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COINTEST: Rescue Animals


anne.and.eli

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It's cointest time again!!

 

This one is for the rescue pet owners out there. :rolleyes:

 

Here at the petting zoo, we have four animals: 2 cats, a rabbit, and a dog, all rescues. I have a soft spot for people who take in rescue animals, so this is a cointest for you.

 

As an aside: I am not against people getting animals from breeders or what not, please do not take it as a statement against that. ;)

 

So, if you have a rescue animal (any species! past or present or near future) here is how you enter:

 

Tell us the story of your rescue (how you got the animal and something cool or neat about your pet)

And if possible, please post a picture. This is not a requirement, but I love seeing the pictures. :lol:

 

You have one week! I'll pick a winner or two at random at the end, and you'll get your choice of one of the Li'l Dreamer coins. :D

 

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Edited by anne.and.eli
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This is some coincidence, since I just took a Boxer rescue in on Friday.

We have been looking for a second dog for about 4 months now, trying to find what seems to be the right fit for us. I currently have a 2 year old Shepard/Boxer mix... We had been working with multiple boxer rescues, and then last week we saw a note in our vet's office that someone was looking for a home for a 3 year old boxer. We talked to the lady at the vet and it was her neighbors dog.. Apperantly one of their kids was getting allergies from the dogs saliva, and they finally decided they had to get rid of the dog. They had contacted a boxer rescue, and the dog was going to be picked up on the weekend.. We immediately began talking with the owner & the rescue that the dog was going to go to.. We had to kinda rush it a bit, so we did a great with our dog & the boxer (his name is Storm).. My dog (Shamus) who is a 95 pound male got along with Storm great so we decided to take him. We were able to pick up Storm directly from the owner who lived near us, and avoided Storm bouncing around in a Foster home... Sometimes timing is everything, a week later and he was going to be Fostered in a home in Maine I believe... Its funny to see how much more athletic Storm is than my dog.. Storm is 65 pounds, wich is small for a Male, but he is so quick, when him and Shamus run in the yard, Storm just leapes right over my dog, he's so darn quick...

 

This is not the greatest pick, but we havent gotten around to take a bunch of pictures just yet...

 

storm.jpg

Edited by Tha Saint
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Great topic, both of our Jack Russell Terriers are rescues. Chloe came to us in 2001 when we moved into our new home. She ran with a pack of dogs after her previous owners moved and left her. We made friends with her over the summer and she remained close to our house. On a cold November night in '01, she was sleeping under the front steps in the cold rain. Mrs. 2J2J said she could sleep inside that ONE night, she has been with us since then. Chloe is now 10 years old and a spoiled queen of the house.

 

Chloe needed a friend to play with.

 

Iggy was found wondering along side the road in central North Carolina by a nice policeman who knew a JRT rescue worker. In 2002 we started looking for a playmate for Chloe. We contacted Russel Rescue and we were put in touch with the Charlotte area Russell Rescue. After some e-mails showing our fenced in 1/3 acre back yard, and a letter from our vet stating we knew the breed, we were allowed to come see what they had.

 

There were two ... one ran off as the kennel owner opened the gate and that left Iggy. So, for an adoption fee of $50.00 we took him home. Iggy is now 9 years old and has not missed a meal since coming here.

 

Photos:

 

Chloe

 

chloe01.jpg

 

Iggy

 

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Anne... you are amazing me all the time!!! What a sweet cointest!!!

 

We had rescued at least 2 cats till now! Unfortunatelly they are not with us any more! ;)

 

The first one was Kiki! We found her in front of our main door a Sunday!

Sunday in greek is Kyriaki and this name is also used as a female name... from that name we have the KIKI and we named her like that! :) (just like Friday in Robinson Crusoe.... :rolleyes: )

 

She was a kitten that someone throw away! the kitten had a plastic cup from a yougart in front of her that used to have some milk.... We took the cat, my mother cleaned her eyes (they had mucus of eyes) we cleaned her as we could, gave her food and milk and.... she stayed for many years with us! :D She was so clever!!! Probably the most clever cat I have ever seen!!! She could open the small inside door we had and close it.... to enter in the house she was waiting the signal of my father (if he didn't wave at her to enter... she was staying outside!!!) She was not touching the food except if it was her food and the most strange thing..... she had seen that as a baby I was using a chamber pot and... she started using it!!! Nope... nobody learned that to her! I was about to stop using it when my mother was seeing that it was used... she asked me if I was the one who used it and of course I was not! This was happening every morning! One day my mother saw the cat!!! I stoped using the chamberpot but my cat started using it!!!

 

When we had to move from the house into a better one (rental), the owner didn't want us to have pets! We were so sad about it and we were trying to convince him that kiki was not an ordinary pet but... a member of our family!!! Till that time, we left kiki in a neighbour who was a good friend! We were going to see the cat untill we finally get a YES from the flat owner or course! Unfortunatelly the neighbour was not so good with her! :D She was forgeting to feed her and one day Kiki stole a fish! the woman took the cat and thowed her to a park with other cats.... We found out all that when we went to take the cat! We had the Yes from the flat owner but our cat had gone!!!! :lol: We had a huge fight with the neighbour! she told us where she left the cat and went to find her!! We never found her! :o Poor Kiki...... :P

 

I will post my other story in an other post if that is ok! If we can only post once... just consider these as 1 post... ok? :D

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I also rescued an other cat... Asproula! :D Asproula means little white!

 

I was coming back home from my training school when I started hearing a kitten cry.... I stoped to see from where it was coming from and... I realized that it was coming from a closed trush bucket in the road! Someone... a #$%$#$#$# had thrown the kitten inside so when the car who collects the trush comes the kitten would die... That was a murder... how can some guys do such things....

 

Anyway... the kitten was very dirty... full of mucus or eyes and so hungry!!! She was so tiny and skiny.... I took her to my mother and we cleaned her feed her etc... she became an amazingly beautiful a lovely cat!!! At that time we had Renata, a cat I was given by a girlfriend and Renata with Asproula became such a close friends... like sisters! When they got pregnant (both at the same time!!!) they were helping eachother... they were looking eachothers babies... amazing!!!!

Unfortunatelly when she was out she probably ate something poisonous...or she got sick! I remember her coming to say goodbye to us... then we realised that something was wrong...

She left and after some hours we found her dead! Her loss was a knife in my heart! the week we lost her... many animals died! Someone had thrown poison in pieces of meat... :rolleyes:

 

Oh... I do not know if it counts but I resqued a sparrow and let it free, a swallow that was hurt (heal it and after some day we let it free)... and... a plant! :P Someone had a beautiful flower and when the terracota pot broke... he just trhrow the plant too!!! I took it and with my mother and sister we cleaned it, cut some edges so it can grow up, put new soil and manure and the plant became a beautiful one!! we called it princess! :)

Of course... that is not a pet or something... even if plants and flowers have a life too! :lol:

 

I am deeply sorry but I do not have photos of my cats! ;) I wish I had!

 

BTW... sometimes.. things in our life and in the way we are living or... the place we live in doesn't allow us to have a pet or to rescue one...

I can understand that! but... you can also help a stray or an animal by provide food and water... especially during hard times like very hot weather... provide fresh water... and when it is snowing or it is very cold... remember the little sparrows and other birds... some tiny crumps of bread can help them pass a difficult day... and to survive! :o

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This is a picture of my beautiful Duchess. We rescued her when she was about 8 months old. She was quite timid but warmed up to us in days and soon she wouldn't leave my side ;) About a week after we adopted her my youngest son was having a bath and she jumped in with him...he was surprised and delighted. They formed a bond those two, and once when we were hiking Duchess decided to jump in the river and got a bit swept away by the current. Without thinking, my son (he was 7) jumped in after her to save her. I could never figure out why someone would want to get rid of a dog as good as she is, she loves baths and hair combing and all the things that dogs aren't supposed to like. When the kids were playing outside she would run around them protectively, keeping them from harm.

Unfortunately she is also the reason we couldn't take the dogs with us to Australia. When I brought her to the vet for preliminary check up and blood work for the trip, she cried and screamed so badly that I couldn't put her through that trauma again. So right now, both my dogs (you can see Louis in the picture too I am holding him) are enjoying freedom on a friends' farm until we get back. I miss them terribly... :rolleyes:

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And as you can tell it was a really windy day and yes, we were caching! :D

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Heineken (myheine)

 

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My wife was killed in 2005, and left Logan and I to take care of each other. Logan was alone while I went to work, and started marking in the house, something he had not done even as a puppy. His bouts with pneumonia and the frequency of his seizures also worsened. This, i believe, was a combination of the change in his schedule (Kathy would usually be home by 3:30 or 4 to let him out,) and some depression. I took him to work with me every day for about 1 year, but it wasn't much of a life for him...he would stay in my office behind closed doors most of the day, or world be moved to one of my treatment rooms when I needed my office to run an examination, but his health improved.

 

Prior to purchasing Logan, we had contacted a group called the New Jersey Schnauzer Network, but they really didn't have anyone fostering dogs in this area at that time. I'm not sure why I thought to contact them again, but I resubmitted an application to be considered to adopt another schnauzer. I was contacted about a week later and asked if I would be interested in adopting a young male (males are tougher to find homes for, but all of our dogs are/were males.) The dog was a little shy, and needed a quieter, adult only home preferably with another dog or dogs.

 

Logan and I met with the foster person a week later...Heineken (then called Seven Of Nine,) attempted to hide behind her while Logan pawed at him...a request to play...this is the friend I wanted for Logan...he and i brought Heineken back to his forever home...it was a week or two after the holidays, and I told people I had gotten Logan a puppy for Christmas. Thank you New Jersey Schnauzer Network for giving Logan and I a new best friend.

 

Maxx (2themaxx)

 

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Logan died quietly in my arms, in Aug. 2009 after ongoing bouts with pneumonia...he had been seizure free for about 2 years. Heineken showed signs of depression almost immediately...his interest in playing was gone, and I was unable to cope with another dog.

 

I had received a note from a geocacher that a cache I had hidden (Oh give me a home...) at the Elk County Humane Shelter had been stolen. I drove up at noon time (day after Christmas,) to check on it...although the shelter was closed for the holiday weekend, the staff was there to clean and walk dogs (I had helped out with dog walking the year before on Christmas eve and Christmas day, but didn't feel up to it this past holiday.) The cache was fine...the person who contacted me had looked in the wrong place for the cache (easier to understand if you ever have a chance to search for it...most of my caches are not exactly what or where you would expect.) I went inside to warm up a little, and to say hello to everyone and was greeted by a familiar looking face from inside the main office window...it was the face of an uncropped schnauzer! This immediately got my attention.

 

I walked into the office to meet "digger," the 2 year old dog with a schnauzer face, and dachshund body, and learn about his history (I'm on the fundraising comittee for the shelter.) Though not abused, I was told he was surrendered, the subject of neglect. The tip of his tale was bald...I was told that because of a flea infestation, he had pretty much pulled out any hair he could get his teeth on to relieve the itching...everything had grown back but the tip of his tail (which now has also grown hair.) I was going to be going to a new Years Eve party, but asked if i could try taking him home for the new Years weekend to see how he and heine would get along. I picked up Maxx New Years Day (again, not common procedure, but the benefit of being associated with the shelter,) and paid the adoption fee on Jan. 4th. I had gotten Heineken a puppy for Christmas! Thank you Elk County Humane Society for giving Heineken and I a new best friend!

 

ILYK

ILYB

ILYL

ILYH

ILYM

 

Who Rescued Who

 

edited to add, I appreciate the cointest, but please don't consider this an entry...I like having the opportunity to talk about my "boyz", and besides, I've already won so much by adopting these 2 rescue dogs!

Edited by drneal
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Annabelle joined our family about two years ago. I've always been more of a dog person, and we were raising two puppies. That summer, we found a lost kitten and took care of it for a few days until the owners saw our posters and called to pick her up. I was glad she had a home, but felt like something was missing after she left.

 

I didn't realize how much I must have talked about her until my husband said he wanted to get me a special Christmas gift but needed my input. He asked if I'd like a kitten, since I missed little Barbie. I loved the idea, but I fostered cats when I was younger, and know it's a lot harder for older cats to get adopted than kittens. I told him I'd be flexible, and we could adopt the cat or kitten that we felt was right, so we went to visit a cat rescue center. We saw many cats, and wanted to help all of them, but we went home alone and talked about them. We returned a week later, planning to bring home a male that had been there a few months.

 

When we arrived, the cat we'd been looking at was still there. Since there weren't a lot of cats, I decided to hold some of them to see how they would react. In the end, my choices came down to a recent mom whose kittens had all been adopted, George, the older cat, and little Nanny. Unfortunately, George's foster family said he was not good with dogs, so we had to leave him. I loved the black mom, but when I held her, it just didn't feel right. I was disappointed since I have a fondness for black and gray cats.

 

That left little Nanny. Her family had dropped her off to be spayed and never come back. She had been a barn cat. I've never felt an attachment to calico cats, but when my husband put her in my arms, I knew she was our cat. She purred and snuggled, and when I put her down, I had to pick her right back up again. They allowed us to foster her for a week to make sure she'd get along with the dogs, and she did fantastic. We gated off an area for her food and litter and privacy, but she wouldn't stay in, she wanted to be out and playing with her new family.

 

Two years later, she's our gorgeous, independent Annabelle. She still wishes she could be outside sometimes, but always gives us a huge welcome when we come home. Her favourite place to sleep is between us on the pillows, purring away. Thankfully, she gets along great with the dogs, and is very patient with our young daughter. She may not have had the greatest start to life, but we're all thankful for the circumstances that brought her to us and the people who looked after her on the way.

 

Thanks for the cointest, and to everybody who has posted their stories so far. Rescue animals are special individuals, and it's great to see so many happy stories. I'm posting from my phone, but if I can get the computer working later, I'll update with a picture or two.

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Clarification: You can post as many times as you want, but I will add your name to the list just once. Maybe I will do a second prize where I put your name on the list as many times as you have rescue animals, and draw another random name. Hrm, that sounds fun. :) I think I'll do that!

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10-31-07gitchie.jpg

This is our Gitchie Bird we found at an EarthCache in northern Iowa.

 

Her story is found here at The Online Geocacher magazine.

 

This story started my involvement with the magazine.

 

 

edited to add, I appreciate the cointest, but please don't consider this an entry...I like having the opportunity to talk about my "boyz", and besides, I've already won so much by adopting these 2 rescue dogs!

I would like to echo drneal's sentiment here. Thanks for asking people to share their stories!

Edited by catsnfish
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10-31-07gitchie.jpg

This is our Gitchie Bird we found at an EarthCache in northern Iowa.

 

Her story is found here at The Online Geocacher magazine.

 

This story started my involvement with the magazine.

 

 

edited to add, I appreciate the cointest, but please don't consider this an entry...I like having the opportunity to talk about my "boyz", and besides, I've already won so much by adopting these 2 rescue dogs!

I would like to echo drneal's sentiment here. Thanks for asking people to share their stories!

 

I echo, echo, echo the sentimants :) I don't consider this an entry........ I volunteer at a local shelter. It is a no-kill cat shelter and does very wonderful things for the kitties. I adopted a 1 1/2 year old kitty from there shortly after I started volunteering to keep my cat Nikos company. They get along GREAT and she has just been a little blessing to us since we brought her home :blink:

 

Here she is in her basket....................

 

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Her name is Cherry Pie, given to her by the shelter. We didn't want to confuse her, so we kept her name the same.

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Enjoy these types of threads. I will tell my story.

 

On December 23 of 2008 a cat showed up at our door. It was very cold this time of year in our neck of the woods, so my wife set up a box for the cat to sleep in and a place to get out of the wind. She was also feeding it, because it looked a little thin. And she feeds some of the local roamers from time to time. She made up flyers and posted them around the neighborhood right away. So then on Christmas day I came home from work and the cat was now inside. It was just getting to cold for her (the cat) to stay outside. So we decide to keep her from our other 2 cats. Then were like we will wait a week to see if anyone responds to the flyers. If not we would take her to a shelter. Now to be honest I was like 2 cats is enough. And one of them we got from the pound. Plus she didn't seem to like me much. Well now it is over a year later and we still haven't taken her to the shelter. lol

I have fallen for her. And at times she is all over me. My wife is like what happened?

This is Spinks now.

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This is another one with our other rescued cat in it.

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This is great thread.

Have enjoyed the stories!

Thanks to everyone that shares!

Hiking Dude

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We went to a rescue centre, as we were thinking of rehoming some guinea pigs. After seeing the piggies, we went to see the cats and got no further than the first pen. There was the smallest ball of fluff making the biggest noise. He had been found on the street, at a few weeks old, and was about 8 weeks old when we first saw him. The place was closing so we had to leave. We all spent the whole weekend thinking about him and considering what it would be like to have a cat - that cat. No contest, we had all fallen in love with him and even Mr F was keen to go and bring him home.

 

So Binky, as he's now known, is one of our family. It turns out he likes riding in cars, will miaow to tell us when he needs to poop or be fed and stays quiet at other times. I tried putting a harness on him now and then from when he first got here until he was happy to run around the house with one on. Now he comes on walks with us, or on weekend trips away visiting relatives. One thing he really hates is the sound of vehicles, so as he was found so young on the street, we wonder whether he saw his mum killed on the road and that left a lasting impression.

 

Here he is out caching with us!

 

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It was in the Fall of 2006 when we brought Stripe into our home. One of our neighbors at the time had come over to tell us that she had heard him crying outside her window in the bushes of their house but she couldn't find him & was concerned as she knew if her husband had heard him that would be the end of that. So we went over and took a look, and there he was, just a little kitten, not yet weened, crying for his momma. My wife's heart just melted. He had to be the runt as tiny as he was, even now our vet can't get over how small he is for being a full grown tomcat. There is no where that he can't get to if he puts his mind to it. The little booger knows that his catnip is on top of the refrigerator and whoosh! Up he goes! I swear at times he thinks he is a parrot or something because he loves climbing up and resting on my shoulder. I can walk around the apartment all day and he'll just sit there taking in the view of everything below him. But he is my wife's "lil baby", if she is home he is in her lap or by her side. This is a picture of him trying to look cute. He doesn't have to try very hard.

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Pepper was just a kitten when I brought him home from work one night back in 1995. He was out back of the ice cream plant that I worked at, at the time. The guys at work heard him crying one night and we got him a little dish of the mix that we used to make the ice cream and he absolutely loved it. They were gonna call someone from animal control to come get him & I figured I would just take him home to my wife. It was near our anniversary & I knew she would just love to have him. Once home, he became attached to our 5 month old son Zachary. Zachary had a baby blanket that had little pieces of yarn tied through it and Pepper would lay there with him and suck on the yarn as if he were nursing. Zachary was Pepper's boy from then on until we laid him to rest in late 2007. This was one of the last pictures that we took of the 2 of them. Zachary still has his picture on his dresser.

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It will be 16 years this June when we brought Socks into our home. The gentleman that had her was getting ready to take her to the animal shelter because his new girlfriend was allergic to cats. She wasn't a little kitten anymore and we feared the worst so, part of our family she became. She is the "Feline Queen" of her castle. (Well, until Stripe wants to play that is!) She is my "Big Baby" & she knows it. I have spoiled her ever since we brought her into our life. And even at her age she still plays at times as if she were a kitten. She does what she wants, when she wants most of the time.

SocksSleeping.jpg

Edited by Are_we_there_yet?
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Good Golly Miss Molly's story

 

My springer Abbey died in 2007. I was devastated and angry too at the vet (long story there) This was the first time in 30 years that I had not owned at least one dog. I wasn't ready for another dog yet but I looked on petfinder anyway. I couldn't look at the springers without crying so I looked at shelties as I have had several in the past. Two weeks after losing Abbey I saw a picture of a gorgeous sheltie in a kill shelter in Ohio. I emailed but I couldn't wait so the next morning I called. I had to talk to the pound manager before I could even see her.

 

It took a couple of hours before I could get there but when I first saw her I thought she was even more gorgeous than the petfinder picture. She had been surrendered by her owner. The reason given on the paperwork was "My wife is an idiot" That was really written on the paperwork!! I couldn't imagine why someone would give up this dog. She had been obviously spoiled. She is a typical sheltie and I don't really see any bad habits. For a long time I also thought the wife was an idiot. But now I think she was one very smart lady. She knew there was someone out there who would want this dog much more than she did. She was right!!

 

Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of her adoption day. This picture was taken of her then. She is now the queen of the house.

 

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I don't have any pictures handy, but we have three dogs and three cats. 2 of the dogs, and 2 of the cats are rescues.

 

Sierra, the oldest dog, was picked up from a rescue group when she was about 8 weeks old. She was part of a litter that was abandoned on the side of the road by their owner. She is solid black, and we think she is 50% border collie and 50% cocker spaniel. She's got a lot of both in her if she's not 50/50. Beautiful dog, and easily the smartest animal I've ever owned. I taught her to climb the tree that used to be in the front yard in about half an hour one day with nothing to reward her but a tennis ball.

 

Shortly after I got Sierra, I got Rio, the first of the rescued cats. I got him as a companion for Sierra, who seemed a little lonely. He's a black and white fat cat. When he was a kitten, he and Sierra would just lay side by side grooming each other. He'll still climb up in your lap and lick the tip of your nose.

 

Next came Star, who is a part pit female that we rescued after she was abandoned at about 6 months old. She is one of the most loveable animals I have ever seen, although she does tend to have a temper with the other dogs sometimes.

 

After that was Angel, the second rescued cat. She was found inside an old boat that my sister's company reposessed, along with her sister. Unfortunately, her sister didn't survive. Angel came to live with us temporarily, and we never let her leave.

 

We've had other rescues with us temporarily also - a dalmation that the people next door left behind when they moved (jerks) stayed with us for a year before we found her a home. We also rescued a puppy from a vet that had tied her inside a black trash bag when the owners came in to have her put down because they couldn't keep her. He was out of the stuff they use, so he thought a plastic bag would be great. My sister was working there at the time, and took the puppy out - he's now being investigated and the puppy has a home.

Edited by tekkguy
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I'll give this one a go. I have the black version of this coin, and would love to add a partner to the collection.

 

My wife has a cousin who likes to rescue dogs who are about to be put down, like a second chance sort of thing. My wife told her that we would like to get a small, non-shedding, indoor dog to adopt, preferably a poodle. She could not find any poodles, but after a few months, my wife called her cousin to check in, and was told that she had a couple of small dogs that just came in (they were brother and sister). She said that she thought they were a mix between a poodle and a shih tzu. My wife went down to see them, and fell in love with one of them. She brought her home, and we had our new pet. We named her Chili (as in Chili-dog).

 

Her story is heart-breaking. Apparently, she had no idea how to interact with people. She was terrified of everyone. She did not like to be held, and was afraid to be off of the floor for the first couple of weeks. To compound things, when we brought her to her new home, she was in heat. So, she was hormonal, scared, lost, and not very happy at all. She had been kept outside, so her hair was so matted that she had to be shaved in order to clean her up. But through lots of time and care, she has acclimated very well. We also had her spayed, so no more discomfort of being in heat. She is quite the cuddle-buddy now, and loves to rest on the couch or on our laps. She hangs around while we eat, but doesn't beg. And she is so good with the baby - extremely tolerant. She really is a wonderful dog. Here are a couple of pics.

 

This first one is shortly after we brought her home, as she sits in her bed.

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Here she is sitting outside the door of the room where I was - she is very much a "Daddy's Girl"!

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Here she is after attacking me (LOL!)

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Here is a pose before getting a haircut. When she needs a haircut, it looks like she can't even see at all!

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And one more, just for laughs. Here is a CLOSEup.

2009-122209-Chili-a.jpg

Edited by SgtMikal
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Greetings all,

 

My story is about a parrot!!. She is a Red-Lored Amazon named Rico. I saw her at a bird fair in late 2000 and couldn't let her stay with the "people" who had her. When birds are stressed, they pluck their feathers. The poor little girl had her belly plucked bare. And, she has a "toe" that was broken and healed improperly.

I was working for my vet cleaning and feeding the animals at that time. When I brought her in for a check-up, he had two questions: # 1. Where did you get her? and after I answered, #2. Can you take her back?

I asked him how I could send that little face back to where she'd been!!

He was sure she had been used for breeding and not treated very well. She could answer that question herself because she talks. When I first got her, she could say, "hello" and "bad bird." Now she can say, "Rico," "I love you"

and "right back"!! When I go out, I tell her "I'll be right back"!! And, she has regrown most of her belly feathers.

We aren't sure how old she is, but, we think she's about 25 now. She has a home with me until one of us

crosses the Rainbow Bridge.

 

I must say thank you to all the wonderful, caring people who have shared their stories and their love here. It is comforting and refreshing to see how many good people are in our caching community!!

It's a shame some humans are so heartless and cruel to our fellow creatures.

 

And, many thanks to anne.and.eli for this great cointest. The Lil' Dreamer Coins are toooo cute.

Good luck to everyone!!!

Safe and happy caching to all.

Kelly (AKA GeoCharmer81)

 

P.S. Looking forward to seeing many of you at Midwest Geobash!!!!!

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I am sure you will all recognize my son cat, Max. He is the one whos' picture I use for my avatar.

We've always had at least one cat in every house we've ever lived in, I couldn't imagine a home without a cat in it. Anyways, back to Max, he is a purebred fawn abyssinian but is not quite show quality due to a small kink in the end of his tail and some little bits missing from his ears.

We got Max from the local shelter about eight years ago where they estimated his age at about 8 months old. He and about 30 or 40 other cats were rescued from a breeder/hoarder who had run afoul with the local law enforcment agents and was placed in jail (nothing to do with the cats). All those kitties were left to run loose in this womans house for over a month with no one to attend to them. There were numerous dead cats and kittens in the house and of those still alive only a few were without serious medical problems. When the shelter folks were called in they were appaled at the conditions of most of the cats and kittens and they rounded them all up and took them back to the shelter where a team of local veterinarians had volunteered their time to speed up the processing and treatments. Out of the 30 or 40 cats and kittens that were rescued only a handful survived and Max was one of them.

My daughter was volunteering at the shelter at the time and had told me the story of this rescue with tears in her eyes. She had known that I have always had a fondness for abyssinian cats and told me that there were a few of them from this rescue. I immediately headed over to the shelter and began checking out these kitties.

When I got to the cage that Max was in, he was curled up in his little cardboard bed in the corner of the cage, but when he saw me he immidiately got up out of his little bed and began to cry and rub the bars. My daughter was with me and told me that he never left his bed on his own, this was the first time he did that. It was love at first sight for the both of us.

I headed right over to the shelter office and told them I wished to take him home. They told me about the limited history of him and also told me that he was still in quarantine but that I had a good chance of adopting him oncce he was cleared medically.

A couple of days later they called back and told me that if I was still interested I could adopt him, as soon as I hung up the phone I headed to the shelter and had adopted him 30 minutes later.

Since then we have been inseperable, he follows me wherever I go in the house and always comes running whenever I come home from work, he even sleeps with me in the bed every night either curled up next to me or between my feet under the covers when its chilly.

He is the smallest kitty we have ever had (barely 6 pounds at 8 years old) and he is also the highest energy kitty we've ever had. He is such a great companion and is very smart. We've trained him to walk on a leash, ride in a car and has no problems taking a bath every month. So thats my story about my son cat Max...

 

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This is some coincidence, since I just took a Boxer rescue in on Friday.

We have been looking for a second dog for about 4 months now, trying to find what seems to be the right fit for us. I currently have a 2 year old Shepard/Boxer mix... We had been working with multiple boxer rescues, and then last week we saw a note in our vet's office that someone was looking for a home for a 3 year old boxer. We talked to the lady at the vet and it was her neighbors dog.. Apperantly one of their kids was getting allergies from the dogs saliva, and they finally decided they had to get rid of the dog. They had contacted a boxer rescue, and the dog was going to be picked up on the weekend.. We immediately began talking with the owner & the rescue that the dog was going to go to.. We had to kinda rush it a bit, so we did a great with our dog & the boxer (his name is Storm).. My dog (Shamus) who is a 95 pound male got along with Storm great so we decided to take him. We were able to pick up Storm directly from the owner who lived near us, and avoided Storm bouncing around in a Foster home... Sometimes timing is everything, a week later and he was going to be Fostered in a home in Maine I believe... Its funny to see how much more athletic Storm is than my dog.. Storm is 65 pounds, wich is small for a Male, but he is so quick, when him and Shamus run in the yard, Storm just leapes right over my dog, he's so darn quick...

 

This is not the greatest pick, but we havent gotten around to take a bunch of pictures just yet...

 

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Former Boxer breeder, showed them AND did rescue for over 25 years before all these rescue groups came along - this is one lucky dog! The ideal of a placement for a "rescue" dog is what happened here.........no fostering, no moving the dog from state to state - matched to a new/good home and settling in. Nothing better and my idea of an ideal placement. I am amazed at the adoption fees for some of these services. That aside...........

 

Enjoy your new baby. He is a lucky fellow and a boxer buddy is usually a friend for life (bearing unforseen problems). We still own a boxer and probably always will (until I can't walk one any mroe).

 

Cheers!

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Heineken (myheine)

 

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My wife was killed in 2005, and left Logan and I to take care of each other. Logan was alone while I went to work, and started marking in the house, something he had not done even as a puppy. His bouts with pneumonia and the frequency of his seizures also worsened. This, i believe, was a combination of the change in his schedule (Kathy would usually be home by 3:30 or 4 to let him out,) and some depression. I took him to work with me every day for about 1 year, but it wasn't much of a life for him...he would stay in my office behind closed doors most of the day, or world be moved to one of my treatment rooms when I needed my office to run an examination, but his health improved.

 

Prior to purchasing Logan, we had contacted a group called the New Jersey Schnauzer Network, but they really didn't have anyone fostering dogs in this area at that time. I'm not sure why I thought to contact them again, but I resubmitted an application to be considered to adopt another schnauzer. I was contacted about a week later and asked if I would be interested in adopting a young male (males are tougher to find homes for, but all of our dogs are/were males.) The dog was a little shy, and needed a quieter, adult only home preferably with another dog or dogs.

 

Logan and I met with the foster person a week later...Heineken (then called Seven Of Nine,) attempted to hide behind her while Logan pawed at him...a request to play...this is the friend I wanted for Logan...he and i brought Heineken back to his forever home...it was a week or two after the holidays, and I told people I had gotten Logan a puppy for Christmas. Thank you New Jersey Schnauzer Network for giving Logan and I a new best friend.

 

Maxx (2themaxx)

 

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Logan died quietly in my arms, in Aug. 2009 after ongoing bouts with pneumonia...he had been seizure free for about 2 years. Heineken showed signs of depression almost immediately...his interest in playing was gone, and I was unable to cope with another dog.

 

I had received a note from a geocacher that a cache I had hidden (Oh give me a home...) at the Elk County Humane Shelter had been stolen. I drove up at noon time (day after Christmas,) to check on it...although the shelter was closed for the holiday weekend, the staff was there to clean and walk dogs (I had helped out with dog walking the year before on Christmas eve and Christmas day, but didn't feel up to it this past holiday.) The cache was fine...the person who contacted me had looked in the wrong place for the cache (easier to understand if you ever have a chance to search for it...most of my caches are not exactly what or where you would expect.) I went inside to warm up a little, and to say hello to everyone and was greeted by a familiar looking face from inside the main office window...it was the face of an uncropped schnauzer! This immediately got my attention.

 

I walked into the office to meet "digger," the 2 year old dog with a schnauzer face, and dachshund body, and learn about his history (I'm on the fundraising comittee for the shelter.) Though not abused, I was told he was surrendered, the subject of neglect. The tip of his tale was bald...I was told that because of a flea infestation, he had pretty much pulled out any hair he could get his teeth on to relieve the itching...everything had grown back but the tip of his tail (which now has also grown hair.) I was going to be going to a new Years Eve party, but asked if i could try taking him home for the new Years weekend to see how he and heine would get along. I picked up Maxx New Years Day (again, not common procedure, but the benefit of being associated with the shelter,) and paid the adoption fee on Jan. 4th. I had gotten Heineken a puppy for Christmas! Thank you Elk County Humane Society for giving Heineken and I a new best friend!

 

ILYK

ILYB

ILYL

ILYH

ILYM

 

Who Rescued Who

 

edited to add, I appreciate the cointest, but please don't consider this an entry...I like having the opportunity to talk about my "boyz", and besides, I've already won so much by adopting these 2 rescue dogs!

 

Thanks for sharing Dr. N - you are the best! And - only a real dog person would have recognized this uncropped sweetie! Enjoy the new Boy! Congrats on your adoption.

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What a great idea!!

 

Every dog we have had was a "rescue", in fact we won't get a dog any other way!

We currently have 4 dogs, but we have "rescued" 7. Sorry this is soooo long!! :wub: But you asked! lol

 

Blue-our first basset hound. We were just married in 2000 and my husband said that he liked bassets. I lked all dogs, so I was fine with that. We checked hotmail classifieds and saw one we liked, that fell through, but we were contacted by MidWest Basset Hound Rescue, they had a dog for us! We met Blue and fell in love! Blue was a handful. She was scared of men and hats, but we just loved her! When we were living in MO she suffered from the effects of Black Mold in the townhouse we were living in (alergies, seizures, etc), but once we moved out she was fine. She was about 5 when we got her. We had her through 3 moves and 8 years. She died in my arms from a burst spleen, or a mass on her spleen that had burst. See her picture below

Bluesnow422208.jpg

 

Albert-In 2001 we decided that Blue needed a sibling. We were at a "waddle" (fundraiser for basset hounds) when we met Bert. He was in the back of a pickup and just the sweetest dog. We made the comment that he was such a great dog. Someone said "you know he's up for adoption". Pat and i looked at each other and said..."not anymore"! We took him home that night! He was 7 at that time and he was given up by his original owners when he was 6, then someone adopted him and brought him back a year later and said that he peed on the floor every day for the last year...he didn't pee on the floor once after we got him (ok, that once when he was mad because the vet accidentally expressed HIS anal glands instead of Blue's!! lol). Bert died at the age of 14 after his back end stopped working because of arthritis. See his pic below. Albert_12006croped.jpg

 

Ozzie-We got Ozzie when he was a year and a half old. He only had one eye and was very unique looking...and a terror! lol. We still have him today. When he was 8 weeks old he was sprayed in the face by a high pressure water or air hose and an ulcer formed on his eye. None of the FIVE owners he had in his first year and a half did anything about it, so the eye died. The rescue group removed the eye, but don't feel bad for him...he's a terror even without that eye! he is food agressive and very possessive of his crate and people and toys and space....but also a sweet dog. definitely a daddy's boy. We've had him since 2003. He's around 9ish now. his pic is below, although now he is a lot more gray!

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Duke the bloodhound. We had 3 bassets and decided that it was time to get a bloodhound! So in 2004 we tried contacting Bloodhound rescue groups and because we were in CA none would help us. So we found Duke on an "all breed rescue" site in AZ. We called and sent in the required information and were approved! We drove to Phoenix to pick him up. They estimated he was about 5 (although we think he was a bit yougner than that!). Supposedly a vet had found him wandering the streets of Phoenix and he had tested positive for Valley Fever. He was also mising his tail, someone had bobbed it. He was a bit underweight (although we fixed that! lol). he does have problems holding his pee it will leak out if he's doesn't take his medicine. Before we got it under control a vet casuaally said that she couldn't believe we would keep him with his leaking and wouldn't it be better to put him down....NO! He's still with us today and is about 12ish. He loves to eat snow...below is a pic

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Elmo the bloodhound. I don't know WHY I did it...but I checked the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue's website in 2005 and saw Elmo! He was a red-bone bloodhound. I contacted them and they agreed that we could take him. They estimated Elmo to be about 10...when I brought him to my vet they said he was probably more like 12! That is old for a bloodhound! I have no idea of Elmo's background but he was TERRIFIED of storms! He also had a level 4 heart murmur and when he had his teeth cleaned they had to remove all of them but 12 because of gum disease! So he had to gum his food, but he was still able to eat! He was a great dog and died about 2 years after we got him. He went out in the yard in the morning, did his business, came back to the porch and laid down and died. We think his heart just gave out, but he was about 14 years old and we gave him a good end of his life. See his picture below

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Rosie--in early 2006 I got a call from a local (Colorado Springs) basset rescue person who said they just pulled a basset/bloodhound mix from the shelter because she was going to be put down because she was scared of people and did I want to foster her? They thought since we had both Bassets and bloodhounds that we would be good. So I went to pick her up and she was SOOOO scared of people, but I didn't think she was a mix with bloodhound. We think that she is a pure-bred basset, just badly bred. It took her about 2 years to become really comfortable with people, but she is a sweetie and still with us today. In Oct of 2009 she was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma, and has been receiving Chemo treatments since then She has 6 more weeks of treatments and we are hoping that it will take a long time for the cancer to come back. We call her "Event Rosie" because she is the best dog to take to events because she is mild mannered, doesn't bark at other dogs, and is low maintance! The shelter guessed she was about 5 when we got her, so today that would make her around 8-9. Below is a pic

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Last but not least-Henry-we just got Henry about 3 weeks ago. I had received an email 2 years ago asking if we wanted a bloodhound puppy, and we said no, we didn't "do" puppies, but I knew a lady in the basset hound rescue network who wanted one. So that lady took him. Recently she emailed me and said that she couldn't keep him because of money issues and did we want him? We decided that we did! So Henry came to be with us. He's a 2.5 year old bloodhound and the only dog that we know EXACTLY when he was born! He's a big goof and loves to play. Below is a pic that we just took yesterday!

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There are just SOOO many dogs (and cats and other animals) out there that are discarded and need rescuing. Too many people buy animals and have no idea of the tempermant or anything and end up getting rid of them. If you want a "pure bred" animal see if there is a "rescue" group around you! It's great to adopt from a rescue group because you know EXACTLY what you are getting....good/bad with kids, good/bad with other dogs, housetrained or not, etc. And they are so grateful most of the time that you took them in and gave them a good home.

 

Whatever you do DO NOT buy an animal from a pet store! They are EVIL places and most animals have a ton of health issues. Google "puppy mill" and you will see where the pet store animals come from! It's horrifying! (ok, off my soap box).

 

I don't need to win the coin and I don't much collect them anymore, although they are very cute! Thanks for giving me a chance to share our "kids" with you! :grin:

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What a great idea!!

 

Every dog we have had was a "rescue", in fact we won't get a dog any other way!

We currently have 4 dogs, but we have "rescued" 7. Sorry this is soooo long!! :wub: But you asked! lol

 

Blue-our first basset hound. We were just married in 2000 and my husband said that he liked bassets. I lked all dogs, so I was fine with that. We checked hotmail classifieds and saw one we liked, that fell through, but we were contacted by MidWest Basset Hound Rescue, they had a dog for us! We met Blue and fell in love! Blue was a handful. She was scared of men and hats, but we just loved her! When we were living in MO she suffered from the effects of Black Mold in the townhouse we were living in (alergies, seizures, etc), but once we moved out she was fine. She was about 5 when we got her. We had her through 3 moves and 8 years. She died in my arms from a burst spleen, or a mass on her spleen that had burst. See her picture below

Bluesnow422208.jpg

 

Albert-In 2001 we decided that Blue needed a sibling. We were at a "waddle" (fundraiser for basset hounds) when we met Bert. He was in the back of a pickup and just the sweetest dog. We made the comment that he was such a great dog. Someone said "you know he's up for adoption". Pat and i looked at each other and said..."not anymore"! We took him home that night! He was 7 at that time and he was given up by his original owners when he was 6, then someone adopted him and brought him back a year later and said that he peed on the floor every day for the last year...he didn't pee on the floor once after we got him (ok, that once when he was mad because the vet accidentally expressed HIS anal glands instead of Blue's!! lol). Bert died at the age of 14 after his back end stopped working because of arthritis. See his pic below. Albert_12006croped.jpg

 

Ozzie-We got Ozzie when he was a year and a half old. He only had one eye and was very unique looking...and a terror! lol. We still have him today. When he was 8 weeks old he was sprayed in the face by a high pressure water or air hose and an ulcer formed on his eye. None of the FIVE owners he had in his first year and a half did anything about it, so the eye died. The rescue group removed the eye, but don't feel bad for him...he's a terror even without that eye! he is food agressive and very possessive of his crate and people and toys and space....but also a sweet dog. definitely a daddy's boy. We've had him since 2003. He's around 9ish now. his pic is below, although now he is a lot more gray!

Ozclose42404.jpg

 

Duke the bloodhound. We had 3 bassets and decided that it was time to get a bloodhound! So in 2004 we tried contacting Bloodhound rescue groups and because we were in CA none would help us. So we found Duke on an "all breed rescue" site in AZ. We called and sent in the required information and were approved! We drove to Phoenix to pick him up. They estimated he was about 5 (although we think he was a bit yougner than that!). Supposedly a vet had found him wandering the streets of Phoenix and he had tested positive for Valley Fever. He was also mising his tail, someone had bobbed it. He was a bit underweight (although we fixed that! lol). he does have problems holding his pee it will leak out if he's doesn't take his medicine. Before we got it under control a vet casuaally said that she couldn't believe we would keep him with his leaking and wouldn't it be better to put him down....NO! He's still with us today and is about 12ish. He loves to eat snow...below is a pic

17242_298163816161_654716161_330203.jpg

 

Elmo the bloodhound. I don't know WHY I did it...but I checked the Arizona Basset Hound Rescue's website in 2005 and saw Elmo! He was a red-bone bloodhound. I contacted them and they agreed that we could take him. They estimated Elmo to be about 10...when I brought him to my vet they said he was probably more like 12! That is old for a bloodhound! I have no idea of Elmo's background but he was TERRIFIED of storms! He also had a level 4 heart murmur and when he had his teeth cleaned they had to remove all of them but 12 because of gum disease! So he had to gum his food, but he was still able to eat! He was a great dog and died about 2 years after we got him. He went out in the yard in the morning, did his business, came back to the porch and laid down and died. We think his heart just gave out, but he was about 14 years old and we gave him a good end of his life. See his picture below

Elmoface92707.jpg

 

Rosie--in early 2006 I got a call from a local (Colorado Springs) basset rescue person who said they just pulled a basset/bloodhound mix from the shelter because she was going to be put down because she was scared of people and did I want to foster her? They thought since we had both Bassets and bloodhounds that we would be good. So I went to pick her up and she was SOOOO scared of people, but I didn't think she was a mix with bloodhound. We think that she is a pure-bred basset, just badly bred. It took her about 2 years to become really comfortable with people, but she is a sweetie and still with us today. In Oct of 2009 she was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma, and has been receiving Chemo treatments since then She has 6 more weeks of treatments and we are hoping that it will take a long time for the cancer to come back. We call her "Event Rosie" because she is the best dog to take to events because she is mild mannered, doesn't bark at other dogs, and is low maintance! The shelter guessed she was about 5 when we got her, so today that would make her around 8-9. Below is a pic

19442_300017441161_654716161_330725.jpg

 

Last but not least-Henry-we just got Henry about 3 weeks ago. I had received an email 2 years ago asking if we wanted a bloodhound puppy, and we said no, we didn't "do" puppies, but I knew a lady in the basset hound rescue network who wanted one. So that lady took him. Recently she emailed me and said that she couldn't keep him because of money issues and did we want him? We decided that we did! So Henry came to be with us. He's a 2.5 year old bloodhound and the only dog that we know EXACTLY when he was born! He's a big goof and loves to play. Below is a pic that we just took yesterday!

25666_373168786161_654716161_352594.jpg

 

 

There are just SOOO many dogs (and cats and other animals) out there that are discarded and need rescuing. Too many people buy animals and have no idea of the tempermant or anything and end up getting rid of them. If you want a "pure bred" animal see if there is a "rescue" group around you! It's great to adopt from a rescue group because you know EXACTLY what you are getting....good/bad with kids, good/bad with other dogs, housetrained or not, etc. And they are so grateful most of the time that you took them in and gave them a good home.

 

Whatever you do DO NOT buy an animal from a pet store! They are EVIL places and most animals have a ton of health issues. Google "puppy mill" and you will see where the pet store animals come from! It's horrifying! (ok, off my soap box).

 

I don't need to win the coin and I don't much collect them anymore, although they are very cute! Thanks for giving me a chance to share our "kids" with you! :grin:

 

We were wondering whether or not we'd see the hounds show up in this thread! We've been fortunate enough to meet Rosie! Wondering whether or not we'll get to meet Henry this weekend?!?!

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My family has always had a multitude of animals. As of right now we are kind of low. We have Bella (a rottweiler), Zoe (an English Bulldog), and Thea (a rescued cast). The great thing about southern Ohio is that there is always a box full of kittens lying on the side of the road :wub: . Our dogs are almost always from a breeder... but our cats are always rescued.

 

My favorite cat that we have ever had was Mow Mow. One day after my cousin and I were hiking in the woods, we heard a Meow from the creek. We walked over to find... what I thought was a drowned rat. We took it back to the house, washed it off, and the dried it. It ended up being a bright white kitten (we later found out that it was a male). MowMow was very fluffy and blended in excellently with the snow. He was always on the hunt. The "presents" would always arrive on the front porch. Mole. Check. Cardinal. Check. Squirrel (yes a friggin' squirrel). Check. The funniest thing was watching him try to hunt in the summer daylight. He stuck out like a sore thumb. One day on our way home from basketball practice, Dad saw MowMow flattened in the road. Yep, probably a log truck. Very sad day. My Dad doesn't even like animals, normally, but he helped me bury my pet.

 

Duck. Yep, we had a cat named duck because his meow sounded more like a quack. So, he earned that name. Duck was a giant red cat. He seriously weighed around 15 pounds. Duck liked to hunt too. Again, with the "presents". Duck always spent his time with our first english bulldog ("butterbean" like the boxer). Butterbean would swing on his tire swing by jumping up and biting into it.... and Duck would just sit there and watch.... and sometimes try to claw him. One day, duck came out of the woods missing an ear and part of his face. Beat up very badly. We had to put him down :grin: .

 

I probably have had about a dozen other rescue animals.... but it's time to go to work :grin:

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Baba O'Riley's story

 

A year after I adopted Molly my sheltie, I decided I really missed having a springer spaniel. I started looking at the rescue site springerrescue.org and also petfinder. I saw his picture pop up on petfinder on my birthday and thought it was a sign that he was to be mine. He had been found running free with a purebred german shorthair pointer a couple of hundred miles from me and the owners couldn't be found. The adoption day for the rescue group was 2 days later. I almost didn't go thinking that I would never be the one chosen to adopt him. When we got there they told us there was a problem with the fosters and he may not be there. I was extremely disappointed. However about a half hour later I turned around and there he was! BUT another lady was holding his leash! I instantly thought oh no she has my dog! I went over and we started talking. She had also come just to see him. I have no idea why she walked off but that was fine with me :grin: He crawled in my lap and that was it. Riley got along well with Molly and I brought him home that day. He was very skinny and lethargic and had some health issues from being on the run for so long. Because of the health problems we know he was loose for at least 3 weeks. As with most rescued/adopted dogs it took him a bit to come into his own and now he is my heart dog. :wub: He has quite the personality. He is a velcro dog and is always in the room near me. He has no problems with being skinny anymore LOL

 

I ran a cointest to help me name him in April 2008 and that was a lot of fun. Like all three of my dogs, he has a microchip, license and name tags. If he ever gets loose again I think that they will help him get home again.

 

Riley at adoption. When he was found his fur was so matted that they couldn't tell if he had been neutered or not (he was) so he was basically shaved. He had also been skunked.

 

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Riley more recently with his pet mission toy.

 

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I think this thread needs a bump back to the first page. Besides it means I can brag again! ;)

 

Layla's story

 

Layla is the latest addition to our family. For awhile I have thought that Riley needed a playmate. Molly doesn't really play much. I again started looking at the rescue site and petfinder. I was getting pretty discouraged as either the person just in front of me adopted the dog or Riley didn't like him or the dog just wasn't the right fit. Last November I put up an ad in the pet section on craigslist. I got some strange replies as you might imagine but one was from a lady who worked in a shelter and said they had a springer there. The next day I called and then went to the shelter. The dog was great but then I found out that another person was ahead of me. Bummer. The lady at the shelter told me that many times the first person doesn't adopt. I was very excited and had trouble sleeping. The next afternoon I called and and was told to come and get my dog! Yipee. The lady said she just had a feeling I would be the adopter this time. Now if Riley and Molly approved. They did and I brought her home. :anibad:

 

After I brought her home a lot happened about the adoption. Its a long story and I won't go into the problems here but everything came together for us. I really think I was meant to have this particular dog. I had to name her fairly quickly for her microchip but I ran another cointest to guess her name.

 

She is the complete opposite of Riley. Where he is laid back she is a going concern. He is outgoing and she is a bit shy. She is quite small and extremely enthusiastic. Her little tail rarely stops wagging. the other two are teaching her a few bad habits and she will have to start posting her stories on www.baddogs.com.

 

Layla at adoption

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Layla and her coin mission--I told her she could only wear it on special occasions. LOL

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Babette

 

I was waiting to post hoping to find a picture. Turns out my favorite picture of Babette was taken in the days before digital, so I can't get it up here, at least not easily.

 

Anyway:

 

In 1995, I was in graduate school. On the weekends, my husband went out and about so I could study. He sometimes stopped by animal shelters to look for a companion for our other bichon, Fuzzie. One time, I guess I was done studying, so I went with him. He said 'Steel your heart, be strong, we can't adopt every one, we surely won't find one today, we have to keep trying until we find the right one.'

 

Well, that day, there was this little doggie, a bichon/poodle type at the Humane Society. She had no hair, scabby skin, and was a bit shy. Basically the right size/type and an adult (we didn't want a young pup), but she was dropped off for peeing and whatnot, flea allergies, we don't have a good history. We continue on. The next day, he calls me ' ... oh, that poor thing, we have to go get her ...' I said, 'what happened to steel your heart, and by the way, she has health problems'. Well, I guess he's really a softee, we went to go get her. When we got there, she wasn't there! Oh no, panic! But she had been out visiting at a nursing home, and she got back shortly. We did the paperwork and took her to her forever home with us.

 

With a lot of time and love and brushing and benadryl, we got her skin cleared up and her hair back. Not really sure if it was flea allergies or not, but when she was stressed she would chew on herself and pull her hair out. When we gave her a bath we would have to wrap her in a towel and physically hold her and restrain her from the self-mutilation. But over time, we got her over that part too. She really didn't have accidents in the house much. Then she did. As I was cleaning up, I noticed it was pink. Well off to the vet. Diagnosis, 'clear my schedule' surgery scheduled for Monday, and she is getting worse. Turns out she had bladder stones - he removed stones totaling almost as big as a baseball from her bladder. Realize this is a little ~10 lb dog. She must have been growing them for years, I think that might have been part of the issue at the previous home.

 

She did end up with stones again later, and had another surgery at that time. But overall, she became healthy and happy with us, very cute and sweet and loving and cuddly, sometimes even playful. When we got her, she was estimated to be 6-7 years old. We had her for 12 years, and by then she was blind and arthritic and uncomfortable. But that was a quite a life for a dog, living to be over 18 years old. She may have had a rough start, but I really think she was strong and special and loved til the end.

 

Thanks for letting me reminisce about my girl, if I find a picture I'll try to upload it.

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Wow we have rescued/taken in sooooo many stray or unwanted cats. Too many too count! If anyone read the thread Nikos's Cointest by burgessfour, you read about my kitties and their stories. ;)

 

So instead of the various kitty stories. I will tell you about our four Sugar Gliders. Harvey, Mabel, Maurice, and Millie. I've had Harvey the longest (about four/five years). He was waiting in a pet store. Millie was in need of a home from Craig's list. They're not really rescues, but I definitely think we gave them a much better home than they had. We used to live right across the street from a pet store. I would go in there very often to buy mealworms. Eventually the owners asked me what I fed the mealworms to and I showed them a picture of my Harvey and Mabel. About a year and a half later, one fall morning, Maurice and Millie were abandoned at that pet store in a dansk butter cookies tin with a few puncture holes for air. They recalled the picture I showed them and realized that they were sugar gliders. Coincidentally, I went into the store later that day. The owners told me the situation and asked if I would take them in. How could I say no?

 

So here we are with are happy family of a kitty name Scribbles, and four sugar gliders: Harvey, Mabel, Maurice, and Millie.

 

Harvey and Mabel are very tame and love us. :anibad: They let us hold them and they come to us. Maurice and Millie are very cautious. I think they may have had bad experiences with humans before. However, they have come a LONG way and continue to be more trusting little by little.

 

Thank you for the cointest, the beautiful coins, and for letting me share. :blink:

*Sorry the pics are so big I could NOT get them to be smaller on Photo bucket :-/

 

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Scribbles

 

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Harvey

 

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Mabel

 

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Hello Maurice!

 

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Millie

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I really enjoyed reading all the previous posts. They made me smile and cry. I finally went through old pictures to find some of our first three dogs who came from a shelter. That too brought tears to my eyes, specially that we had to put to sleep our 14 years old GSD just a few weeks ago.

 

As a wedding anniversary, my husband surprised me with our first dog. Her name was Moustache, she was very playful and could play ball all day long. She stayed with us 16 years. Here she was on one of her birthday. And no, it was not her regular place to have her meals :laughing:

 

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A few years later, we adopted Princesse who was about 1 and a half year old. She got along very well with Moustache who was the boss. She was very sweet and quiet except when she spotted a squirrel. With her on this picture is my son who now have a son the same age :D She stayed with us 11 years.

 

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When Princesse left us, we went back to the SPCA and adopted Fanny who was around 6 months old. She was full of life and wanted to play a lot. Moustache who was already 12 years old let her know that she was still the boss of the household. Once Fanny knew that, they got along very well. She was very friendly and loved everyone. Fanny became our first agility dog and we named our agility club after her, ¨Fanny & Friends¨. We went to trials everywhere and had a lot of fun. I still do agility and our club still exists, it's a small one but with friendly people and dogs ;)

Fanny stayed with us 13 years.

 

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As you probably noticed, each one of those dogs were part German Shepherd, mainly Princesse so, following the loss of Moustache we wanted a German Shepherd so we went to a breeder. I know that she is not from a shelter but I didn't want to ignore her in this message since she's the one that left us recently. I felt I had to put her with all my other ones. And here I am crying again :( Her name was Judd because we were big fans of the country singers duet ;)

 

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Like the Tank Hounds wrote, my post is long too ;) I enjoyed reading their post and everybody else's and I hope you'll enjoy mine ;)

 

Give your pet a big hug today :unsure:

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So sorry Claire to hear that you lost Judd. Many hugs to you over the miles....

 

Here's something that maybe your dog Moustache would have been interested in. :unsure:

 

New Dog Toy

 

I am also enjoying reading all the stories and looking at the pictures.

 

Thanks for your kind words! ;)

 

Yes, Moustache would have like that toy even though she was a girl :laughing:

 

Lucky for us, we still have Wyatt Earp and we keep each other busy :(

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you all are so so so WONDERFULL just that you all know ..........

i did`t really rescue animalzzz my mam did take a dog out the shelter once and my mam bring me a little kitten once that she found on the street.......

well i geuzzzzz that`s she is a rescue~er and that`s why i LOVE her so so much.........

 

but how did i get my turtle pim well that`s a story not really that i rescue her.......

once when i lived in a little town called Geldrop i had a day free cause they should come bring uzzzz our new fridge and it was like 08:15 in the mornng that i deside to go to the shopto buy food as i did`t know how late the fridge man would come........

so when i got there, there where not so much carzzzz so it was`t very bussy in the supermarket so i was very quick done and wolk back to my car again and saw that the car next to my car alreaddy left and as i was step in my car a man start to yell at me so i looked at him and ask myslef what do he want from me......

he said MADAME YOU FORGET YOUR BAG and i said NO I DID`T and he said JEAHHHHHH YOU DID and i was WHAT DO I MUST DO NOW ????????

so me in a little hurry for the fridgeman thought i don`t go in discussion with you and he give me the plastic bag and i take it in the same time i thought i will trow it away when i`m home if you don`t wanna trow your trash someplace here......

when i did come home i thought oke my curiouzzzzzzzzzz i will look in the bag wat`s in before i trow it away and suprise suprise there was a little INI MINI TURTLE in .........

i was LIKE WHAT ???????????? A TURTLE WHAT NOW my hubby will be very VERY MAD as i did want a turtle but he alwayzzzzzz so NO MORE ANIMALZZZZZ.........

so i call the animal shop and told them what happend ad ask them wha do i must do now??????

they told me : NOBODY did buy a turtle today so i give them my addy and my name for in case someone would call that they miss a turtle.........

a week went by and the turtle was in bath but nobody called me and my hubby wanted take a bath and i was HELL NOOOOOOOOOOOO what about the turtle then hù hù hù ...........

so he so nice he was let me keep the turtle for a other week and take a shower insted the bath.....

but time went by and still no call so hubby start to discus with me about that turtle and i was NOOOO I CAN`T GIVE HIM AWAY NOW DHUUUUUUU he is my little man now PLEAZZZZZZZZZZZZ be a FATHER to him..............

so we went to the shop and buy a little turtle thing but we did`t know nothing about turtle so after a while we went back to the shop and buy a bigger house and after a year we went back again for a even more BIGGER house ...............

but then 5 yearzzzzz later MY GOD turtle get sick and i was in tearzzzzz so we look for a turtle dokter and we went to him and THANK GOD it was`t something bad it was just that he grow so fast thet the upper shield went loss and it only did change ......

but then the dokter ask me a strange qeustion he ask me : WHY YOU SAY HIM HE and WHY IS THE NAME PIM ?????

so i told him well the day i get him PIM FORTYN was killed a politicus that did so much for HOLLAND so i thought it would be a GREAT name.........

the dokter looked at me and star to laugh and i was WHY YOU LAUGH ????????

he said : well you did`t safe a BOY but a GIRL :laughing:

 

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So sorry Claire to hear that you lost Judd. Many hugs to you over the miles....

 

Here's something that maybe your dog Moustache would have been interested in. ;)

 

New Dog Toy

 

I am also enjoying reading all the stories and looking at the pictures.

 

Thanks for your kind words! ;)

 

Yes, Moustache would have like that toy even though she was a girl :laughing:

 

Lucky for us, we still have Wyatt Earp and we keep each other busy :D

 

Oh!!! your dog in your avantar and in your lovely coins..... passed away??? I am deeply sorry for this! :(

 

Sorry for posting again.... I do not know if that counts too... but.. when we go out and we are near water, I see many bees that while they are trying to take water (?), they fell inside and die! when I see any that are still alive I am taking them out! You could say that is a rescue, but I keep them in my hands until their wings are dry and then they fly away! they do not bit me, they stay on my hands and walk... ;)

I just love bees! ;) sometimes.. when they go away... a smell of honey is left on my hands! :D

Some are afraid of bees, but.. if you do not harm them... they are lovely creatures!!! :D

 

and once I saved an animal that I adore... a hedgehog! :D A bad child (yes he was!!!!) had the poor animal and he was throwing it high in the air and then he was leting it fell on the ground! He was kicking it like it was a ball.... :unsure: I got furious and started yelling at him and he just said... it is mine I do what ever I want!!! Well... I was not so polite with him but I saved the poor hedgehog and let it free! :D

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Oh!!! your dog in your avantar and in your lovely coins..... passed away??? I am deeply sorry for this! :laughing:

 

Don't be so sad Gatoulis, the dog on our coins and on our avatar is Wyatt Earp. He is still around, only 4 years old. The one we lost is Judd also a German Shepherd, she was 14 years old. She weighted 60 pounds and Wyatt weights 117 pounds. He's big but, very nice ;)

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Oh!!! your dog in your avantar and in your lovely coins..... passed away??? I am deeply sorry for this! :laughing:

 

Don't be so sad Gatoulis, the dog on our coins and on our avatar is Wyatt Earp. He is still around, only 4 years old. The one we lost is Judd also a German Shepherd, she was 14 years old. She weighted 60 pounds and Wyatt weights 117 pounds. He's big but, very nice :unsure:

 

Wyatt Earp?? :( what a name!!! ;)

 

Oh! I thought that... Well.. I am sorry for the loss! a loss is always a loss and... I know of that! ;)

I am sure Judd lived a good life! 14 years old... Is that about 72 years old in human years?

Edited by GATOULIS
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We have/have had a mix of rescues and breeder animals. Currently we have 3 dogs, and 2 cats.

 

My first dog was a rescue from the animal shelter. She was a Shepherd/Husky mix that made it to the age of 12 1/2. Very good dog and I still miss her. She was mine before I met my wife, and in turn turned my wife into a "dog person" from just a cat person because she was such a good dog.

 

Sierra, our purebred Husky is 8 this month. Not a rescue. We got her because as Sammy got older and developed arthritis because of hip dysplasia we figured Sammy would help the puppy learn. Turns out, that getting Sierra was one of the best things for Sammy. The way they played exersized Sammy's hip and knee in such a way that she was around for 2 1/2 years longer than I figured she'd be. She couldn't go for long walks in her old age, even though she would if we allowed it.

 

This is Samantha ie. Sammy(the black one) along with our Siberian Husky Sierra.

 

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My wife has a cat that is now 15 or so that she rescued from the streets when she was in college. The cat is Sneakers. We've put the cat through a lot. Bringing in multiple different pets and having 2 children to harass her!! She takes it in stride, and it no longer phases her when there is a newbie in the house.

 

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We thought Sneakers needed a friend early on in our relationship, so we got another cat rescued from the animal shelter. His name was Sebastian, we called him "Buddy" or another not so nice "pet name" for him that seemed to stick because as a kitten he used to climb our legs. That wasn't so bad until he did it when we were wearing shorts. :laughing:

 

Sebastian was around 5 when he developed medical problems that led to his passing along.

 

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We rescued another cat after Buddy was gone from the animal shelter again. This one kinda never got named. We just call her Kitty. She's currently about 4, and she is a Big Kitty around 19lbs. Very much a lap cat until Cinnamon came along and stole the lap. She still gets laptime, just not as much.

 

This is Kitty.

 

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Cinnamon, or "mini" is our 1 1/2 yr old Mini Dachshund. She's a purebred, non-rescue. After Sammy was gone for a couple years, I wanted a second dog again. My wife was against 2 Big dogs in the house(remember this), and wanted a small dog. We decided a mini wiener dog to be a good compromise.

 

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Shortly after getting "mini" a friend of mine had a litter of puppies. He bred his Rhodesian Ridgeback with his Rottweiler. He wanted all the puppies to go to close friends, so he knows they are well taken care of, and can visit anytime. So we were harassed long enough until we gave in, and agreed to be a 3 dog family. So now we have Veda. She's a 5mo old "Rhodesian Rotback" as he calls them. She's all Rhodesian physically except for the coloring, and lack of the ridge on her back. She's very laid back/lazy for a puppy, and honestly, kinda dopey.

 

Remember when I stated my wife didn't want 2 big dogs? Well, Veda is going to be the largest of the bunch! Not really a rescue either. But I couldn't post just our rescues without posting our other babies either. ;)

 

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Sorry for the picture quality, they were taken from my phone. And 2 of those were pictures of actual pictures........

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Oh!!! your dog in your avantar and in your lovely coins..... passed away??? I am deeply sorry for this! ;)

 

Sorry for posting again.... I do not know if that counts too... but.. when we go out and we are near water, I see many bees that while they are trying to take water (?), they fell inside and die! when I see any that are still alive I am taking them out! You could say that is a rescue, but I keep them in my hands until their wings are dry and then they fly away! they do not bit me, they stay on my hands and walk... :unsure:

I just love bees! :( sometimes.. when they go away... a smell of honey is left on my hands! ;)

Some are afraid of bees, but.. if you do not harm them... they are lovely creatures!!! ;)

 

and once I saved an animal that I adore... a hedgehog! :D A bad child (yes he was!!!!) had the poor animal and he was throwing it high in the air and then he was leting it fell on the ground! He was kicking it like it was a ball.... :laughing: I got furious and started yelling at him and he just said... it is mine I do what ever I want!!! Well... I was not so polite with him but I saved the poor hedgehog and let it free! ;)

 

Here's a picture I took on vacation last year. Seeing as you like bees, Gatoulis, I figure you might like this picture.

 

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Gato, I totally do that too with the bees! Well, I don't hold them in my hands, but I put them somewhere to dry off.

 

So I have to share this story of our most recent rescue, Mishka. We got her from a St. Bernard rescue. We drove 5 hours to Reno to go visit the rescue, and I had emailed beforehand with what we were looking for. (somewhat older, calm, okay with cats) They told us they had a couple that might work out for us. When we got there, I saw this beautiful Saint, and she was the only one who wasn't barking. She had such a great personality I fell instantly in love. Fortunately, she was the dog that they had most in mind for us! So we slept on the decision that night then came and got her the next day and brought her home. ;) That was about 1.5 months ago now.

 

She's a 6 year old sweetie, who was brought to the states from Poland. Her family got a divorce and couldn't keep her. She was in the shelter for 9 months! :laughing: I'm so happy she's with us now, she's just this incredible addition.

 

So the story I wanted to share! I'm new to owning a dog (we had outside only dogs when I grew up, strays that just wandered onto our property and never left, but this is my first indoor dog) so I'm still learning their nuances. I knew about hunting dogs, guard dogs and herding dogs, and how strong their insticts were. However, Saints are "rescue" dogs. I wasn't quite sure what that meant.

 

Well Thursday morning, on my daily walk with Mishka I got to find out first hand what these instincts mean!

 

As we were coming back from our walk, down our street, a man and a woman were on the sidewalk SCREAMING at each other. A little boy was running around next to them looking concerned. Mishka sat down at the end of our driveway and refused to move. (At 115 lbs, she can sometimes win that battle) She stared at the family and looked really concerned. I told her "You're going to get me shot Mishka!" but turned around and headed towards the couple.

 

As we got closer, they stopped fighting to look at the big goofy dog heading their way. The little boy ran up to Mishka and asked to pet her. The adults also started petting her. Soon they were on the phone, calling their friends, and having them bring their kids outside to see "Beethoven" (That st. bernard from the movie). They took pictures of the three boys standing next to Mishka and it turned into a happy little affair. The people who had been screaming ended up hugging as Mishka and I left.

 

As we left I told Mishka "You're a very, very good girl." She just looked at me knowingly as we headed home.

 

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Mishka helping me write a paper for a conference.

 

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Getting in a quick nap. Or maybe not so quick. (She sleeps a lot!)

 

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After the post-rescue grooming. The groomer was REALLY happy about the bows.

 

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She loves to stick her head out the window during car rides. I love looking in my rear view mirror and seeing her jowls flapping in the wind!

 

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I've posted this elsewhere, but this is my current favorite picture of Mishka. :unsure:

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As we got closer, they stopped fighting to look at the big goofy dog heading their way. The little boy ran up to Mishka and asked to pet her. The adults also started petting her. Soon they were on the phone, calling their friends, and having them bring their kids outside to see "Beethoven" (That st. bernard from the movie). They took pictures of the three boys standing next to Mishka and it turned into a happy little affair. The people who had been screaming ended up hugging as Mishka and I left.

 

As we left I told Mishka "You're a very, very good girl." She just looked at me knowingly as we headed home.

 

 

She is a gorgeous dog. It sounds like she would make a great pet therapy dog!!! I've had several that I have taken to various places for pet therapy and the responses just warm your heart.

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Yes! I want to teach her to be a therapy dog. :) We're in training right now working on her dog reactiveness. After we've got that licked (it's already improving a lot!) we're going to focus on therapy dog training specifically.

 

I love my big goof dog soooo much it's amazing.

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Oh!!!! I love Mishka!!! :) she is so cute!!!! A bear dog!!! :lol:

I love the photos where she is sleeping and the next one with the rebons in her ears.... She is so cute!!! I would love to hug her! she is an alive teedy bear! :lol: Hey.. I know she is a dog.. right? :lol:

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