Dogs and Their Women, Vol I

We are in a book! It was a true labor of love for Peggy Morsch, I'm sure.

Greetings...

I love hearing from friends and family and adopters at Christmas time! Everyone goes out of their way to find me Shorthair greeting cards! And it's fun to get to go out and visit the dogs we saved, who are nearest and dearest to my heart.

Of course, there would never be enough time during the holidays alone to see all that attached a line to my heart... We DID take in a couple of foster dogs during the holidays...I mean EVERY dog should have a place to call home for the holidays, don't you think?

Now, we look forward to a new year and we wonder what it will bring us. As most of you know, I'm a believer in the fact that we make our own way in this world! And even tho I'm not running a dog rescue any more, it doesn't mean my heart is not in it anymore. I just cannot do it ALL anymore! So, to all my friends, family, dogs, and dog people, rather you sent me a greeting card or not; thank you! Thank you for being my support line all these years, and for understanding that I had dogs to save... perhaps now, I will have a little more time for other things in life? One can dream...

Stepping Away...

As you may or maynot know, I have been involved in German Shorthaired Pointer rescue since the minute we adopted Maggie (who was actually an English Pointer), back in 1999. I became obsessed with saving pointers. I stuck my nose all over in Wisconsin, even helped dogs from other states as resources allowed. It consumes you. You think about dogs from the second you wake up in the morning, until you can finally close your eyes to sleep at night, IF you have time to sleep. Serious! The compassion fatigue is killer. It doesn't hit you like a ton of bricks, but it will catch up with you. It makes you tired, it makes you depressed, it makes you old. What saves your life, time after time is the next save! The next dog you saved from that lethal needle or other end. You make people happy, because you can give them what they want! You begin to wonder how to make this "business" more self sufficiant, you get smart about networking to find volunteers, to find resourses you need. It is ALL consuming. You find you have very little time for your own dogs. And you had pick of the litter, cream of the crop, and now you don't have time for them? There becomes something so wrong with that picture. And when you can't shake off the depression and you can't even talk nicely to people anymore, when dogs are all you think about, and you become a hermit ONLY thinking of saving dogs, and you don't care much about people anymore, the other shoe finally drops and you have to give in to it, and BECOME it, or you have to step aside, walk away while you still have a chance at a normal existance again.

I chose to do the latter. It's time to pass the empire over to new blood. And I have found just the right human being to do that. So now, I begin the process of stepping back. No one will ever do it like I did. But I did the best I could, and now I have to save myself. It will be OK. I have to stop obsessing. Someone else can do that now. I leave the pointers of Wisconsin in good hands, and now I can sleep at night again.

Thank you for your support and kindness. I hope you understand. I did my time.

Credibility

When I spotted this photo on Facebook recently, I almost burst a blood vessel in my head! What on earth? That is our doggie adoption vest! The braggery went on about how one of my trusted volunteers worked his foster dog at en event and passed out 15 brochures about our group! One would think I'd be happy for the free publicity...but the event was NOT a sanctioned WGSPR event, no table, no banner, no organized pet fair event...it was a food/drink event! So while I'm sure there were plenty of folks in attendance, what must they have thought of a guy parading around a dog in our official adoption vest, passing out literature, while chugging a couple beers on the city streets? I was APPAULED to say the least. Please understand I worked long and hard to gain credibility for this dog rescue. I networked my brains out with other credible associations for relationships, publicity, donations, dog food, etc. I just cannot have a volunteer be parading around a dog with my colors, my rescues' name and liquor on their breath! And I do not condone the vest coming off our dog and ending up on some guy perhaps thinking he'd be funny! Then finding that photo on a huge social network site such as Facebook? I had a discussion with the volunteer about this. He thought I was going overboard I'm sure. But really? I DO NOT CARE. This is all about credibility. And if you want to be part of this bird dog family, you will play by my rules, and you will not mis-use any of our "ware" for fun. Because next thing you know, I will have twenty five emails from attendees of that event, or worse yet, some of our sponsors? (eeeks) wondering what sort of group we are? My volunteer and I worked out the logistics of the thing, and we moved past any misunderstandings and anger, because, afterall, it's all about the dogs, not about our "feelings". I worked way too hard on this dog rescue to have our credibility destroyed by one funny photo surfacing all over cyberspace. And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

Sad Tidings...

It's with great sadness I share with you the passing of a favorite adopter, Pam Riley, who was Dixie Chick's mom. Pam lost her battle with cancer last week, and we said our formal good bye to her yesterday. Dixie's life, however, never missed a beat, because Pam and I chose a new home for her before she left. It was a good plan, and it went off without much of a hitch, thanks to Pam's dear friend Bonnie. Pam didn't know how quickly I'd need her help on the other side I bet. It was a full day for me yesterday, as I stayed with yet another Dixie as we sent her to heaven.

Dixie momma was a retired breeding brood, we tried so hard to save, but alas, the damage was already done, as she was very unsocial and fear aggressive. Whenever I have to make these decisions, it's not taken lightly. And, I continue to second guess myself always. But the bottom line is it would not be responsible of me to lie and put an aggressive dog back out on the streets for someone to perhaps be hurt. Momma and I had a nice long walk and some treats before hand. I stayed with momma until it was over. She never knew what hit her, thankfully. But I sure did. I carry that with me for a long, long time, and it's extremely painful, because I do not like to think I'm a god. When I got home, with her empty collar and leash in my hand, I couldn't deal with it at first. And finally, I removed her tags, but I will never put her collar on another dog. It was momma's collar, and for now, it's sitting on my mantel, until I can deal with myself and let her go. It won't be today; not yet. I put her tags on the pile of other dog tags I have collected over the years. I have no idea why... perhaps so I never forget them? They all meant something to me, in one form or another, not all of them are gone, thankfully.

I hope Pam was there to catch this Dixie, as I was able to help her Dixie? I think it's a fair trade, perhaps another plan that came together in some extreme way? I'll never understand the rhyme or reason...it IS what it is... and life goes on, because I'm sure there is another one who needs me.

Breeders? Do me a favor...

I understand you have a job to do, a business to run, and your main business is to produce puppies for the general public. Fine, I get that. I'm not saying I LIKE it, but I understand. I am gracious when you call to dump a retired breeding momma on my rescue, and I always help you out when you ask. We appreciate any donations you may have given rescue when you surrendered that dog, and it was very kind you even signed over the dog's pedigree papers. I don't all that much care, but perhaps her adopter will like to know her background or at least her birthday to celebrate. That's a nice thing. But can you feel me stewing? Of course, you can...

So we get their vet work done, and we thank God, this one (like some before her) doesn't have heartworm! It's hard on the mommas, they are older, the surgery is fairly invasive for them, and sometimes I even have their teeth cleaned, which the breeder would never do. To a breeder, this dog is merely a puppy making machine. And a money making machine. They generally do the bare minimum with regards to vet work for their mommas. But worse yet...

Is getting them socialized. These dogs are afraid of people, afraid of heavy handed handling, they have no idea what a treat is, or a squeeky toy, or a TV, or a mirror, or stairs, or leashes; shall I go on? No fast approaches for these dogs, or you might get bit. Not all of them, but some are so afraid, they have no other choice, but to reach out and bite you. Or other dogs too! See, they are probably kept in their own kennels for their entire breeding life. They get used to perhaps the owner, and their handler (kennel keeper), and nothing else. It's pretty pathetic in my opinion. Oh we learn to go slow with them, and there's always potty training involved. But socializing them at an older age, is always hard. And I always wonder what sort of home will be the best for a dog with little socialization? In general it's a quieter home, similar to their lives in kennels. Too much kid activity will throw them into overload. Too many men (some hate men in hats!) reaching quickly towards the dog, might trip their trigger, somewhat like the heavy handling they experienced in the past, and then the protectiveness they have learned to carry, comes out, when you get bit!

Some come with sores on their body from living a life on concrete, with chemical burns from the cleaning solutions. All require clean up of some sort. Our volunteers put alot of time and love into their charges in order to socialize them so they CAN be adopted into your home. We can't help but develop a very tight bond with these mommas. Our hearts are heavy for the lives they had to live being continually bred, then have their puppies be removed from them and start all over again. We try to make it all better for them. And in most cases, we can. It's hard to say good-bye to those mommas.

And there are some breeders you should NEVER, EVER TRUST! I mean, who in their right mind thought it would be "cute" to breed this poor dog with such a lousy underbite; who wants to adopt something like that? So, breeders? Do me a favor...just quit please. Make my life easier, cut down the dog population; and we might just get lucky enough to place the ones we do have to save!

If you are going to breed, please treat your mommas like queens, because every minute of their lives is a gift to you. That momma is your bread and butter. She deserves better.

Road trip with dogs

Preparing for a road trip is enough work, let alone making space in a minivan for dogs too! But I'm here to tell you it CAN BE DONE! So with the van seriously needing a new alternator as well, adding one battery charger and extension cord to the list of things to pack... we got loaded up. I have an old sleeper sofa mattress that goes on the floor of my van, and this year picked up a bunch of dollar store windshield sun deflector things (roll of duct tape, you are all good!), and they worked nice!

Turns out a little like this! That's my mom inside with Miracle...they like to cuddle in the AM. The dogs have to be on stake-out lines, cuz we camp at my sister's house and it's not fenced, and it's on a busy main street, I also brought a big, wire crate to stuff the dogs in while I was there, incase it got too hot for them to be in the van while we walked to the festival in town...and it did...seriously hot! I do have a small (plug in the power outlet/battery) fan, which helped alot... And of course, first day, during set up Miracle walked out of her harness, and luckily went right to the open van door to lay down. She scratched her way out of her pinch prong collar the next morning, while I ran to the bathroom, lucky cousin Tori was there to grab her. James completely gave me the 'slip' parade day, when they needed to be in the crate, and he didn't wanna, so he shook free of my hand and took off headed for Minneapolis! And if you know pointers, field pointers run BIG. I commanded him to HERE, he never looked back...asshole... so I grabbed my whistle, and gave everyone heads up Jim was on the run... two toots once....two toots twice (running to front by the highway), two toots THRICE and there he was, barrelling at me and my mom...so I gave him his hand signal towards the van, and he whipped right on by that, to...yes indeed, good ole cousin Tori again! We got him. I seriously thought I'd be digging a big hole to bury James in.

So we know we can't trust either one of them at this point. And it's hot outside. We hauled their crate into the garage, infront of the fan while we walked downtown for the parade, and by the time we got back they had shade back again by our van/camper area. I heard from Cocoa Claire's adopter after the weekend and they were at Yogibear campgrounds in the Dells with their dog and left her tied up somewhere no more then 10 mins she said, and someone CUT Cocoa free? I don't buy that one really... #1 you don't leave your dog unattended. Do you leave your kids unattended? YES, it's a huge amount of responsibility...but it's something we sign on for when we adopt a dog, if we care any about their safety. I was right there during two of the escape attempts for my own dogs, and you act immediately, you get your dog back! But always have a back up plan! Mine is training my dogs with commands. Repeat, repeat...had I had the ecollar on Jim, he would have not given me the slip period. But I never thought he'd pull that one on me. Then again, we were in prime squirrel hunting territory, and actually in Jim's own backyard! He came from a shelter up that way... he IS a hunter, no big surprise he would have loved to just run and hunt till he dropped. He could have easily been killed by a car or semi the way he was headed. I whistle trained him early. Beats yelling at my dog in the field. Perhaps he even knew it from his past life? I don't know, but I use my whistle. And he knew what two toots meant. We have two very important commands: two toots is HERE. One long one is look at me for DIRECTION...and the dog follows your hand signal. He knew to do that. That was some AWESOME action Sunday when he did as my whistle asked him to. I don't know if Miracle would have done it. She is trained side by side with Jim...but she knows to be quiet and hide from her former life in Arkansas. That is what she wants to do in any situation. To find her would be a true needle in a haystack. She would be too afraid to even approach people. Cousin Tori got lucky...then again Miracle knows Tori. She just wanted back in that van is what I think.

A few years back, we actually marched WGSPR rescue dogs in this very festivals big, grand parade...the dogs about burnt their feet off, and it was HOT. I thought of doing it again this year, but no one else really wanted to, and now I'm glad we didn't. I poured gallons of water down my dogs and over them while the sun was out. We did go for a little walk early one morning before the heat got us, but the knats were out, killing us... it's truely not a big amount of fun camping with dogs, unless perhaps you have a more stable set up. You can't trust them unattended in tents, they just tear their way out, unless they are crated inside. I mainly worry about the heat index for them, if you are not camping near a lake.

We got to see my nephew in the parade, riding the back of the town's fire truck...how hot you suppose that giddup was?

Uncle John has a classy little T-bird convertable, he gave some queens a ride.

Our family takes up a large spot on the streets, in the sun!

And, there is plenty of craziness happening, it's one of those treasures troves of continual LAUGHING...I sincerely needed!

Miracle got to see her cousins, Kaitlyn and Jonny!

And the dogs slept the entire way home. And, infact are STILL sleeping today. The heat followed us home, so I won't allow them outside for long. All is well, it was a fun adventure. Learn from my mistakes, and prepare for your dog escapes now, before it's too late. The end...

The BEST Surprises...

I love it when I get surprises. So the other day I was at the GSPCA National Specialty show and I get a photo of a GSP on my cell phone, I don't recognize the number or the dog (they all look alike to me), so I asked "Who this?". The response floored me...it was Tootsie!

Wow, Scott has been busy, this girl cleaned up NICE. I'm so happy and proud! She lived her life in a small crate, and now she's free to live the last part of her life anywhere she wants! Warms my soul, indeed.

Sometimes I wonder why LOOKS mean so much to us? Why do people choose one dog over the other based on looks? Why do people further break down their choice by the dog's credibility? You know what I'm talking about... I mean it's one thing to have a favorite, perhaps even a favorite color, or markings, but what if the dog is fat, what if the dog doesn't have pedigree papers, what if it's flat out ugly? What if the dog isn't precisely perfect according to AKC "Breed Standards"? Now you are taking PERFECTION to a whole new level. And when you move to that level, you are generally stepping on people to get there.

I wonder why that has to be part of the equasion? Ok, choosing a breed is one thing, I "get" that. If you choose to rescue a dog, you are certainly not into choosing perfection, even tho I must say, I've seen alot of PERFECT dogs zip thru rescue over the years. I think the SURPRISE in this is more then just the "save" or the "find" with a rescue dog. It's what the dog can BECOME. It totally goes back to what I say "the more you give, the more you shall receive". The surprise is in it all...you merely have to believe. Thank you Scott! Thank you for seeing a shiney girl under all the blubber, and dullness in her eyes. They are always in there, just waiting to surprise us. I just LOVE a good surprise!

Creatures of habit?

Yes indeed, those bright eyes, my every move, jerks her awake again, because, I believe dogs are creatures of habit, and she knows it's almost time for me to strap on my tennis shoes for our daily walk. And I say, "but it's not time Missy, go back to bed", and she loves to sleep, so that's ok too. They say dogs have no concept of time. Everyone has their own opinion of that, but I wonder if they are creatures of habit? Or better yet, creatures of our routines? If you pick up your car keys, is your dog front and center to "G-O"? Heck yes! They are smart enough to associate keys with ride aka GO! They are smart enough that when I start flipping power off at night, they know it's bed time and they are waiting at the bedroom door. Creatures of habit, indeed.

And they wait ever so patiently until it's time. And heaven forbid something should mess up the routine, it gets them all messed up as well! Like when I'm doggie sitting and I add a couple more to the walk, they might get "out of the gate" in good form, but doesn't take long for everyone to be all messed up, tripping me up, and heaven forbid there be a squirrel pass us, then I'm screaming WHOAH DOGGIES!

Kills my body regardless. But we are creatures of habit, we know it's good for us, mind and soul, so we continue to keep up the routine, even if you get one who wants to go backwards and the rest are forward bound. URGH! My poor old body!

And they all just stand there, looking at me for direction. And I'll direct them alright; the slacker gets a kick in the butt, and we 'HUP' move forward little doggies, or the trouble maker doesn't get to go again. They hate that, so they get in formation quickly. Shorthairs LIKE to be in the military; they like routine, they ARE creatures of habit. From the way they do things to the way things are done! They are tipped off by us, our movements, perhaps pulling those running shoes or hunting boots out, or the famous jiggly key thing... and especially at bed-time (well, mine are anyhow), they know the routine.

And even I am a creature of habit, or perhaps my passion. After my dogs were done with their routine yesterday, I drove to pick up another dog, who was pretty much calm about the ride, he found a sunny spot behind my seat to just snooze in, after he ate a handful of treats. He looked a little rough around the edges, but he will shine up nice. Yes indeed, I think we are all creatures of habit. I dunno if that's such a bad thing?

The Mad, Mad, Minds of Those I Deal With...

In saving these regal hunting dogs, I want for them the things they should have had in life to begin with, and maybe some addl perks, like getting to sleep on the couch when he feels like it, or better yet, actually get to sleep in bed with his adopters at night. Ok, I won't be that demanding of folks...a doggie bed would be fine. But INSIDE IS A MUST. We do not allow outdoor housing for our dogs. So when I receive applications to adopt or volunteer for rescue I look closely for how these applicants intend to house our dogs.

If I see kennel listed on an application, or if I see anything resembling an outdoor kennel while doing a home visit, I'd like to know how much time my dog will spend inside that thing? People seem to think because we have hunting dogs they all belong out back in an outside kennel to fend for themselves until they are called upon. Ummm, first of all, I will tell you this from experience, the more you give the more you shall receive. By that, I'm telling you the dog needs to be a part of the family. Once he has his place in the family, he will give you anything you want, just don't isolate him away from his family. These dogs I rescue can be very industrious. You cannot leave them unattended in an outdoor kennel, without a top (even with a top) for any length of time, or they will figure a way out. Google "dog escapes outdoor kennel once", people think it's FUNNY to record their dogs escaping...but is it really?

You all might think perhaps I'm a tad ummm, over worried about a set up like this? Ok, I been doing this since 1999. Can I relate to you how many stories of people who called me saying their dog was stolen, right out of it's outdoor kennel. One was even in it's kennel INSIDE a fenced yard! No gates were open, nothing amiss. Ya know what I think? The dog got bored, climbed the kennel, then jumped the fence, cuz there was a reported sighting a block away that afternoon, before the guy got home. HELLO? Ok, how about all the smarty pants owners, who think the dog needs fresh air, and the little turd escapes his kennel all the time, what shall we do? So the smart folks decide to tie the dog inside their outdoor enclosure, but never calculate the rope length... wanna say stupid?

Have you ever heard of "fence fighting"? It's when dogs get protective of their kennels or crates or space...very similar to the mentality of a chained dog, guarding it's turf. There is a REASON I say no outside housing folks. Trust me. Don't create DRAMA for me, don't take it all personal. I save these dogs for a reason. I don't save them just so you can be stupid and kill em. I'm only warning you in advance, what might happen...because I've seen it all before. I'm not selectively picking on you! I'm not saying you are a bad dog adopter because your idea and mine differ. I AM saying I will not give you a dog if you intend to keep it outside all the time. It's HOT OUT THERE! It's COLD OUT THERE! There are critters that can enter the dogs kennel, and the dog can't defend himself. Fresh air? Times square? Ummm, NO! The second you put in a full bucket of water, they will knock it over and be without all day till you get home. How much of the day will the dog be in direct sunlight, roasting to death? I've seen the destruction a dog can do to cyclone fencing in quick fashion. You might proudly announce...well, it's better then the dog being locked up in a crate inside the house all day while I work!

Is it really? I know my dog is safely locked inside my house, he cannot escape, he cannot be stolen, he is in his den where he is cool, or warm, listening to tunes while I'm at work. Is this a bad thing? NOPE, not if you devote a little exercise time when you get home. It's less concrete ware and tear on their joints as well!

This dog house was a gift from the folks who surrendered a shorthair to us several years ago. The dog was horribly aggressive to humans, his young body was so deformed from crawling in and out of his dog house. The only time I ever got to kiss this dog was after he was euthanized and could not bite me in the face anymore. You all keep thinking it's a good idea to keep your dogs outside, for their own entertainment? Do you want more horror stories? How about the dog people adopted several years ago who went to town, tied the dog to a tree, and say they weren't gone more then 45 mins, when they got home the dog was sitting up against a tree, never moved...she tried to chew thru her rope, instead swallowed it, and choked herself to death. How about the one that fell thru the swimming pool cover, when left unattended, suffocated/drown not so very fast like while no one was paying attention. Shall I go on?

I'm not telling people these things to make you feel like "less of a dog owner", I'm telling you these things to make you THINK. Afterall, these are dogs. We are the humans, we are the smarter of the two. We make the decisions for them. My decision is, and the decision of WGSPR is, that we will not adopt a dog to someone who intends to keep them in an outdoor kennel while they are gone to work all day, that's 8+ hours a day the dog has to himself to do who knows what? Not on my turf. Don't make me have to baby sit you. You can take it all personal like if you must... but in all reality it's for the safety of the dog I have trusted you with. I think you have the idea, don't push me on this subject, you will not win. Don't let me down now.

The things that never make sense to me...

I find it a damn shame that breeders have no cooth (sic?), and will sell to just about anyone who produces the cash for a puppy. Fact in point. Tootsie! Pictured is Lisa, who is neighbors with Tootsie's owners. The old man died, the old lady has Alzheimers, a son who is a recent amputee lives there taking care of the old lady, and he brought his dog, a submissive lab female. And poor Tootsie goes from being the only one, to nothing, locked in a very small wire crate more then not, because rather then train her, tossing her a treat and keeping her locked up keeps her out of the way!

Well, I'm thinking who in their right mind sells a GSP puppy to an older couple (mind you this dog just turned 7 years old last month), so are you saying that 7 years ago, you could not tell these folks were elderly. Can you not do the math? If the average lifespan of a dog is oh 10-14 years old, wouldn't you do a little reverse calculating here and figure the dog would outlive the old folks? Do you, as a breeder, who claims to know the breed, seriously think old folks will have the energy, or stamina to entertain a shorthair for the next oh...10-14 years? Yet, you overlook the obvious and still take their money and hand over a puppy? And what you never bothered to think of, is when this puppy's entire life fell apart, and it had zero in the manners department, actually had TWO bite reports on it's vet record, so did you seriously think that dog might be a great family pet for the average family, and without a thought in your head about this dog's future? NOPE, you just took the money and ran. It's off to the next litter, the next buyers, the next sale.

I bet you never thought that some day, someone would have to save your dog, to give it the rest of it's life? No, of course not, because you would just cull the pack and probably take unwanted outback and shoot them. Cheaper that way. Well, someone did save Tootsie! She's merely a "diamond in the rough" to us. It took a while, but we got her outta her former hell, the only life she ever knew, and onto what we believe will be a whole new life...the way it should have been to begin with!

It happens every day folks! Today, it's photos of this once beautiful girl, whose elderly owner couldn't care for her anymore, so now she's sleeping on concrete at her local shelter, waiting on me to figure out her next move.

Six years old! Same deal...if the breeder knew in only 6 measly years, this old guy couldn't handle the dog anymore, and my god, look at the girth of her? Ummm, what is the matter with this world? Cocoa lived a quiet life with this elderly guy, and now at 6 yrs old, unless I wanna turn away from her, I have to find her a place. Luckily she was ok with other dogs, even cats...but never was around kids much. So just when you think you got one taken care of...another springs along to reassure my faith in breeders, that as long as they keep spitting them out, selling them to any Tom, Dick, or Oldster, my job will never be done here...and it will never make sense to me.

Responsibilities...

Here she goes again, another angry blog... does it ever end, you must wonder? NOPE, not really... This is our couch eater. I bet you were expecting this?

Well, with our breed (perhaps any breed?) a destructo doesn't always LOOK crazy, doesn't always ACT crazy, but INSIDE, they are feeling it. They don't know any different, to them it's the norm. All the dog knows is they have all this pent up energy, and when they are not offered an outlet, well, violla, 'DESTRUCTO dog' voices his opinion with actions. Those actions ALWAYS get the adopters attention, because, well, a mess is hard to miss, ya know? It generally gets the dog the attention he wanted to begin with, but almost always in a negative tone. Oh if that were my couch, there'd be some fumes coming outta my ears...and in the past, that WAS my couch! I told my dogs with the last leather couch I bought for THEM, if they destroyed it, it would be the last furniture I EVER bought them. Only took maybe three months, and they have carved out holes to bury things in, or curl up in for relaxation. It's 'their' couch, so I don't really care. But I'm holding true to my promise...they will not get another one.

Dogs destroy everything. I'm sick of them going off to the races on my 1928 hardwood floors with multiple nails gouging as they haul-ass. I'm sick of dog hair everywhere, I'm sick of bent and busted crates, I'm sick of fixing holes they dig in my yard, or under my fencing, I'm totally sick of picking up hunks of quilts they ripped apart, and if I have to help one more little chippie, or baby bun, or mousie, to the "other side" cuz one of my dogs maimed it, I might just loose my mind!

Dogs destroy mainly because they are bored. Whose fault is that? Ours. Do I feel sorry for the adopter of couch destructo? HELL NO. Today I got his vet paper work, since adoption...and he is two years behind on everything! The folks say "the vet said he was good". GOOD? The only thing I see good about any of this is that his baby did not get a scratch from the dog, or something, cuz it most certainly is not wise to take care of your baby, but not your dog who interacts with not only your baby, but all your nieces and nephews and other dogs too? I'm so mad, I could spit! We have an adoption contract. It's pretty simply written and it will hold up in a court of law.

Paragraph # 5. Health and Welfare: This dog's optimum health must be maintained through the feeding of quality dog food, adequate shelter, an annual physical and inoculation with the adopter’s veterinarian program, including heartworm testing and prevention.

Now, my board of directors and I have talked ourselves blue in the face when we get a return who had not been to the vet in forever, now costing rescue money, all over again, to get the dog up to snuff on his vaccinations. We discuss having a "follow-up" program. We DO follow up as best as we can with the hundreds of dogs we have placed out there... we have discussed contacting adopters vets once a year, but these days everyone has privacy policies...and afterall it's only a dog you know... If the vet knows this dog came from rescue, and the vet knows our dog is not being taken care of properly, why don't they drop me a letter? Give me a ring? Allert us in some way? Everyone knows who we are...how to find us...it doesn't make sense. I have tried to make the adopter who surrendered the dog back to us to PAY. But it has generally turned into a nightmare, and once a guy even told me he would go into hiding with the dog and not return it afterall, and I'd never know what happened to my dog, just because he didn't like my "tone". HELLO? Who says I need to be all pretty, and nice, and sympathetic to slackers? You have just violated my trust! You violated our contractural agreement about adoption for this dog. And you want me to be nice to you? Ummm, a very wise woman once told me "pick your fights wisely". At first I thought she was crazy...my rescue, my dog, damn it...my rules! But as this guy was threatening me, merely because I busted him about the lack of vet work, I stopped to breathe, consider that simple statement "pick your fights wisely", I swallowed my pide, I called the guy and said "lets start over". He agreed, I got my dog back, he walked away feeling all BIG about pulling one over on me, cuz he figured I was just gonna ask for another adoption fee again and that would take care of any vet work needed. It's not generally that way folks! I am not gonna dupe people and keep making money off the same dog, every time he's returned to rescue! I generally give them to the best adopter the second time...if they wish to make a donation to rescue, all the better.

Why is it, I am not working, yet I networked for the best vet deals for MY dogs, and figured out a way to come up with the money, yet folks who can afford kids, big houses, and dogs, seem to slack when it comes to the dogs' primary vetwork? As far as I'm concerned, there is only one reason. It's only a dog. Which is why, I have to stop and breathe when I get all worked up that they didn't take care of the wonderful gift I placed in their hands, believing in that adopter, taking their word for it, having them sign a contract to cover rescue's own behind; sometimes you just gotta let it go, BE THE RESPONSIBLE and shut up and do what you have to do for the dog, and walk away with what you are given back and deal with it.

Ahhh, with all that off my chest now, and our dog on a weekender with a responsible adopter, doing a trial adoption...I'm praying it all goes well, and that they too, will love the destructo dog as much as we did. Once again, I have to hope and believe, they will take the responsibility off my shoulders and do the right thing. It's a faith I have to continually carry for these dogs. Just like always being there to catch them back, if something doesn't work out. It's the path I chose. I WILL be responsible for them.

Two Sides To Every Story...

Yesterday, the "kids" and I had the extreme pleasure of being invited to Peggy Morsch's east side studio for a photo shoot to kick off her annual Wine & Paws fundraiser event for WGSPR and WI Humane. It's an awesome deal...$30- for 30 min sitting with your pets, bring a 30 lb bag of dog food and a bottle of wine to pass! Now with that out of the way, I have to start by saying...there are two sides to every story... Here is Peggy's: http://peggymorschlifephotography.wordpress.com/2011/04/07/unsung-heroes/

Here's mine: So, you know nothing is ever easy when it comes to kids or animals. Ok, Peggy wanted the kids tired, so we take a walk around the lunch hour everyday, but the night before I gave big, white boy (James) a bubble bath, and it was sprinkling outside, I figured walking them would get him all dirty... but we did fine, he did not get splattered.

Then I had to get ready; clear the shower, slap some make up, get dressed a tad better then sweat pants ya know? Of course, while all this is going on, I gotta photo from an adopter of what his adopted dog of 3 years did to his pretty white leather couch yesterday and he needed to surrender the dog; he was done. Bad doggie!!

So my mind is scrambling, where to go with destructo dog, and I'm watching the clock, and I'm tapping away on my computer and texting to get this situation under control, and still get ready for our photo shoot. Finally, I'm ready, the dogs are up and I'm late, late, late...urgh... and at the same time, we got Brita Cooter dog, in killer mode for other dogs in her foster home, that I hoped would be her forever home, and things were getting better, then BAM, attack dog came out again, and now they want THAT dog outta their house today, tomorrow, the next day...so I'm scrambling to get transport situated for Saturday to move killer north to a new foster with no other dogs. I'm worried silly that this poor new foster maybe won't be able to handle a dog like "killer", then again, she's fostered before, I have to trust her...or I know I have back up in that area... but I'm not hearing anything about transport and my old rust bucket can't be trusted so much to do the entire trip, and this foster mom does't have a car...so while all this is swirling in my brain, I'm loading dogs, cutting across town for our photo shoot. Jim's quietly riding shot-gun, as always, Miracle is clawing the heck outta the back of my van, and I want to kill her, she's jumping up on the windows to see the view, I have no idea where I'm going, get lost, call her, ahhh, finally we get there, I do not trust Peggy's fencing. I'm not letting my dogs off leash...especially Miracle, who would just tap dance off down the street, without looking back... and there's a bird feeder there in the middle of the yard, Miracle goes on point, and that's it...she's a slathering idiot. Bird. So we finally get inside the studio, and try to calm down, cuz the dogs are all buzzed up, but Miracle is our problem...she's just a nervous nilly, pants, paces, sticks to that exit door like glue, tap dancing around. Jim is on edge cuz she is a freak.

Poor Peggy does the best she can with what these two queers are giving us...finally I locked Miracle in the van, and we worked quietly with Jim, and he is a huge ham...but all the sudden we were outta time!

I had the couch killer dog to grab...drop mine off at home first, load supplies and crate for couch killer, traffic is a NIGHTMARE, bumper to bumper...quick, lock mine up, load the van, race off to the surrender meeting location, wait for foster mom, wait for adopter to bring dog...that all goes off without a hitch, race back home, fed poor Jim and Miracle, took my fancy clothes off, put my feet up, popped open that new bottle of wine I got at the photo shoot event...and that was it for me...all except texts with foster mom with couch killer, cuz I have an adopter lined up for him, and they happen to be located in the same area, so they went to see him already least night. I told them they can have a week trial, so they are taking him up north to their cabin this weekend, give it a good go...and I'm waiting for his vet work anyhow, so I can update any of his shots and make adoption folder. And my heart is with another adopter whose adoptive dog bit his 3 yr old child in the face, and is waiting out a 10-day quaranteen to do "the deed". I offered to go handle it, but he wanted to do it himself. I think that's today... and I have a girl in WI who wants to surrender a gorgeous little female for some crappy ass reason, and she's all boohoo, and once again, in my mind it's like "blah, blah, blah"...not really my problem. AND another bird dog rescue friend needs help with a surrender back to rescue, and it's on my turf, so luckily two of our volunteers will help, so I had to twirl that a little too! I know, makes you feel a little breathless? Yup, sometimes I am too! But for me, it feels like auto-pilot. You find a balance I guess; you do what needs to be done.

Unsung Hero? hmmm, when it's you, you don't think about it that way. You just do it. To be written about like that is an honor, brings a little tear to my eye...very sweet. But I don't have time to cry for long, cuz there is another dog out there who needs us. Peggy's right...without skipping a beat, I'm off to the next thing. Alot of days I wish I had my life back...the one before I saved dogs. I know for sure I would NOT be bored...perhaps I'd see more, do more? I do know I'd have a dog tho. But until then, I keep putting one foot in front of the other.