Hermie's Story

"You're getting a dog - a coonhound, and he's sick." Gee, thanks boss. With 40 dogs on site, including a litter of puppies, that's the last thing I wanted to hear, but that's what quarantine areas are for, and I have one set up for just such situations.

Hermie had been dumped, along with two other hounds, into someone's fenced yard. The man who owned the place found an outlet for two of the dogs, but took Hermie to animal control, and told them if no one claimed him or adopted him, to notify him and he would take the dog back. The dog stayed there for about two weeks, and contracted kennel cough. He was on the euthanasia list when they contacted the man and told him to either come and get him or he would be put down. Somehow along the way, the boss got involved and told him to bring the dog here. Why? Because he had two dogs at home, and he didn't want them to get sick!!

He dropped Hermie off, offered a small donation, and said he would come back and get Hermie if he wasn't adopted out within a month. He said the dog was a quiet hound and caused no trouble. Yeah, right - we never heard from him again.

Hermie was extremely thin, and very sick. We got him on antibiotics for what was by then pneumonia, and started teaching him some manners and worked on getting his weight back up to normal. Hermie got better and developed into a good looking treeing walker coonhound.

Coonhounds, however, aren't in great demand, so we figured he would be with us for awhile. We found him a friend, Olivia, a hound mix, to play with. We put him in a kennel with a doggy door and outside run, but he could see the barn cats and barked all day, so we had to move him or have the neighbors banging on the doors in protest.

We received an application from a man who listed himself as disabled. After reviewing the application and contacting the man, a meeting was set up. He was offering what we were hoping for Hermie. A home with a fenced yard, a coonhound female to play with, squirrels to chase, no cats, and he wanted Hermie to be part of the family in the home itself - something most hounds don't get to do.

The meeting went well, and I asked why he picked Hermie of all the hounds currently available. He said that our rescue was the only one to reply to his request, and his picture on the website was also a factor.

So, Hermie has a great home, and it's a good reminder to respond to all requests.

Update as of 11/17/09

In the last 10 days we have rescued one starving stray husky, and taken in four dogs from a local animal control - one husky, a beagle, a corgi mix, and a wirehair type petite female mix - none of the five know how to walk on a leash, so training leash manners occupies part of the day. Maria, our pregnant schnauzer, gave birth to four puppies yesterday morning - a quick sneak peak gives us two girls and two boys - and all are doing well at this point.

We were also fortunate to have some really nice people apply to adopt. The best part is that these folks are willing to work with the dogs on a continuing basis. Hermie, Sapir, and Copper are going to new homes.

The rescue group we foster for is helping us expand our quarantine area, as I keep filling up the old one, and they will then be able to have other volunteers work with that group of dogs. We will have to set down some guidelines, but it will be very good for the rescue dogs to be handled in a consistent manner by more than myself and my husband.

Since we now have 42 dogs here, four of which are post operative, and four new babies, I have to get busy. Have a great day!

In Memory of

Lucky was the product of an Australian Shepherd mom and a rottie dad. We were living in a converted school bus on the backside of a racetrack in Arizona, and the people that owned the feed store were trying to find him a home. The boys had to sweep the feed store for two weeks straight to pay for the pup. He taught himself to use the litter box for the cat when he had to stay inside. He would stand between any one of our family members when he thought there was impending danger - he protected me from a 3 ft. long bull snake, the vet from a round pen full of yearling horses. He watched my husband testing out a cutting horse in a pen full of cattle, and when the guys took a break and we turned him loose, he held the cattle at the far end of the pen without any formal education. Lucky saved our truck from being stolen in New York, while we were sitting on a ferry waiting to ride out to the Statue of Liberty. He woke us up one night when the furnace malfunctioned and saved us from being blown sky high. When we were training horses for the public, he would check each new one, and their owner, onto the property. They were then allowed to enter the property without any problem. If you didn't have a horse there, you had better wait till we told him it was okay. He never left the acreage, and wouldn't let any stray wander onto the property. If kittens or foals were born there, it was okay.

One day a cat had her kittens in a round bale outside. We had a spring snow storm, and one of the kittens crawled too far away. I found it while feeding horses, and looked over at Lucky and said that we would have to get them to the house and get them dry and warm. While I took care of the one that was cold and wet, he very carefully brought each baby to the porch and left it at the back door. He weighed 125 pounds.

He was a great dog. He died 8 years ago today at the age of 14.

Schnauzer Emergency

I check email at least three times a day, and here was one from a local animal control asking if we could please help with a pregnant schnauzer - a very pregnant schnauzer - as they cannot keep pregnant females with the over crowding they now have.

She obviously has been fairly well cared for. Her nails have been recently trimmed, and she obviously has been groomed in the not too distant past. The rescue coordinator picked her up and called to say she hoped she didn't deliver on the way to the rescue. She looks like she swallowed a soccer ball.

She's a miniature pet quality schnauzer, salt and pepper, with a kind disposition, very scared, but not at all aggressive. I need to gain her trust as quickly as possible because we may have puppies to deal with at any time. I sat on the floor and she crawled in my lap, put her head on my chest and stared up at me with concern in her eyes. I massaged her tight muscles, gently felt for puppy movement, and tried to reassure her that she was safe.

How anybody can abandon an animal in this condition, right before she is ready to give birth, is beyond me. It could have been prevented so easily.

Casey, Golden/lab mix

She was huddled in the back of the kennel at animal control. She had given up coming to meet new people, given up eating, was starting to shutdown, and was on the euthanasia list for the end of the week. I had seen her picture and story on the internet site and was drawn to her kind face and huge, gentle, big brown eyes. She was extremely thin to the point of emaciation, fur was matted, obviously had fleas, but those eyes! We brought her home and put her in a quiet area for quarantine purposes. She had separation anxiety and busted through the kennel, so I put a blanket, food, and water in her kennel and left the door open so she could go in and out when she felt the need. The only place she would eat and drink would be in the kennel. She was wormed and cleaned up, and even though she had lots of weight to gain, it was easy to see this was an exceptionally kind, gentle, and at one time gorgeous dog. She learned sit, down, shake, come, and stay. She stopped trying to escape her kennel and the play yards, got along with the other dogs, and started to smile. We liked her so well we decided to keep her and use her to rehab other dogs and the rescue coordinator would take her to local schools, nursing homes, etc.

Someone called who has been here before to ask if they could bring a friend out to meet the dogs. The friend had lost her dog of 18 years and was lonesome - the ladies assured us they weren't sure what they were looking for - just kicking tires - but would appreciate looking. Her old dog had been a golden retriever, and her statement was "I won't have another one". She couldn't conceive of another golden filling that empty spot in her.

We walked through the kennels and saved Casey till last. I knew immediately when I saw the woman's face - this was the dog she was looking for. Casey still had to be spayed because she needed to gain weight and get healthy before surgery, so by the time she went home with her new owner, she had a new bed, collar, leash, and lots of other goodies. Both were smiling as the car pulled away on the way to Casey's new forever home.

The Swap

In order to rescue a dog, it is sometimes necessary to go to great lengths to secure the animal.

Today I got a phone call stating that a 6-8 week old puppy had been dumped, found, and taken to a home overnight. The pup was totally covered with fleas, so badly in fact that when it shook its head, there were small spots of blood flying around. The pup was also passing worms. Would we take it in, because if we didn't, it would surely die within a matter of a few days.

The puppy was given a bath, fed, and made comfortable before we were contacted about taking it in. The family that found the puppy has a two year old child, who really wanted to keep the puppy, or so it seemed. When the puppy was delivered, the child started pitching a tantrum when the pup was handed over to me. The parents were reaching the point of maximum frustration and, being the grandma, I decided to make an offer I didn't think the child would refuse. I had a bag of iced animal cookies in the cupboard and offered them as a swap. The child looked at the bag of cookies, looked at the puppy, and grabbed the bag of cookies.

It's all about priorities and choices!!!

Goliath - New Beginning

"We live next door to Tipton and want to know if Goliath is his brother. We like Tipton so much, we would like to meet Goliath."

That's how it got rolling. The whole family came to meet Goliath and wanted him instantly because of his zest for life and love everybody attitude.

The best part is that the owner works for the teaching hospital that did Goliath's heart surgery and is involved with nutrition, so they understand the need for exercise and keeping his weight under control. They also understood his medical needs and had no problem with the monthly medication expense and the possible problems in later years. They also understood that he should not be over protected and should be allowed to be a dog, complete with discipline so he remains a good citizen.

So, the little 1.4 pound puppy with the over sized head, ribs sticking out, pot belly, eyes glued shut with pus has grown to a 17.6 pound well muscled, lean, happy, fun loving pup that can see very well. His heart is in much better shape than it was when we rescued him, and the cardiologist says he may have as many as 10 more years of life.

He left for his new home last evening. He got along great with the whole family and their dog, Wrigley.

Were there tears? Sure, but we just rescued 4 lab mix puppies the day before that are wormy, only 8 weeks old, and not socialized, so I have my work cut out for me. They have to learn to "suck up" so we can find them homes. Life goes on - got to keep moving forward.