He is doing well although he had to have back surgery a year ago for IVDD (common in the breed). Last summer as I ended up working full-time he had a difficult time, so we tried doggy daycare until we could find a companion for Leo.

In came Scrappy who is a sweetheart. He is a 5 yr old Wire Haired Dachshund Fox Terrier cross (Foxie Doxie). The two boys are inseparable and play together very well.

My husband and I definitely believe in the saying “Please Adopt….Don’t Shop.”

Kita

Kita

I adopted my best friend back in 1999. she is a belgian malinois cross and was approximately 1.5- 2 yrs old, weighed about 30lbs, was a runner and had been badly beaten by some thug. Everyone without experience knows that they aren’t worth the effort. I took the chance on this beautiful dog and have never regretted it, except for all the stuff she chewed in the first year   It’s now 12 years later, she has had a very happy life and is still raring and ready to go for a nice long walk every day. May we have many more adventures until the day she finally decides that she is old

Melly and the the unexpected joys of adopting a senior dog.

My darling Melly, snuggled up in bed

Melly, an approximately 10 year old Chihuahua mix, came in to the Ottawa Humane Society as a stray in July 2007.  She was then was surrendered to Canadian Chihuahua Rescue and Transport (www.ccrt.net), a dog rescue group I co-founded.  I picked her up and instantly fell in love with her – all 20 pounds of her! She was morbidly obese and needed to go on a diet big-time! She stayed with me for a few days until she could hitch a ride to her foster home in Elliot Lake, ON. Melly went to her foster home and was able to lose 6 pounds in just a couple of months. I stayed in touch with her foster mom who sent me regular updates and photos – I fell more and more in love every day.

Finally, on October 11, 2007 (my birthday) I realized that I wanted Melly in my life. I officially adopted her and made the 7.5 hour one way drive to Elliot Lake to pick her up. I returned to Ottawa the same day (yes, that’s 15 hours of driving in 1 day) and together, Melly and I started an amazing relationship.

Melly and I went on to spend the next almost 4 years together. Like all dogs, her favourite things were walks and food, but she also enjoyed curling up on the ottoman at my feet while I watched TV. She was housebroken pretty much from the moment she came to CCRT and even did tricks – it boggled my mind that such a well behaved, trained dog was not claimed at the Humane Society by her owners. They obviously loved her very much to take the time to train her – but their loss was most certainly my gain!

Sadly, Melly passed away on June 13, 2011. She had not been well, but her health took a serious and unexpected decline a few days prior. We spent her last day together, just the two us and those memories are priceless.

Melly is a great example of a wonderful, older dog in rescue that is just dying to be a part of a family. Hopefully her story will encourage people to consider adopting an older dog when they are looking to add to their furry family. Melly’s story is also a testament to the wonderful relationship between shelters and rescue groups; we have a common goal and routinely work together to rescue and rehome deserving animals.

RIP my baby Melly.

Adopting Denver

From bad to good

I adopted my dog Denver from the local SPCA when she was 18 months old. Now she is 9 years old. Denver was at the SPCA because her previous people moved away, abandoning Denver and her 8 puppies. Denver was left chained to the house. As well Denver was terrified of all men when I first adopted her. With me Denver lives an active life doing agility, swimming, hiking, running along side my bike and playing in her large fenced yard. Also she is no longer afraid of anything.

I would highly recommend adopting an adult mix breed dog. For several reasons; they are already house trained or learn very quickly, they usually don’t whine at night like puppies do, they can start obedience training immediately, they won’t grow bigger then you expected, they are already spayed or neutered, mixed breeds are healthier and they appreciate a good home if they came from a bad one.

As well it’s a generous act since a lot of adult dogs are not adopted quickly. For no other reason except they are not quite as cute as puppies and they end up spending months or years in shelters.

Finding unconditional love again!

So off to Hamilton, Ont. we went. This little white rag-a-muffin met us with the foster parents at the door and was so calm and quiet. I thought great, a calm dog for a change. (Drucilla was a 118lb maniac). I picked him up and put him in my lap, they said I was the first person that he even had any interest in and that they were surprised he let me pick him up. I guess that was it. He picked me. We found out he had come from an Ohio high kill shelter. They think he may have been at a puppy mill or that he was abused. It also took us 2 weeks to name him, we finally chose Dexter, which fits him perfectly.

Dexter is still very anxious & nervous around strangers and other dogs. It is going to take time to get him to feel comfortable that no one is going to hurt him anymore, but we have all the time in the world. He is really a very sweet boy once he gets to know you. He even likes my two cats, brother Ty and sister Mia. When he got healthier, we found out he is not really a calm dog (he was very sick at the time), he is a crazy goof that makes us laugh & that he demands attention from us all the time. We just love him to pieces and he loves us right back UNCONDITIONALLY.

My rescues

Rescuing a dog is a win-win.

Whether we are removing a lonely soul from the solitude of a dog run at the local shelter, or freeing up a foster spot for the next dog in line desperately awaiting rescue, by adopting a dog, we are not only opening up a new world for them, we are opening up a new world for ourselves.

Kimber and Echo

My first dog came from a local SPCA. I had made it clear to my boyfriend (now my husband), that it was not sensible for us to adopt a big dog, and/or a dog prone to excessive shedding. We were young, inexperienced, living in a rented apartment. At one point during our tour of the SPCA, we walked by a terrified white lab mix who was cowering in the back corner of his run. We left that day without a dog and did not return for another month. When we did, that white lab mix was still there, and more terrified than ever. We decided to take him out for a walk, and he ended up coming home with us - all 75 pounds of him and his thick, white, relentlessly shedding coat. Five years later, he is still nervous and wary of strangers, but when I see him digging a hole in the sand, chasing another dog or splashing around in the water, my heart swells with pride knowing that this once terrified and emaciated shell without a friend in the world is now able to act like a dog.

My second dog came from a local rescue, Catahoula Rescue Ontario, through which I have had the pleasure of fostering several dogs. She is a German shepherd/Newfoundland mix who was going to be shot by her owner because she jumped too much. After a few years with us, she still has insatiable energy, still jumps on guests, pulls on her leash, and torments our now aging lab, but she is the most loving and loyal companion I could ever ask for.  She makes us laugh daily and has enriched our lives immensely.

Rescued dogs: we take them home, and while they get to eat regular, nutritious meals without fear of competition or of the availability of the next morsel of food, we get to watch and take pride as they gain weight and develop a healthy, shiny coat. While they get to explore the neighbourhood on walks and meet new friends at the local dog park, we get to exercise, meet new people, and enjoy some fresh air. While they get to nudge you with their cold wet noses and fulfill their desires for human touch and companionship, we get to feel what unconditional love is like.

Adopting a dog is both selfless, and selfish in the best way possible. Rescue a dog, and see for yourself!

Kimber and Echo