Gotta love those Eskies

We currently have 5 dogs but one is 13 years old and another is 13 weeks old. Taking in a dog out of Animal Control anywhere in the country and you know you'll have to deal with kennel cough or canine flu which means my own dogs would be at risk, especially the oldest and the youngest. So that clearly limits what I can do from the standpoint of fostering.

Good for you for fostering the AE Rescues. All we need is about a million more people like you.

Jim

It's probably a good thing you are ....clear... on the far side of the country from me. And we rent and dogs aren't allowed. Although we're now on good enough terms with the landlord I'm thinking one of these days I might be able to change her mind on that. Hopefully you'll be able to post soon that she has a great new home.

Diana

We are heavily involved in Maltese rescue for the American Maltese Association. Local animal shelters will notify us when they a Maltese for adoption... Yeah! really?

Maltese are a highly adoptable breed and the only time we get notified about a Maltese in the amimal shelter is when the shelters deem the animal unadoptable. They would, of course, rather get the adoption fees rather than to turn the animal over to us.

Never-the-less, we have found great homes for "unadoptable" Maltese. Over the past couple of years, we have found homes for a deaf maltese and a blind maltese. We have found a home for a Maltese with diabetes with a dentist who also has diabetes. And, of course, we have found homes for Maltese who had been running the streets and who looked just terrible due to flea and/or tick infestations and just plain lack of care.

Koko was one of these. When I saw this little guy, my heart went out to him. I also thought that we would have him forever. He had no coat over his rear body and the coat up front was terrible. he was skittish and terribly frightened of big dogs. However with some TLC over a couple of months, he looked good and he even accepted out Goldendoodle, Holly, as no threat.

Sweetheart came to us full of sores and scabs from fleas and ticks. She was pregnant and gave birth to a pair of puppies the day after we began fostering her. She was a wonderful mother and, even after her terrible life, she has a great personality. We know that she got a good home because we adopted her into our family. Her two pups were adopted into loving "forever homes" also.

Richard,
local Animal Control contacts us, too. With Rotties, they don't last long in AS -- if they are not adopted within a month, they usually are put down. The fact is, most folks, especially with kids, want small fluffy dogs. And many of the Rottweilers that are picked up off the street are not dogs you would want to place into a family situation.

We've had our share of Rotties that were totally bald due to mange; dogs that were deaf or blind. It takes a very special home to care for these "special" cases. But the bulk of our Rescue efforts are with Rottweilers that have good, sound temperament but have never been in a home that nurtured them or kept them off the street. Such was the situation with our Marion Louise. She wore down her teeth trying to chew through the chain that was on her when I first met her. She needed to be with people and she lived the first part of her life chained in the back yard.

Rescue work can be heartbreaking. Every time I turn down a dog because its temperament is questionable, I ache. But I'd be far more upset if that dog was adopted and then injured a child. Rottweilers are large, very powerful dogs. In the hands of some people, they are weapons. So we have to be very careful about the dogs and even more careful about the adopting families.

Congratulations for your work in Maltese Rescue. After all is said and done, placing a deserving dog in a great home is one of the greatest joys in dogs.

Jim

Yesterday, I was asked to check two more Rotties at Orlando Animal Control. The first was a relatively young girl -- 3 to 4 years old -- who has obviously been used for breeding and has not received a whole lot of human contact. She's sweet but about 15 lbs. underweight with pretty severe eye infections. She did not come to me in the yard but when I went to her and kneeled, she came over, took some Milk Bones and was happy to let me examine her. She likes people but clearly has not had much contact with them. At my recommendation, Gulfstream Rottweiler Rescue has agreed to take her in for adoption.

The second girl is a senior -- probably 9 or 10. She's overweight, her nails are so long they curl back on themselves and when she was found by OAC, some kids had "playfully" painted her entire body. OAC shaved her down. In the yard, she came over to me immediately and accepted my petting, mouth exam and physical exam. But she's very tired and definitely has been through a lot lately. One of the volunteers and I trimmed her nails and she accepted the pedicure without complaint. She appears to have mammary tumors and is probably heartworm positive. In spite of my own personal feelings, I had to recommend that GGARR not take her in for adoption because I frankly don't think anyone will adopt her even if she survives the treatment for heartworm.

Last night, I didn't get much sleep. That old girl kept creeping into my dreams and this morning I wrote to the folks in Rescue that I work with and asked if there was anything we could do to give the girl a little more time even it was just to bring her into a place that would give her some love until it was time to put her down. Well, I guess everyone had the same thoughts because as soon as I sent out my email, 5 people responded with offers to find a place to bring her. Ten minutes ago, the owner of a Boarding Kennel contacted us to say she would keep the girl for a couple of weeks but that she had a friend that specializes in Senior Rescue and they would take her after the quarantine period. There were a number of people who had tears in their eyes when they read that, including me.

Linda and I had actually agreed to take her if we couldn't find anybody else. You can't do effective Rescue work if you get emotionally involved. On the other hand, you can't get involved in Rescue unless you love the dogs. I'll be transporting my old girl -- Emma -- to her new place this weekend. It will be one of the most joyful transports I've ever had.

Jim

Glad to hear she's going to get another shot.

It is probably way too soon, but we're considering another as well.

Jim,
people deal with the loss of a dog in different ways. Some need to replace them as soon as possible. That's my neighbors, Tiffany, Tim and the kids. I guess they feel that having a new dog to love takes away the pain of the one they lost.

We have always believed that it's OK to mourn the one that has gone. Two weeks after Rowdy and Crash left us, we discovered that Juneau was pregnant. I'm not sure we would have decided to keep a puppy had we not lost them but the excitement of having puppies on the way definitely helped us deal with the loss of both boys.

But sometimes stuff just happens that makes it impossible to say "no". You'll know when it's right. The right dog will need the right home and you'll just know.

As for Emma, several people responded to my email by saying that although it would be difficult for them, they would take her. Linda and I felt the same way. Even if it were just to find out that she has cancer and not much time. At least that time would be with people who care and would love her. And when the time came, would hold her until she left us. I think we owe that to all good dogs. We would have done it for Emma.

Jim

Yeah, I know. We waited over a year when Sam left us.

We took in a senior with "end-stage" kidney disease, but she's been with us two years now. I'm so glad the rescue took her in and let us take her.

I've been toying with the idea of another Corgi, but think I might like a Fluffy. There is a litter in the state right now with four Fluffies. Two red, and Two tri. Two boys, two girls . . .

If we go that route, it would be our first non-rescue dog in 16 years.

JP, I vote for one of those Sphynx dogs with the toupees.