This is real and was posted on Petfinder today…

You brought her here because you thought she needed a fenced backyard. You were wrong. What she “needed” was a loving home, which you very well could have provided. Did it not occur to you when you walked her through the shelter door, that big dogs don’t get adopted? That rambunctious dogs don’t get adopted? That dogs labeled Rottweiler or even part Rottweiler don’t get adopted? No matter how loving, how friendly, how well they get along with children, they don’t get adopted.

We tried, god knows we tried to find her a good home, with someone who would truly love her. The pleas sent to rescue, the time spent teaching her good manners so she wouldn’t overwhelm the very people she was trying to win over…we even had her spayed and vetted in the hopes someone would see what a great companion she was. And what a great companion she was. She quietly sat beside me on the steps outside, my arm around her shoulders as I wondered out loud what you were thinking when you dropped her off. She learned to walk beside me when we went outside, and to sit when we stopped - no more lunging ahead with all of her enthusiasm. Though I came only once a week, she learned that I meant “fun” and she would dance in her pen when she saw me, yelping in her confusion each time I passed without taking her out. I’m sure she once danced the same way for you.

We kept her for two weeks, when we could have killed her the same day you discarded her. We tried to give her a chance. But today, we admitted defeat. Mission failed. The pens were full, she’d been here too long. No one even looked at her anymore. So she took a final walk with one of the officers. She was excited to go with him, grinning and wagging her tail as she led him out the back door. I wanted to say good-bye, but someone else needed my attention as they gave up their dog, just the way you did only a few weeks ago. I could only watch her go, as she strained at the leash in anticipation of a new adventure.

Your dog died today. And I’m the one who cried for her. Rest in peace Matty.

Matty was someone’s favorite. Too bad that someone wasn’t a part of her family.

I think I’m ill. Mentally ill. I’m itching to rescue another ferret or a rabbit.

I can see that it’s very easy to become a hoarder.

Now, the differences between me and a classic hoarder are:

1) I can afford vet care, premium food, and all of my animals are licensed through the county.

2) All of my animals are altered.

3) All of my animals get attention.

4) None of my animals are stuck in cages that they are never let out of.

5) My house is not filthy and full of trash and feces.

6) All of my animals are microchipped (except for the ferrets but I think I’m going to have them done too).

7) My animals are clean and not full of dirt and matted fur.

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I brought up in an earlier post that my female Rottie, Brandy, has some temperament issues. She has recently decided that she’s female dog aggressive and she has also recently decided that she will bite strangers if they come into her house or office.

We can’t have this.

I met with a trainer today who I think we’re going to hire. She spent a long time talking to me, probably about an hour and a half, and left me to think about the plan she has outlined for us.

What I really like about her is that she isn’t promising me the sun and moon. She candidly said that she doesn’t know if we can fix Brandy’s problem. Yes, we can definately fix the people biting thing, but the dog aggression sounds like it’s genetic. She said that it’s uncommon for a dog to be truely dog aggressive to the point that they can’t be redirected but she suspects that with Brandy’s heritage that she might be one of the rare ones.

Lucky us, right?

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For the love of God, people….spay and neuter your pets.

http://www.news-journal.com/news/content/news/slideshows/animals/index.html

*This is pretty long, you may need an intermission.

Many, many people believe the misconception that buying a puppy from a breeder is the best way to ensure that a dog will have a good temperament and be well behaved.

I’m not only going to tell you that those people are wrong…I’m going to prove it.

I have four dogs. Brutus, a black lab mix, was a free to a good home dog. He was Pete’s dog before the girls and I moved in with him. Brutus came to us when he was seven weeks old. (We now know that 7 weeks is too young to leave his mother.) He was part of an “oops” litter from New Jersey. Poor Brutus has his problems, he gets chronic ear infections, his skin is constantly itchy, and I think he may have a thyroid condition. We’ll have the vet check that soon but right now we’re trying to see if putting him on a diet will help him. When he was a puppy he was a typical rambunctious lab, he jumped up on people, he pulled on his leash, and he barked A. LOT. He still does all of those things only now he’s 3 1/2 years old. He’s had some obedience training but Pete and I suck as dog parents and we didn’t keep up with it. Of course, he forgot everything he learned and we wasted a pretty nice chunk of change on a trainer. Even though Brutus has his allergy issues and his barking issues and his exuberance issues he’s still a silly, loveable dog. He’ll crawl into your lap if given half a chance and he is eager to please. He’s our oldest.

We adopted Jezebel, our Pit Bull, from the rescue that we volunteer with. She was an owner surrender. One day at Petsmart when we were holding a regular adoption an old man was standing outside of the entrance trying to give her away to the first person who would take her. She was scared and confused but she still gave frantic kisses to anyone who would pay attention to her. She had the word “SWANK” shaved into her fur on her right side. I don’t know what she did to deserve that but I was instantly taken with her. When the rescue did her intake she came straight home with us. She skipped the whole trip to the kennel and became our foster dog. We had her spayed and up to date on her shots and after a month we decided that we couldn’t part with her. We adopted her on a Saturday and she has been a wonderful addition to our family ever since. She’s my baby.

We recently adopted Chuck, our male Rottie, from the county animal shelter. He was very shy, under socialized, and a little on the skinny side. I saw his profile online one night when I was looking to see what the shelters had available for adoption. I do that once or twice a week so that if someone comes to our rescue looking for a particular type of animal I can refer them to another organization if we don’t have what they’re looking for. Chuck looked scared in his picture. His profile had him listed as a special needs animal and it said to talk to the shelter staff about him. I had planned to start volunteering with the shelter and I had to turn in my application so Pete took me there. I turned in my papers and then we decided to look around at the animals. Chuck was beautiful! He’s a big boy and he was very quiet. Pete and I asked if we could see him outside of the cage and one of the shelter staff led us outside to a fenced play area. He talked to us for a while and explained Chuck’s needs. He needed experienced dog people because he’s large and not everyone can handle a large dog. Also he needed people who knew how to handle a skittish dog. We told the man that we volunteer with a rescue and that we’ve fostered dogs like Chuck. He decided that we were good candidates for adopting him. They had turned down five or six families ahead of us. Those people wanted the big dog but they had no idea what to do with one or how to handle him. He asked us if we would fill out an application. We did and we were told we could pick him up three days later. Chuck is an amazing dog. He has overcome his shyness and he’s a 90 lb. puppy. There isn’t another dog like Chuck anywhere and I’m so glad he’s ours! He’s my other baby. I love all of my animals but Jezzy and Chuck own parts of my heart that no other animal ever will.

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When I first got into rescue I was not interested in doing anything other than holding a leash and playing with a dog for an afternoon. I didn’t know what went into getting the dogs to the locations so that I could hold a leash. Sometimes I wish I was still that innocent.

Rescue is hard work. Picking and choosing who you can save from the shelter and who will have to die because your organization doesn’t have the room…it’s enough to twist your stomach into knots.

As my family and I began to get more involved with volunteering I began to learn little bits and pieces. I learned how to read dog body language, I developed quick reflexes, and I learned how to take a bare bones bio and present a dog that someone should want to adopt.

We had been dog handlers for about three months when we decided that we’d like to be a foster family. I’ve loved all of my fosters but there is one that I will never forget. He’s the only one, besides the one I adopted myself, that stole my heart and ran away with it. Unfortunately his story doesn’t have a happy ending.

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