I am out of town this weekend. There is a JRTCA (Jack Russell Terrier Club of America) trail near Gettysburg. So, I took Friday off work and my husband and I drove to Gettysburg. We are staying in a nice golf course resort just about 20 minutes outside of Gettysburg and about 15 from the JRTCA trail. GOOD PRICE seeing the fact I used priceline.com and the fact that it is "off" season for a Gulf Course.
I have a joke that stupid stuff only happens when I am gone... well this time it took all of 1/2 hour after I left for something stupid to happen.
I received a call from a past volunteer / foster home. She use to get dogs from the shelter for me often but she moved in 2009 and has been really busy so doesn't do as much as she use to. She called me b/c she received a phone call from someone who found a JRT. The person found the JRT in the town I live in... actually only about 15 minutes from my house. She called me and gave me the number. It wasn't HER dog. Must have been a dog that she pulled for me from the shelter.
I called the person and he was very nice. Found the dog running down a 4 lane road with LOTS of traffic! Could bare to see the poor thing get hit so scooped it up and call the dog pound b/c it had a dog license on it.
I sent my mom to go pick up the dog. I was FURIOUS because I was thinking who did I let adopt a JRT from me who just allowed the dog to run down a major 4 lane road like that.
THEN here is the kicker!! My mom said that it is some sort of Shih Tzu mix and in REALLY bad shape. She said it smells REALLY bad??! Ok, now I am SUPER mad... who allowed one of my dogs to get into this condition? Which dog is this? And why the hell can't I remember who I adopted a Shih Tzu mix to in Elyria. And geez how long ago did I adopt out this dog?? It sure wasn't this year!
I called my friend Trisha and had her go check out the dog since my mom said it was in a bad shape. She sent me a picture... IT WASN'T ONE OF MY RESCUES??
How the heck the tag traced back to my old foster home / volunteer is a total mystery.
I had my mom take the dog to the vet that afternoon because Trisha said it was in pretty bad shape. The vet said the dog has probably been living outside for some time. It SMELLED like garbage, it has mats on it so bad that it was loosing its hair, the dog had fleas so badly that it has eaten it's skin RAW! The dogs teeth is SO bad that they are rotting out of it's mouth and it can't eat. My vet said it was a female spayed 10 year old Shih Tzu mix.
The dog was put on medicine and taken to the groomer today. It took the groomer 5 hours to shave and bath the dog! So does that tell you how bad of shape this poor dog was in???
Her teeth are so bad that she can't eat so I have already scheduled a dental (cleaning of teeth and pulling of bad teeth). Normal cost for a dental can be in more then $300.
I don't know who owned this dog before BUT OMG If her finding her way to me isn't fate I don't know what is. Poor dog!
And the good news is I already have a home for her.
I don't like taking in found dogs BUT there is NO way anyone with any moral values would have allowed this dog to continue to suffer. OMG! Plus the dog license by some strange accident traced back to my volunteer SO guess she really isn't a found dog, huh?!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Day Two
Today at 8:15 it will be exactly 48 hours since my Chazy passed. The death of Chaz really hit a lot of people hard. My vet office researched and researched yesterday about what exactly happened with Chaz and "could we have done anything differently?" The answer they found was NO. It turns out Chaz had a tumor in his salivary glad. The tumor spread rapidly like cancer does and took off into his blood vessels. That is why the bleeding wouldn't stop. According to everyone they talked to and all the vet books them popping what they at first thought was an abscess was the correct treatment for the tumor as well but it is 50% chance that the dog will survive. UGH!
I guess I feel some what better knowing that there wasn't anything more anyone could have done but at the same time I am sick of saving everyone else's dog and not being able to save my own. I want nothing more then my Chazy Wazy back.
Being at work is usually "get away" from whatever is going on at home but since Chaz came to work with me... well it just sucks! I walked into work today staring at his ID badge, his pillow, his blanket, his bowls, his cookie dish. UGH!
Now I begin the chapter of "How do I live with only 1 JRT??"
I guess I feel some what better knowing that there wasn't anything more anyone could have done but at the same time I am sick of saving everyone else's dog and not being able to save my own. I want nothing more then my Chazy Wazy back.
Being at work is usually "get away" from whatever is going on at home but since Chaz came to work with me... well it just sucks! I walked into work today staring at his ID badge, his pillow, his blanket, his bowls, his cookie dish. UGH!
Now I begin the chapter of "How do I live with only 1 JRT??"
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Why???
I don't understand why I can save everyone else's dog buy my own. My 2nd foster dog who I rescued in Dec 2005 died last night. We are not really sure what happened.
Sunday morning he was fine. Sunday afternoon his eye was swollen. I gave him some benadryl and the swelling went down. When I woke up Monday morning his eye was swollen shut so I took him to the vet. They said it was a bruise and sent me home with some medication and eye drops. My Monday afternoon his entire face was swollen. My mom took him back to the vet and they kept. I went after work and picked him up and they said that he has an abscess in his mouth and they pooped it. It was drain for a few days but his swelling went down and he should get better. WELL Monday night he wouldn't eat or take his medication. There was blood everywhere. Tuesday morning he LOOKED HORRIBLE! Looked like Freddy vs. Jason in the large crate he was in. My mom took him back to the vet office first thing in the morning and they put him on IV pain killers, medicine and saline solution. He seemed to be getting a little better through out the day but the vets weren't 100% sure what was going on. They even spoke with a specialist in Akron and she had never heard of anything this strange before.
At about 6:30 he was sitting up and responding to his name at the vet office and then he just fell over and his heart stopped. They were able to revive him but it was not looking good. I was at work so I sent my husband to go pick him up at the vet office and take him to the specialist in Akron. I left work and headed there as well. By the time my husband got to the specialist Chaz had stopped breathing. There was nothing anyone could do, he had lost too much blood and his heart stopped.
My sweet little boy was THE BEST DOG! Everyone always said how awesome he was and surprised about how good he was. He use to go to work with me and even had his own ID badge for work.
It just pisses me off that people DUMP there dogs when they are old, sick or they get a new dog and it is my responsibility to SAVE their dog. I can seem to save everyone's dog BUT MY MINE! How the hell is that fair?
I always wish for Karma to strike those assholes but when is MY KARMA going to kick in???
There are 12 JRT's and JRT mixes that need out of the shelter this week or they will be put down. At least half if not more are owner surrenders to the pound. I am going to be honest, I can't even think about taking any dogs in right now. I just want MY DOG BACK!!
It isn't fair.
Sunday morning he was fine. Sunday afternoon his eye was swollen. I gave him some benadryl and the swelling went down. When I woke up Monday morning his eye was swollen shut so I took him to the vet. They said it was a bruise and sent me home with some medication and eye drops. My Monday afternoon his entire face was swollen. My mom took him back to the vet and they kept. I went after work and picked him up and they said that he has an abscess in his mouth and they pooped it. It was drain for a few days but his swelling went down and he should get better. WELL Monday night he wouldn't eat or take his medication. There was blood everywhere. Tuesday morning he LOOKED HORRIBLE! Looked like Freddy vs. Jason in the large crate he was in. My mom took him back to the vet office first thing in the morning and they put him on IV pain killers, medicine and saline solution. He seemed to be getting a little better through out the day but the vets weren't 100% sure what was going on. They even spoke with a specialist in Akron and she had never heard of anything this strange before.
At about 6:30 he was sitting up and responding to his name at the vet office and then he just fell over and his heart stopped. They were able to revive him but it was not looking good. I was at work so I sent my husband to go pick him up at the vet office and take him to the specialist in Akron. I left work and headed there as well. By the time my husband got to the specialist Chaz had stopped breathing. There was nothing anyone could do, he had lost too much blood and his heart stopped.
My sweet little boy was THE BEST DOG! Everyone always said how awesome he was and surprised about how good he was. He use to go to work with me and even had his own ID badge for work.
It just pisses me off that people DUMP there dogs when they are old, sick or they get a new dog and it is my responsibility to SAVE their dog. I can seem to save everyone's dog BUT MY MINE! How the hell is that fair?
I always wish for Karma to strike those assholes but when is MY KARMA going to kick in???
There are 12 JRT's and JRT mixes that need out of the shelter this week or they will be put down. At least half if not more are owner surrenders to the pound. I am going to be honest, I can't even think about taking any dogs in right now. I just want MY DOG BACK!!
It isn't fair.
Monday, October 25, 2010
So sad
I am so disappointed in people right now. I received two emails today from people asking for me to take in their over 10 year old dog, an email from someone asking me to take their 8 year old dog b/c they are having twins in a few weeks. Their JRT is great with their 2 year old but with twins they just don't have time for a dog any more. They OF COURSE bought him as a puppy.
I really wanted to email her and be like oh you BOUGHT him then go back to the person you BOUGHT him from!! That makes me so mad. I am good enough to take your dog but not good enough for you to get a dog from!!!
Last night I was talking to a friend who knows someone who lost their two dogs. They dug out of the kennel and ran off. Well long story short they are at the pound and my friend told the person who lost the dogs that they were there. The person doesn't care. She has a new puppy in the house.
UGH!
The number of older dogs in shelters is so sad. The number of dogs in the shelter is just sad. When are things going to get better???
I really wanted to email her and be like oh you BOUGHT him then go back to the person you BOUGHT him from!! That makes me so mad. I am good enough to take your dog but not good enough for you to get a dog from!!!
Last night I was talking to a friend who knows someone who lost their two dogs. They dug out of the kennel and ran off. Well long story short they are at the pound and my friend told the person who lost the dogs that they were there. The person doesn't care. She has a new puppy in the house.
UGH!
The number of older dogs in shelters is so sad. The number of dogs in the shelter is just sad. When are things going to get better???
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Serioulsy what is wrong with people?
I need to stop going to the dog pound because it makes me hate people! I went to the pound today and there is a OLD Cocker Spaniel there who I am sure is there because she is old. She smells so bad and is so matted. Luckily my rescue friend took her. She has been there since September 30th.
Then as I was looking at the dogs there was a Rotti who was beautiful. He was laying on the floor shaking. I just wanted to go in the cage and hug him. I noticed it was an owner surrender. I went up front and asked what the deal with him was. The owner brought him because they took him to the vet and his organs are failing. They could afford to put him down at the vet office so they brought him to the dog pound. REALLY??? I hate people... you know what that dog gave you 9 years of his life, loving you, be a good boy for you and what do you do? You take him when he is not feeling well and DUMP him at the dog pound. He is scared out of his mind, laying on a cold wet smelly floor litterally waiting to be walked to the back room put in a box that is WAY WA Y small compared to his size and GASSED to death. Then once he is dead, he will be picked up by his back legs and thrown into a dumpster.
SERIOUSLY WHAT THE #()$) IS WRONG WITH YOU???? You mean to tell me you couldn't skip a meal, make payments to the vet, put it on a credit card, borrow the money, sacrifice something you were going to buy for yourself so that your pet can die with dignity! I have two words for you and only the last one is YOU.
KARMA please don't fail me now. I hope it bites them where the sun doesn't shine HARD!
Then as I was looking at the dogs there was a Rotti who was beautiful. He was laying on the floor shaking. I just wanted to go in the cage and hug him. I noticed it was an owner surrender. I went up front and asked what the deal with him was. The owner brought him because they took him to the vet and his organs are failing. They could afford to put him down at the vet office so they brought him to the dog pound. REALLY??? I hate people... you know what that dog gave you 9 years of his life, loving you, be a good boy for you and what do you do? You take him when he is not feeling well and DUMP him at the dog pound. He is scared out of his mind, laying on a cold wet smelly floor litterally waiting to be walked to the back room put in a box that is WAY WA Y small compared to his size and GASSED to death. Then once he is dead, he will be picked up by his back legs and thrown into a dumpster.
SERIOUSLY WHAT THE #()$) IS WRONG WITH YOU???? You mean to tell me you couldn't skip a meal, make payments to the vet, put it on a credit card, borrow the money, sacrifice something you were going to buy for yourself so that your pet can die with dignity! I have two words for you and only the last one is YOU.
KARMA please don't fail me now. I hope it bites them where the sun doesn't shine HARD!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Too Old??
One by One, they pass by my cage,
Too old, too worn, too broken, no way.
Way past his time, he can't run and play.
Then they shake their heads slowly and go on their way
A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is grey, and my eyes slowly fail.
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?
My family decided I didn't belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head,
Can't justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted and driven away.
When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face, and I finally had hope.
You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond this cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.
We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly, you want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
And I promise to return all the love I can give,
To you, my dear person, as long as I live.
I may be with you for a week, or for years,
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that God deems I must leave,
I know you will cry and your heart, it will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last days so dear
Too old, too worn, too broken, no way.
Way past his time, he can't run and play.
Then they shake their heads slowly and go on their way
A little old man, arthritic and sore,
It seems I am not wanted anymore.
I once had a home, I once had a bed,
A place that was warm, and where I was fed.
Now my muzzle is grey, and my eyes slowly fail.
Who wants a dog so old and so frail?
My family decided I didn't belong,
I got in their way, my attitude was wrong.
Whatever excuse they made in their head,
Can't justify how they left me for dead.
Now I sit in this cage, where day after day,
The younger dogs get adopted and driven away.
When I had almost come to the end of my rope,
You saw my face, and I finally had hope.
You saw thru the grey, and the legs bent with age,
And felt I still had life beyond this cage.
You took me home, gave me food and a bed,
And shared your own pillow with my poor tired head.
We snuggle and play, and you talk to me low,
You love me so dearly, you want me to know.
I may have lived most of my life with another,
But you outshine them with a love so much stronger.
And I promise to return all the love I can give,
To you, my dear person, as long as I live.
I may be with you for a week, or for years,
We will share many smiles, you will no doubt shed tears.
And when the time comes that God deems I must leave,
I know you will cry and your heart, it will grieve.
And when I arrive at the Bridge, all brand new,
My thoughts and my heart will still be with you.
And I will brag to all who will hear,
Of the person who made my last days so dear
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
I have to do it!
Yesterday I went to the dog pound to check out a dog for another rescue. When I got there the dog had been adopted. Hopefully that is a good thing. My pound doesn't mandatory spay / neuter so you never know what is going to happen to the dog.
I was talking to my rescue friend and she said to check out what all they had and to let her know. So, I went in and checked out the dogs that were available. There is a dog there that I can't stop thinking about. The dog was picked up as a stray and was available for adoption on Friday October 15th. This dog is OLD!! It is dead and it's eyes are so cloudy that it can't see AND it has some type of eye infection so it's eyes are basically sealed shut with eye crusties. SO GROSS!
This poor old blind, deaf, sick dog is laying on the cold concrete floor curled up like a cat. It has no idea what is going on and according to the kennel worker sleep pretty much all the time. Can't really blame it!
I feel so bad for this dog. Can you imagine being blind, deaf and not feeling well and being forced to sleep on a cold concrete floor? I mean seriously?? How it's bones must be aching. And the dog has been there AT LEAST since last Tuesday maybe even longer then that. So, a week of sleeping on cold concrete. The thought makes me sick.
No one is going to want this dog. It is a medical night mare PLUS old as dirt. The right thing to do is to have the dog put to sleep but I know the dog warden in my county isn't going to because the crazy rescue people would jump all over him for being a horrible person for put the dog down. So, the dog is going to lay their cold, sick, confused for weeks maybe even a month or hell maybe it will get so cold it will freeze to death one night. I can't imagine the dog really eats all that much.... it would barely pick it's head up for me when I went in the cage and touched it to wake it up yesterday.
UGH! PEOPLE SUCK!
Regardless if anyone agrees with me or not I can't stand to see a dog just suffer like this so I have made arrangements to do the HUMANE thing for this dog. Someone I know is going to go pick the dog up from the pound and take it to my vet office to have it (I don't even know if it is a him or her) and have it put to sleep HUMANELY! It's body will be cremated and it will no longer be in pain. It will cost me right around $100 to do this but I don't care. I REFUSE to let this dog suffer at the pound on the cold floor any longer, I REFUSE to allow this dog to die alone at the shelter either by being put in a gas chamber and then it's body thrown in the dumpster and I REFUSE to allow it to freeze to death which honestly is probably more likely because of it's age.
I wish I was the one taking it today because I really really want to hug him, make him nice and warm, give him a pain killer and then when it is put to sleep at least it had some of its final minutes on this earth not in pain and knowing someone cared right before he drifts off to sleep. BUT I am at work and totally obsessing over this dog laying on the cold concrete so I have made arrangements for someone to go pick him up and take him for me.
Poor thing! I really wish there was a way to track down the owner of this dog and just punch them in the gut! I know it wouldn't help but it would make me feel better :-) I guess all I can do is hope Karma bites them in the ass.
***update***
To make is worse. There were two but the other one that wasn't old was adopted and the old one was left to die at the shelter!!
He is now resting peacefully with God. Poor guy... I hope he knows that even though I only met him once briefly that he didn't die unloved :-(
I was talking to my rescue friend and she said to check out what all they had and to let her know. So, I went in and checked out the dogs that were available. There is a dog there that I can't stop thinking about. The dog was picked up as a stray and was available for adoption on Friday October 15th. This dog is OLD!! It is dead and it's eyes are so cloudy that it can't see AND it has some type of eye infection so it's eyes are basically sealed shut with eye crusties. SO GROSS!
This poor old blind, deaf, sick dog is laying on the cold concrete floor curled up like a cat. It has no idea what is going on and according to the kennel worker sleep pretty much all the time. Can't really blame it!
I feel so bad for this dog. Can you imagine being blind, deaf and not feeling well and being forced to sleep on a cold concrete floor? I mean seriously?? How it's bones must be aching. And the dog has been there AT LEAST since last Tuesday maybe even longer then that. So, a week of sleeping on cold concrete. The thought makes me sick.
No one is going to want this dog. It is a medical night mare PLUS old as dirt. The right thing to do is to have the dog put to sleep but I know the dog warden in my county isn't going to because the crazy rescue people would jump all over him for being a horrible person for put the dog down. So, the dog is going to lay their cold, sick, confused for weeks maybe even a month or hell maybe it will get so cold it will freeze to death one night. I can't imagine the dog really eats all that much.... it would barely pick it's head up for me when I went in the cage and touched it to wake it up yesterday.
UGH! PEOPLE SUCK!
Regardless if anyone agrees with me or not I can't stand to see a dog just suffer like this so I have made arrangements to do the HUMANE thing for this dog. Someone I know is going to go pick the dog up from the pound and take it to my vet office to have it (I don't even know if it is a him or her) and have it put to sleep HUMANELY! It's body will be cremated and it will no longer be in pain. It will cost me right around $100 to do this but I don't care. I REFUSE to let this dog suffer at the pound on the cold floor any longer, I REFUSE to allow this dog to die alone at the shelter either by being put in a gas chamber and then it's body thrown in the dumpster and I REFUSE to allow it to freeze to death which honestly is probably more likely because of it's age.
I wish I was the one taking it today because I really really want to hug him, make him nice and warm, give him a pain killer and then when it is put to sleep at least it had some of its final minutes on this earth not in pain and knowing someone cared right before he drifts off to sleep. BUT I am at work and totally obsessing over this dog laying on the cold concrete so I have made arrangements for someone to go pick him up and take him for me.
Poor thing! I really wish there was a way to track down the owner of this dog and just punch them in the gut! I know it wouldn't help but it would make me feel better :-) I guess all I can do is hope Karma bites them in the ass.
***update***
To make is worse. There were two but the other one that wasn't old was adopted and the old one was left to die at the shelter!!
He is now resting peacefully with God. Poor guy... I hope he knows that even though I only met him once briefly that he didn't die unloved :-(
Monday, October 18, 2010
YOUR DOG COULD BE NEXT!
WARNING!
I have been contacted by several people, have received several emails from other rescue folks about dogs being stolen right out of their yard, from their front porch, from their vehicle. My sister-in-laws JRT was stolen from her farm a few weeks ago. We are desperate to get him back and last night I was contacted by another women who had her two JRT"s stolen from her farm.
Two million animals are stolen each year across America? They are “dognapped,” “kitnapped” and adopted under false pretenses, by “Bunchers.” ***“BUNCHERS” n 1. humans who acquire animals, either singularly or in bunches, by taking them away without right, permission or under false pretenses for purposes of profit. 2. humans whose greed exceeds their compassion
Did you know that of all the animals stolen, only about ten-percent, or approximately 200,000 of these animals ever see their caretakers again? The rest face fates of unimaginable horror.
Of the millions of animals stolen every year, the one’s that do not find their way home end up in nightmarish situations most often ending in death, their only release. Some puppies and adult dogs may end up as fighting dogs who tear, wound and kill each other till one is victorious. Some puppies and kittens end up as lures in training the fighting dogs, torn apart in the effort to raise the blood-lust of the fighting animal. Some of those animals end up as sacrifices in religious or sadistic rituals. Some end up as objects of various forms of agonizing experimentation.
How then can you best protect your pet without constant surveillance? With the permission of Last Chance for Animals, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending the exploitation of animals, !!!BE AWARE!!! offers you the following tips to help keep your loved ones safe.
What You Can Do To Protect Your Pet
DO keep your pet indoors especially when you are not at home.
DO properly identify your pet with a collar tag, microchip, and/or tattoo.
DO be aware of strangers in the neighborhood and report anything unusual to the police.
DO padlock your gate with no access over it.
DO keep your pet on a leash whenever you go outside.
DO make neighbors aware of the problem of pet theft.
DO know where your pet is at all times.
DO NOT let your pet roam free in the neighborhood.
DO NOT let your pet be visible from the street.
DO NOT leave your pet unattended at any time.
DO NOT tie your pet outside a store or leave in a car to wait for you.
DO NOT use “FREE TO A GOOD HOME” in advertisements to place your pet in a good home. Charge a fee for the animal’s protection.
DO NOT give your pet away without first knowing as much as possible about the adoptive home, having them sign a pet adoption agreement, and checking their references and identification.
!!!Be Aware!!! and “Err on the side of caution,” for surely someone out there thinks Fido or Felix is as cute as you think he is, but that someone probably has less concern for his future.
Friday, October 15, 2010
A PET'S TEN COMMANDMENTS.........
1. My life is likely to last 10-15 years. Any separation from you is likely to be painful.
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you
2. Give me time to understand what you want of me
3. Place your trust in me. It is crucial for my well-being.
4. Don't be angry with me for long and don't lock me up as punishment. You have your work, your friends, your entertainment, but I have only you.
5. Talk to me. Even if I don't understand your words, I do understand your voice when speaking to me.
6. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget it.
7. Before you hit me, before you strike me, remember that I could hurt you, and yet, I choose not to bite you.
8. Before you scold me for being lazy or uncooperative, ask yourself if something might be bothering me. Perhaps I'm not getting the right food, I have been in the sun too long, or my heart might be getting old or weak.
9. Please take care of me when I grow old. You too, will grow old.
10. On the ultimate difficult journey, go with me please. Never say you can't bear to watch. Don't make me face this alone. Everything is easier for me if you are there, because I love you
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sparky Pictures
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
An email I received today
I thought I would share this email I received today:
Hello -
I am hoping that you can help me find a new home for my little JRT, Lulu. Ours is an urgent and desperate situation in that in a little more than one month, if I do not have an option to surrender her to capable hands who can continue the work of finding her a new home, I will be forced to ask our vet to humanely euthanize her so that I know that she will not suffer through the likely outcome if I surrender her to the NYC animal pound. Given her behavior issues, Lulu will never be adopted from the pound, or even if she is, the probability that she will find another person like me is next to none. She would soon be euthanized (there isn't a single rescuer or trainer or animal welfare person who disagrees with this) -- but after days of being traumatized by the chaotic shelter setting and feeling abandoned by me. While this happens every day to undeserving and loved companion animals, the great loss in this case is that Lulu is eminently re-home-able and has more life and love to give, if only I could find the right new home. That is what I need your help with.
[Note: The reason I have emailed more than one regional JRT rescue contact is that, while we are located in NYC, we will be moving to the SF Bay Area and we also have relatives in Ohio, so if there are real options in any of those regions or even the tri-state area, I CAN and WILL assist in getting Lulu to the next stop on the JRT rescue railroad.]
To start, here is Lulu's listing on Petfinder, where I have described her at great length and posted pictures:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17596603
A little background on what has led to the crossroads I'm at today:
In 2004, I adopted Lulu from Waggytail Rescue in NYC (http://www.waggytailrescue.com). At the time, I was single, living alone, and consulting from home. I adopted Lulu to be a companion to another rescued dog, my little Chihuahua, Jack. What I did not know when I adopted her was that Lulu *hands-down* qualifies as a "difficult dog." Waggytail did not inform me of this -- perhaps they did not know because they did not take the time to properly assess and actually match her to the right person. And anyway, even if she had come with the label "difficult," I would have had no idea what that meant (though I probably would not have adopted her). I was accustomed to having a tiny pocket pal (Jack) who basically wanted only to sit on my lap, give me kisses, eat, and sleep. Lulu, within a week and a half, turned out to be a dog with serious behavioral issues -- primarily a fear of strangers (human) in "her" territory and the tendency to bark, lunge, and, if given the opportunity, bite. Somewhat naively, I never faltered in my commitment to Lulu. I worked closely with a positive reinforcement trainer (Susan Ward, http://www.dingogirl.com/) from the start and spent most of my time exercising and training Lulu.
What changed some months thereafter was that I got a full-time job out of the house. From there, the situation pretty much devolved to where it is now, which is to say that I am merely treading water, barely able to keep my sanity afloat, and in constant crisis-management mode in our household. My job was, and still is, incredibly demanding and unforgiving. I got married. My husband moved in, continued to do his freelance work, and became Lulu's primary caregiver during the day. (We spent a lot of time properly introducing Lulu to him, and to this day, he is the only other person that she tolerates, although she is still reactive to him in certain situations -- for example, she will redirect bites to him at times, or if he startles her, she will nip at his ankle or toes.) Then, we had a baby (20 months ago). My husband is now the primary caregiver during the day for two cats (his, from before our marriage, one of whom is a rescued feral Maine Coon who also qualifies as special needs), two dogs (Jack and Lulu), and our baby. We can't hire a babysitter and/or a dog walker, even if we could find a babysitter or qualified dog walker willing to put up with such crazy circumstances, because the amount of time and effort required to introduce any new person into the household is just not worth the return at this point. Lulu is not safe around our toddler, obviously, and we must constantly keep the two separated, which means that Lulu now spends more time in her crate than ever. We do our best to walk Lulu daily, but it's not enough exercise for her. We try our utmost to manage all the creatures underfoot but in the end, we don't have the ability to give EVERYONE the time and attention they need and demand. It's sub-optimal for everyone, including us (the parents of all of these little ones).
Which brings me to today. You might say to me, "Well, you've eked by for this long, why don't you continue? Change your perspective. Work harder on finding a dog walker, work harder on finding another job or just quitting so that you can devote all your time to exercising and training Lulu, work harder on building a life to accommodate your difficult dog, whom, to be fair, you adopted and said you would provide a home to, six years ago."
What is different now is that we have made the decision to relocate to California at the end of November, and we will be moving into my parents' house for the first six months. Putting a family of three plus two cats and two dogs into my parents' house simply is not possible. We already knew, certainly when our baby was born, that we would eventually need to re-home Lulu because we cannot manage everything and everyone; something has to give, and I cannot live much longer with the constant fear that Lulu will bite my child. No matter how well-trained they both are, I would never, ever trust Lulu with him, particularly as she seems to have more "issues" with other humans when I am in the picture (as in, in the same room -- I think she is a "one-person" dog, and when I'm present, all other living creatures are competition for my attention). Now, we are faced with a real situation that we can't turn away from. Not only will we not all fit into a very small house, but also, Lulu hates my father. The level of tension in the house would be unbearable. We are leaving NYC to try to build a life with a little less tension than what we have lived with for the last several years; to simply move it all to another state defeats the purpose and helps no one at all, Lulu included.
So I am looking for a new home for Lulu.
Waggytail Rescue, from whom I adopted Lulu, says that they don't have the capacity to take her if I were to surrender her back to them.
Susan (dog trainer) has been working many different angles -- trying to get the word out to other trainers, doing research on organizations that could help re-home a difficult dog. The "Pets for Life" safety net program in NYC is also working Lulu's case through whatever channels they have. I was turned away from Best Friends (no capacity in Dogtown), and I am waiting to hear whether Pets Alive in Hudson Valley will consider her case. Now, I'm reaching out to you. Everything that I wrote in Lulu's Petfinder profile is the honest-to-goodness truth. She would make the right someone a wonderful, loving companion. She has so much potential -- I know it from my own experience! That I am not able to give her what she needs any longer is a cold, hard fact. Now, my challenge is to find that right home (or that right halfway house) for her, before we leave NYC.
Can you help? Can you give me any more ideas or people or organizations to contact? Can you put the word out to anyone and everyone you know? And, if we reach the end of November and I still haven't found a home for her, would you, could you provide sanctuary to Lulu and continue the search for her new home? I am available to discuss any and all concerns you have, available to have someone meet and assess her before committing to anything, able to have Susan answer any questions and support everything that I am saying.
I know that this is a tall order. Please help if you can, in any way that you can. Deep down in my heart, I know that the kindest and most humane thing to do, if we reach the end of November and have no one to entrust Lulu to, will be to let her die in my arms, knowing that she was loved. And thanks for listening.
Sincerely,
J.
My response to her:
WOW J.!
You said in your email to us Which brings me to today. You might say to me, "Well, you've eked by for this long, why don't you continue? Change your perspective. Work harder on finding a dog walker, work harder on finding another job or just quitting so that you can devote all your time to exercising and training Lulu, work harder on building a life to accommodate your difficult dog, whom, to be fair, you adopted and said you would provide a home to, six years ago." Honestly as I was reading your email I was thinking YOUR A SAINT! You have done more for Lulu then I am SURE anyone else would have.
I would also like to say shame on the rescue you got her from to #1. allow a dog with that many issues to be adopted #2. Not telling you of the issues (seriously they had to know) and #3. For not taking her back. As a dog rescue person running not only the Ohio Chapter of Russell Rescue Inc. but also my own rescue for mix breeds that just really makes me mad and I have a few things I would like to say to that rescue (but I won't). Situations like this is what makes rescuing a dog a bad name and honestly we are up against enough UN educated people we don't need the public to think of rescue as a negative thing or a bad experience. Sorry, I will step off my soap box now.
Lulu I am sorry to say is not a candidate to be re homed. We do not take in dogs with a bite history and if a dog were to come into our rescue with Lulu's issues, she would be worked with but if her "attitude" wouldn't have changed she would have been humanely euthanized at our vet office. We all know it is not Lulu's fault she is the way she is but she is going to hurt someone and I always fear that will be a child. There are WAY too many dogs in this world without issues that are being killed that in the big picture it isn't fair to them to die needlessly, it isn't fair to Lulu because she lives her life in total fear / paranoia and that can't be a happy life and it isn't fair to the next family that adopts her.
My heart goes out to Lulu but in my opinion (whatever that is worth) you have done an AMAZING job and have given Lulu the best life possible. At least we can all rest easy knowing #1 Lulu is not suffering mentally any longer and #2 she will go to sleep in the arms of someone she loves, someone that loves her and will no longer feel pain.
As my vet said to me, if a dog was hit by a car and was in HORRIBLE pain that couldn't be stopped / fixed would you put him to sleep? Then why would you allow a dog that is in mental pain to continue to suffer?
Good luck to you and Lulu. You will both by in my prayers and thoughts.
The women is amazing. I feel horrible she is in this situation. I have been there so totally understand!
***update*** I sent her a PS saying I have been in her shoes and attached pictures of my special guy. Her email back to me:
Amy,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you said. And for sharing pix of Ruger. I absolutely understand what you are saying about not being able to take on such a challenging dog when there are so many out there who do not come with these issues, who have a chance. You are not the first rescuer who has very gently told me this, and the intake coordinator and trainer at the Little Shelter on Long Island spoke with me at length on Monday and was the one who first said to me, "Please, whatever you do, don't surrender her to the pound. It is more cruel to her to do that than to let her die in your arms." I think that is the kindest thing anyone has done for me so far - to give me the permission to let her go in a way that at least I know is peaceful.
I will still continue looking for some sort of sanctuary situation for Lulu, but only if I know that the org is committed to either finding Lulu the RIGHT home or is willing to let her stay in the sanctuary forever.
(I have the very same thoughts about Waggytail Rescue as you. I don't want to get into it with the woman behind the operation, whom I have known and been friends with in the past, because it doesn't help Lulu. I'm not a professional dog trainer or handler, or even a rescuer or welfare advocate. But I know that Waggytail's perspective, which is that any extra day for a dog on death row is a victory for all dogs -- with no consideration of the longer-term consequence for the dog or the people who end up being involved -- is a disservice to rescue and to dog welfare, and downright irresponsible and unethical.)
Again - if you think of anything that I can follow up on, just send it my way.
Warmest regards.
What a nice person!
Hello -
I am hoping that you can help me find a new home for my little JRT, Lulu. Ours is an urgent and desperate situation in that in a little more than one month, if I do not have an option to surrender her to capable hands who can continue the work of finding her a new home, I will be forced to ask our vet to humanely euthanize her so that I know that she will not suffer through the likely outcome if I surrender her to the NYC animal pound. Given her behavior issues, Lulu will never be adopted from the pound, or even if she is, the probability that she will find another person like me is next to none. She would soon be euthanized (there isn't a single rescuer or trainer or animal welfare person who disagrees with this) -- but after days of being traumatized by the chaotic shelter setting and feeling abandoned by me. While this happens every day to undeserving and loved companion animals, the great loss in this case is that Lulu is eminently re-home-able and has more life and love to give, if only I could find the right new home. That is what I need your help with.
[Note: The reason I have emailed more than one regional JRT rescue contact is that, while we are located in NYC, we will be moving to the SF Bay Area and we also have relatives in Ohio, so if there are real options in any of those regions or even the tri-state area, I CAN and WILL assist in getting Lulu to the next stop on the JRT rescue railroad.]
To start, here is Lulu's listing on Petfinder, where I have described her at great length and posted pictures:
http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/17596603
A little background on what has led to the crossroads I'm at today:
In 2004, I adopted Lulu from Waggytail Rescue in NYC (http://www.waggytailrescue.com). At the time, I was single, living alone, and consulting from home. I adopted Lulu to be a companion to another rescued dog, my little Chihuahua, Jack. What I did not know when I adopted her was that Lulu *hands-down* qualifies as a "difficult dog." Waggytail did not inform me of this -- perhaps they did not know because they did not take the time to properly assess and actually match her to the right person. And anyway, even if she had come with the label "difficult," I would have had no idea what that meant (though I probably would not have adopted her). I was accustomed to having a tiny pocket pal (Jack) who basically wanted only to sit on my lap, give me kisses, eat, and sleep. Lulu, within a week and a half, turned out to be a dog with serious behavioral issues -- primarily a fear of strangers (human) in "her" territory and the tendency to bark, lunge, and, if given the opportunity, bite. Somewhat naively, I never faltered in my commitment to Lulu. I worked closely with a positive reinforcement trainer (Susan Ward, http://www.dingogirl.com/) from the start and spent most of my time exercising and training Lulu.
What changed some months thereafter was that I got a full-time job out of the house. From there, the situation pretty much devolved to where it is now, which is to say that I am merely treading water, barely able to keep my sanity afloat, and in constant crisis-management mode in our household. My job was, and still is, incredibly demanding and unforgiving. I got married. My husband moved in, continued to do his freelance work, and became Lulu's primary caregiver during the day. (We spent a lot of time properly introducing Lulu to him, and to this day, he is the only other person that she tolerates, although she is still reactive to him in certain situations -- for example, she will redirect bites to him at times, or if he startles her, she will nip at his ankle or toes.) Then, we had a baby (20 months ago). My husband is now the primary caregiver during the day for two cats (his, from before our marriage, one of whom is a rescued feral Maine Coon who also qualifies as special needs), two dogs (Jack and Lulu), and our baby. We can't hire a babysitter and/or a dog walker, even if we could find a babysitter or qualified dog walker willing to put up with such crazy circumstances, because the amount of time and effort required to introduce any new person into the household is just not worth the return at this point. Lulu is not safe around our toddler, obviously, and we must constantly keep the two separated, which means that Lulu now spends more time in her crate than ever. We do our best to walk Lulu daily, but it's not enough exercise for her. We try our utmost to manage all the creatures underfoot but in the end, we don't have the ability to give EVERYONE the time and attention they need and demand. It's sub-optimal for everyone, including us (the parents of all of these little ones).
Which brings me to today. You might say to me, "Well, you've eked by for this long, why don't you continue? Change your perspective. Work harder on finding a dog walker, work harder on finding another job or just quitting so that you can devote all your time to exercising and training Lulu, work harder on building a life to accommodate your difficult dog, whom, to be fair, you adopted and said you would provide a home to, six years ago."
What is different now is that we have made the decision to relocate to California at the end of November, and we will be moving into my parents' house for the first six months. Putting a family of three plus two cats and two dogs into my parents' house simply is not possible. We already knew, certainly when our baby was born, that we would eventually need to re-home Lulu because we cannot manage everything and everyone; something has to give, and I cannot live much longer with the constant fear that Lulu will bite my child. No matter how well-trained they both are, I would never, ever trust Lulu with him, particularly as she seems to have more "issues" with other humans when I am in the picture (as in, in the same room -- I think she is a "one-person" dog, and when I'm present, all other living creatures are competition for my attention). Now, we are faced with a real situation that we can't turn away from. Not only will we not all fit into a very small house, but also, Lulu hates my father. The level of tension in the house would be unbearable. We are leaving NYC to try to build a life with a little less tension than what we have lived with for the last several years; to simply move it all to another state defeats the purpose and helps no one at all, Lulu included.
So I am looking for a new home for Lulu.
Waggytail Rescue, from whom I adopted Lulu, says that they don't have the capacity to take her if I were to surrender her back to them.
Susan (dog trainer) has been working many different angles -- trying to get the word out to other trainers, doing research on organizations that could help re-home a difficult dog. The "Pets for Life" safety net program in NYC is also working Lulu's case through whatever channels they have. I was turned away from Best Friends (no capacity in Dogtown), and I am waiting to hear whether Pets Alive in Hudson Valley will consider her case. Now, I'm reaching out to you. Everything that I wrote in Lulu's Petfinder profile is the honest-to-goodness truth. She would make the right someone a wonderful, loving companion. She has so much potential -- I know it from my own experience! That I am not able to give her what she needs any longer is a cold, hard fact. Now, my challenge is to find that right home (or that right halfway house) for her, before we leave NYC.
Can you help? Can you give me any more ideas or people or organizations to contact? Can you put the word out to anyone and everyone you know? And, if we reach the end of November and I still haven't found a home for her, would you, could you provide sanctuary to Lulu and continue the search for her new home? I am available to discuss any and all concerns you have, available to have someone meet and assess her before committing to anything, able to have Susan answer any questions and support everything that I am saying.
I know that this is a tall order. Please help if you can, in any way that you can. Deep down in my heart, I know that the kindest and most humane thing to do, if we reach the end of November and have no one to entrust Lulu to, will be to let her die in my arms, knowing that she was loved. And thanks for listening.
Sincerely,
J.
My response to her:
WOW J.!
You said in your email to us Which brings me to today. You might say to me, "Well, you've eked by for this long, why don't you continue? Change your perspective. Work harder on finding a dog walker, work harder on finding another job or just quitting so that you can devote all your time to exercising and training Lulu, work harder on building a life to accommodate your difficult dog, whom, to be fair, you adopted and said you would provide a home to, six years ago." Honestly as I was reading your email I was thinking YOUR A SAINT! You have done more for Lulu then I am SURE anyone else would have.
I would also like to say shame on the rescue you got her from to #1. allow a dog with that many issues to be adopted #2. Not telling you of the issues (seriously they had to know) and #3. For not taking her back. As a dog rescue person running not only the Ohio Chapter of Russell Rescue Inc. but also my own rescue for mix breeds that just really makes me mad and I have a few things I would like to say to that rescue (but I won't). Situations like this is what makes rescuing a dog a bad name and honestly we are up against enough UN educated people we don't need the public to think of rescue as a negative thing or a bad experience. Sorry, I will step off my soap box now.
Lulu I am sorry to say is not a candidate to be re homed. We do not take in dogs with a bite history and if a dog were to come into our rescue with Lulu's issues, she would be worked with but if her "attitude" wouldn't have changed she would have been humanely euthanized at our vet office. We all know it is not Lulu's fault she is the way she is but she is going to hurt someone and I always fear that will be a child. There are WAY too many dogs in this world without issues that are being killed that in the big picture it isn't fair to them to die needlessly, it isn't fair to Lulu because she lives her life in total fear / paranoia and that can't be a happy life and it isn't fair to the next family that adopts her.
My heart goes out to Lulu but in my opinion (whatever that is worth) you have done an AMAZING job and have given Lulu the best life possible. At least we can all rest easy knowing #1 Lulu is not suffering mentally any longer and #2 she will go to sleep in the arms of someone she loves, someone that loves her and will no longer feel pain.
As my vet said to me, if a dog was hit by a car and was in HORRIBLE pain that couldn't be stopped / fixed would you put him to sleep? Then why would you allow a dog that is in mental pain to continue to suffer?
Good luck to you and Lulu. You will both by in my prayers and thoughts.
The women is amazing. I feel horrible she is in this situation. I have been there so totally understand!
***update*** I sent her a PS saying I have been in her shoes and attached pictures of my special guy. Her email back to me:
Amy,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you said. And for sharing pix of Ruger. I absolutely understand what you are saying about not being able to take on such a challenging dog when there are so many out there who do not come with these issues, who have a chance. You are not the first rescuer who has very gently told me this, and the intake coordinator and trainer at the Little Shelter on Long Island spoke with me at length on Monday and was the one who first said to me, "Please, whatever you do, don't surrender her to the pound. It is more cruel to her to do that than to let her die in your arms." I think that is the kindest thing anyone has done for me so far - to give me the permission to let her go in a way that at least I know is peaceful.
I will still continue looking for some sort of sanctuary situation for Lulu, but only if I know that the org is committed to either finding Lulu the RIGHT home or is willing to let her stay in the sanctuary forever.
(I have the very same thoughts about Waggytail Rescue as you. I don't want to get into it with the woman behind the operation, whom I have known and been friends with in the past, because it doesn't help Lulu. I'm not a professional dog trainer or handler, or even a rescuer or welfare advocate. But I know that Waggytail's perspective, which is that any extra day for a dog on death row is a victory for all dogs -- with no consideration of the longer-term consequence for the dog or the people who end up being involved -- is a disservice to rescue and to dog welfare, and downright irresponsible and unethical.)
Again - if you think of anything that I can follow up on, just send it my way.
Warmest regards.
What a nice person!
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Reese might have a fighting chance
Some good news for a change. Reese who had testicular cancer from not being neutered AND was heartworm positive had X-rays today to see if the cancer had spread and how bad the haertworm is.
The good news is the vet thinks that everything looks pretty good and we should be just fine to treat the heartworm. Once the heartworm is treated then we can worry about where the cancer is or is not.
YAY Reese gets a fighting chance at life.
Now if I could get Eddie feeling better life would be grand. That poor dog. The heartworm really damaged his heart. The only good news there is that his heart will heal with time.
I feel like I am the sick dog rescue... Moxie the Great Pyrenees that I took in a few months ago is still doing ok. We can't treat her heartworm because her cancer is pretty bad... so we are doing everything we can to make her happy.
Sparky is doing well. He got his staples out yesterday and is scheduled to be neutered the week of November 1st. YAY!!!
The good news is the vet thinks that everything looks pretty good and we should be just fine to treat the heartworm. Once the heartworm is treated then we can worry about where the cancer is or is not.
YAY Reese gets a fighting chance at life.
Now if I could get Eddie feeling better life would be grand. That poor dog. The heartworm really damaged his heart. The only good news there is that his heart will heal with time.
I feel like I am the sick dog rescue... Moxie the Great Pyrenees that I took in a few months ago is still doing ok. We can't treat her heartworm because her cancer is pretty bad... so we are doing everything we can to make her happy.
Sparky is doing well. He got his staples out yesterday and is scheduled to be neutered the week of November 1st. YAY!!!
Friday, October 8, 2010
12 year old dog needs new home
Ok, so I posted this email the other day but thought I should post my reply to her, her reply to me... guilty people always respond so bitchy.. lol
Original email to me:
Good Morning,
We are in need of help with our 12 year old Jack Russell. She is a sweet, sweet dog; however, as she has aged she has become less and less patient with our three young children. She has never bitten them, she is just very anxious around them. She has also lost vision in her left eye. We do not know what to do with her and we have really tried to find an alternate home for her without luck. Can you help us? Do you have room in your rescue for Lucy? She loves to be loved and cuddled. She loves to sleep in your bed. She is abnormally calm yet content.
Please let me know if you can help us. If you can not, please also let me know what else I can do, if you don't mind.
Thank you for your time,
My Reply:
Your email honestly made me want to cry. Stop and think about what you are asking... a 12 year old do that I am sure you have had since she was a puppy who is now blind in one eye and you want to up root her from everything she has ever known. I have a 4 month and a 6 month old puppy who I can't find homes for, what do you think the chances of a 12 year old blind in one eye dog's chance is to find a new home? I am not saying this to be mean, I am saying this to get you to stop and think. Have you thought of some alternatives? For example teaching your children to not bother the dog? Putting up a baby gate so Lucy can have 1/2 the house and the kids can have 1/2 the house? If you are having behavior issues with Lucy, have you thought about taking her to the vet to make sure something isn't wrong? Maybe after taking her to the vet and finding that there isn't anything wrong you could speak to a behavior trainer and see if there is something you can do for or with Lucy to help her not be more "patient"?
You have to understand that a dog of Lucy's age is near impossible to place. Again not to be mean but she has maybe if your lucky another 5 years on this Earth and people who are looking for a dog aren't looking for a dog that they will only have a short time. They are looking for a friend, a companion for longer then that. Not to mention the expense that goes along with an older dog as their health fades. Heck there are horrible people out there that dump their dogs at the kill shelter (aka county dog pound) as soon as the vet bills get "too much". We have taken in several senior dogs this year and although they had health issues when we took them in they were taken care of properly and now doing just fine.
I do want to warn you that if you do choose to take her to a shelter 99% chance she will end up being killed at the shelter, dieing alone and scared because #1 she is an owner surrender and #2 she is older and no one is going to adopt her.
If for some MIRACLE of a chance she gets out of the shelter either through a rescue (which all of us are full so I wouldn't count on it) or someone adopts her, the chances of her living her life happy are slim. A dog that old confuses easily, maybe become aggressive because they are confused, have been taken from the only thing / people they have known their entire lives and their routine is then changed. Older dogs do not do well with drastic change. My fear for her would be that she would end up abused for negative behavior that could just be due to her age and being confused.
Again this email is not meant to upset you, I know that sometimes you feel there is no way out of a situation and this sounds like an easy solution but really you need to think about the dog and what is best for her. I really really hope you choose to find a solution where you get to keep your dog that you love and that she gets to stay with the family she has known her entire life.
Good luck to you and Lucy will be in my prayers.
Her reply:
You are right, Amy, no one will want our Lucy. The "Kill Shelter, aka county dog pound" is the best option for her.
Thank you for your time and your honest concern.
Guilty people ALWAYS respond in this way... angrily and try to put their guilt on me. Hey it is her dog if she wants it to die in a shelter's gas chamber alone and scared then once dead her lifeless body dumped in a dumpster and taken to the landfill. THAT IS TOTALLY ON HER!
I really hope her 3 kids don't discard her as when she becomes older and no longer patient!
Original email to me:
Good Morning,
We are in need of help with our 12 year old Jack Russell. She is a sweet, sweet dog; however, as she has aged she has become less and less patient with our three young children. She has never bitten them, she is just very anxious around them. She has also lost vision in her left eye. We do not know what to do with her and we have really tried to find an alternate home for her without luck. Can you help us? Do you have room in your rescue for Lucy? She loves to be loved and cuddled. She loves to sleep in your bed. She is abnormally calm yet content.
Please let me know if you can help us. If you can not, please also let me know what else I can do, if you don't mind.
Thank you for your time,
My Reply:
Your email honestly made me want to cry. Stop and think about what you are asking... a 12 year old do that I am sure you have had since she was a puppy who is now blind in one eye and you want to up root her from everything she has ever known. I have a 4 month and a 6 month old puppy who I can't find homes for, what do you think the chances of a 12 year old blind in one eye dog's chance is to find a new home? I am not saying this to be mean, I am saying this to get you to stop and think. Have you thought of some alternatives? For example teaching your children to not bother the dog? Putting up a baby gate so Lucy can have 1/2 the house and the kids can have 1/2 the house? If you are having behavior issues with Lucy, have you thought about taking her to the vet to make sure something isn't wrong? Maybe after taking her to the vet and finding that there isn't anything wrong you could speak to a behavior trainer and see if there is something you can do for or with Lucy to help her not be more "patient"?
You have to understand that a dog of Lucy's age is near impossible to place. Again not to be mean but she has maybe if your lucky another 5 years on this Earth and people who are looking for a dog aren't looking for a dog that they will only have a short time. They are looking for a friend, a companion for longer then that. Not to mention the expense that goes along with an older dog as their health fades. Heck there are horrible people out there that dump their dogs at the kill shelter (aka county dog pound) as soon as the vet bills get "too much". We have taken in several senior dogs this year and although they had health issues when we took them in they were taken care of properly and now doing just fine.
I do want to warn you that if you do choose to take her to a shelter 99% chance she will end up being killed at the shelter, dieing alone and scared because #1 she is an owner surrender and #2 she is older and no one is going to adopt her.
If for some MIRACLE of a chance she gets out of the shelter either through a rescue (which all of us are full so I wouldn't count on it) or someone adopts her, the chances of her living her life happy are slim. A dog that old confuses easily, maybe become aggressive because they are confused, have been taken from the only thing / people they have known their entire lives and their routine is then changed. Older dogs do not do well with drastic change. My fear for her would be that she would end up abused for negative behavior that could just be due to her age and being confused.
Again this email is not meant to upset you, I know that sometimes you feel there is no way out of a situation and this sounds like an easy solution but really you need to think about the dog and what is best for her. I really really hope you choose to find a solution where you get to keep your dog that you love and that she gets to stay with the family she has known her entire life.
Good luck to you and Lucy will be in my prayers.
Her reply:
You are right, Amy, no one will want our Lucy. The "Kill Shelter, aka county dog pound" is the best option for her.
Thank you for your time and your honest concern.
Guilty people ALWAYS respond in this way... angrily and try to put their guilt on me. Hey it is her dog if she wants it to die in a shelter's gas chamber alone and scared then once dead her lifeless body dumped in a dumpster and taken to the landfill. THAT IS TOTALLY ON HER!
I really hope her 3 kids don't discard her as when she becomes older and no longer patient!
Looking forward to tomorrow
Marcus went home yesterday! That dog is so darn happy... oh puppies! I have someone coming to meet Sprite today. Poor Sprite he needs a home ASAP. He is totally depressed I can see it in his eyes. He just wants a house, a family, someone besides me who loves him and the other 10 at my house. lol!
Frito and Blake are both supposed to get adopted tomorrow. Which is awesome... then I have from 11 - 4 hoping that the other 6 that I am taking will also find homes. Ok, wait I don't want to be greedy. I am hoping for 2 adoptions tomorrow.
I have a list of dogs a mile long that really need my help. So, un nerving. I really want to tell the shelter ok send them but I know I have to be realistic and I have to get a few more into homes before I start taking in more. BUT I did get one today.. LOL! Heard he is a real sweet heart.
Paws Crossed tomorrow is a good day!
Frito and Blake are both supposed to get adopted tomorrow. Which is awesome... then I have from 11 - 4 hoping that the other 6 that I am taking will also find homes. Ok, wait I don't want to be greedy. I am hoping for 2 adoptions tomorrow.
I have a list of dogs a mile long that really need my help. So, un nerving. I really want to tell the shelter ok send them but I know I have to be realistic and I have to get a few more into homes before I start taking in more. BUT I did get one today.. LOL! Heard he is a real sweet heart.
Paws Crossed tomorrow is a good day!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Interesting Week
I decided last week that I am going to have an adoption even this Saturday. Adoption have been so slow! Here is what is funny. Marcus is getting adopted today, Sprite has someone coming to see him tomorrow and will probably get adopted. Frito and Blake are both getting adopted Saturday morning. LOL!
I guess all I need to do is schedule an adoption event and everyone will get adopted before I go to the event. LOL!!
I still have 6 dogs going. I have a 4 month old beagle puppy and a 6 month old Terrier Chihuahua puppy going so I really really hope they get adopted. Poor babies, they need a home. Not fair for them to grow up in a rescue. UGH!
This week has been busy. We have this award at work.. there are like 5 or 6 categories and I was a finalist for one of them. I have had 3 days of activities and eating.. LOL It has been fun. I won too so that is super cool. I was nominated for the work I do with my dog rescue. How cool is that??!!
I am sure glad that some positive things have been going on this week... check out this email:
Good Morning,
We are in need of help with our 12 year old Jack Russell. She is a sweet, sweet dog; however, as she has aged she has become less and less patient with our three young children. She has never bitten them, she is just very anxious around them. She has also lost vision in her left eye. We do not know what to do with her and we have really tried to find an alternate home for her without luck. Can you help us? Do you have room in your rescue for Lucy? She loves to be loved and cuddled. She loves to sleep in your bed. She is abnormally calm yet content.
Please let me know if you can help us. If you can not, please also let me know what else I can do, if you don't mind.
Thank you for your time,
XXXX
Come on people really???? I sent her an email which I am SURE she is going to email me back screaming at me about how horrible I am. But I sent her an email asking her to try to work things out. I gave her a few suggestions and I even said in the email, I am not saying any of this to make you upset, I just want you to stop and think about what is best for everyone including the dog.
I guarantee she will email me back screaming at me. LOL! That is what most guilty people do when I point out the obvious of re homing a 12 year old is just MEAN!
I guess all I need to do is schedule an adoption event and everyone will get adopted before I go to the event. LOL!!
I still have 6 dogs going. I have a 4 month old beagle puppy and a 6 month old Terrier Chihuahua puppy going so I really really hope they get adopted. Poor babies, they need a home. Not fair for them to grow up in a rescue. UGH!
This week has been busy. We have this award at work.. there are like 5 or 6 categories and I was a finalist for one of them. I have had 3 days of activities and eating.. LOL It has been fun. I won too so that is super cool. I was nominated for the work I do with my dog rescue. How cool is that??!!
I am sure glad that some positive things have been going on this week... check out this email:
Good Morning,
We are in need of help with our 12 year old Jack Russell. She is a sweet, sweet dog; however, as she has aged she has become less and less patient with our three young children. She has never bitten them, she is just very anxious around them. She has also lost vision in her left eye. We do not know what to do with her and we have really tried to find an alternate home for her without luck. Can you help us? Do you have room in your rescue for Lucy? She loves to be loved and cuddled. She loves to sleep in your bed. She is abnormally calm yet content.
Please let me know if you can help us. If you can not, please also let me know what else I can do, if you don't mind.
Thank you for your time,
XXXX
Come on people really???? I sent her an email which I am SURE she is going to email me back screaming at me about how horrible I am. But I sent her an email asking her to try to work things out. I gave her a few suggestions and I even said in the email, I am not saying any of this to make you upset, I just want you to stop and think about what is best for everyone including the dog.
I guarantee she will email me back screaming at me. LOL! That is what most guilty people do when I point out the obvious of re homing a 12 year old is just MEAN!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Random thoughts
Looks like the cold weather is here to stay :-( Friday was the last nice day I think we are going to see until next Spring. It has been raining since the middle for the night Friday. I moved all the dogs to the barn.. no more kennels till next Spring. That really sucks for so so so many reasons. I can't have as many dog when I have to close my kennels. The dogs don't get out running around as much because the weather is crappy. Just totally stinks. Now is the time I need foster homes really really badly.
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Adoptions seem to be really down so I am having an adoption event Saturday and I really hope that it goes well. According to the weather as of today it isn't supposed to be raining on Saturday so man I hope all the news paper ads I put in work and I get some people out to adopt.
I think the next few months of the year I am going to run ads in papers more. I am hoping it will help get people to adopt instead of buy "Christmas" puppies.
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Sparky is doing well. He seems to be afraid of men.. or at least stand off - ish to men. He is getting better. His bruising and swelling have really gone away so that is a good think.
He is totally housebroken, crate trained and really doesn't like the ran. LOL! He wants to play but can't really play the way he wants to because he looses his balance so easily. Once he is more healed I will play with him more, right now I am just worried he is going to tare up a stitch or something.
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******************************
Adoptions seem to be really down so I am having an adoption event Saturday and I really hope that it goes well. According to the weather as of today it isn't supposed to be raining on Saturday so man I hope all the news paper ads I put in work and I get some people out to adopt.
I think the next few months of the year I am going to run ads in papers more. I am hoping it will help get people to adopt instead of buy "Christmas" puppies.
*********************************
Sparky is doing well. He seems to be afraid of men.. or at least stand off - ish to men. He is getting better. His bruising and swelling have really gone away so that is a good think.
He is totally housebroken, crate trained and really doesn't like the ran. LOL! He wants to play but can't really play the way he wants to because he looses his balance so easily. Once he is more healed I will play with him more, right now I am just worried he is going to tare up a stitch or something.
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