Who keeps count?

I do.  With only so many places to stash dogs, and THIS many dogs needing us....someone better keep count....keep track...make sure we have enough money, enough supplies, enough food, treats, crates, etc...  I do.  I keep track of the dogs, I keep track of my part time job, I keep track of my house, my own dogs, myself, and sometimes I seriously wonder whose keeping track of me?


Dotty

 So, this fella called me about his female, Dotty.  Seems she is one of those females with attitude...she is a trained hunter, however can't be trusted with the kids anymore and is not welcome back home.  So he sent her back to her breeder for more training (boarding), and she kicked one of his dogs ass, and now the breeder wants her out asap.  So here we are.  He doesn't trust her, the breeder doesn't trust her, yet I should drop everything to save his dog?  uhhhuh?  I dunno Dotty girl....






Lazlo

 Then there is the very handsome Lazo's story... 
I am the owner of a 2 year old GSP, Lazlo. We are seeking your help to surrender him. We have had Lazlo for 7 months since adopting him from a Wisconsin Rescue (which is no longer in business). He is healthy, has all shots, and is neutered. He is great with our family, gets along well with our other dog (which we had prior). Problem is we just don't enough time and space that he needs to run and play. We are not hunters. Also we are going to be moving out of state. We go to dog parks as much as possible. Sometimes he'll bark at other dogs or play rough, though not aggressive in a hurtful way. He'll bark at strangers coming over to the house, can be a little intimidating (big puppy). When he gets excited he likes to grab his blanket or a shoe (soft mouth), not a big deal. He's trainable- knows "wait", "sit", "stay" for example. He is pretty good on a leash. Not trained to hunt. Overall, Lazlo will be a good dog for the right family, especially for someone that has more experience and accommodations for the breed.   




10-11 yr old Max

Can you hear me going blah, blah, blah?  Until now.... meet 10-11 yr old Max...and get out the kleenex for this story:  

Hello - Firstly, thank you for the work that you do and your love for these dogs.  I love Yankee Candles and would be willing to buy some from you.  But the real reason I am writing to you is about my Pointer, Max.  I love my Max.  He is such a sweet old dog.  I adopted Max from our local Humane Society about 5 1/2 years ago.  He was a stray and they guestimated him to be about 5 or 6 years old at the time.  Now, my husband and I are separating and I can't take Max to the apartment where I will be living.  My husband won't keep him or care for him, so I need to find him another home.  Max is a neutered male, front dewclaws removed and tail docked before I adopted him.  He is micro-chipped to me, has had annual vet visits and is current on all his shots.  I can tell he was trained to hunt because he points at rabbits when we are out walking.  He is good with children - my daughter was 3 when Max came to live with us.  He gets along well with other dogs and is very friendly.  He needs other dogs to play with and to get out and run.  He doesn't get along with cats. 

Who dumps an old dog?  Looking at Max's face, pondering his fate, brings me to tears.  Do you have any idea of how hard it will be for Max to acclimate to a new life?  But DAMN IT, I'm sure gonna try to help him.  



Little Missy in IA



Shall we continue?  Young,  female, found as stray in Iowa, is crate trained, good with other dogs, good with cats and good with kids, but she does jump up when excited so she would need a bit of training in that area especially if she is going to be around young children.  Now the lady who found her says if she can keep her she will, and she wonders if she might be preggers?  OMG?  I will do anything to get her outta Iowa... hopefully she is not having puppies. 

All in all, this would make 10 dogs we have helped thus far in 2011...but whose keeping track?

Like a broken record...

What don't folks understand about NO?

Today's email:
I have attached photos of Ivy. As you can see, she is 100% pure GSP.  Unlike many of your dogs listed on your website, this GSP is full blood and purebred. Most of the dogs you have posted are obviously not. If you're a real GSP rescue, I question why you'd post photos of mutts.

As I stated in my earlier email, I am giving my situation until mid-March to be corrected with Ivy. I also have a 10 year old lab I rescued that has major storm phobia issues, so I cannot afford to have 2 problem dogs.

I am extremely confident that if Ivy had a home with a family and kids, she could break her cycle stemming from extreme separation anxiety from me. She is so bonded to me that I question whether I can obtain the desired behavior result. But if she was in a family environment, she may do much better. 

Ben
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HOW DARE HE?  "Unlike many of your dogs listed on your website...If you're a real GSP rescue, I question why you'd post photos of mutts"
Now why on earth would he try to get my attention by throwing this is my face?  I tell you why, because he wants my FULL attention, he wants control of the situation, and he wants me to drop everything to save his ass!  Pardon me while I go BLOW!  Like a broken record, I say, my first priority are to purebred GSPs in Wisconsin's kill shelters...his problem is not my problem.  Like a broken record, I read and re-read his email, the dog has seperation issues, potties behind his back, he thinks she would be better living in an outdoor kennel?  And in the next breath " if Ivy had a home with a family and kids"....but who the hell contacts me for an old, broken dog?  Not very many.  Guys that want hunters, as he brags she is, don't want an older dog, they want a puppy, or young dog.  I refuse to allow an outdoor kennel life for any dog...so best I can do is "put it out there" and see if anyone bites.  But it's stuff like this, that makes me just want to scream!  And it's very rarely the dogs fault.  Ashame....simply ashame.      

Same Ole Same...

Is this dump your dog week?  The reality of it is, this is my daily life.  When I decided to take on a dog rescue, I did know 'the big picture'...I had been volunteering for another breed rescue here for oh, 5 years in advance. But I never really had to deal with it all.  All I know is you are wasting everyone's time if you are nice and give everyone false hope.  People need to understand we do the best we can.  The public is our audience.  The public are who come to us for a companion dog.  If we adopt out aggressive dogs, it is a reflection on what sort of an organization we are.  I have to draw the line somewhere...

 

---

From: Rachel

To: lisa

Sent: Tue, February 15, 2011 10:58:58 AM
Subject: GSP in need of a loving home

Hi Lisa,

I got your email address off the GSP Rescue website.  I am sending this email on behalf of my friend, Jim, who is not so computer savvy.  He has a GSP named Dotty that is going to be 3 this year.  He has had her for about 1.5 years, and has had many issues with her.  She is a great dog around Jim and his family, but reacts very differently to other people.  She can be anything from shy to aggressive, to loving then back to aggressive within a very short time.  Jim got her for free from another person that gave her up and she has had these behavioral issues since he got her.  She is a great hunter (I have hunted with her numerous times) and Jim has spent a lot of time and money trying to fix Dotty’s issues, but all have failed.  After an incident the other day, he was faced with the choice of having her put down, or contacting the GSP Rescue. 

There is a lot more that you should know about Dotty, and Jim would like to speak with you.  I did not see a phone number on the website to contact you, so do you have a phone number that he could reach you at?

Thank you in advance,

Rachel XXXXX

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To which I replied:

Just from reading the basics here, I think she is probably not adoptable.  I would not want to take on an unstable dog, because if he doesn't trust the dog, how can I trust it?  I would not put a dog like that out to the public.  We are only a non profit dog rescue, we cannot afford liability insurance, and we cannot afford to take on problematic dogs.

 

I think Jim needs to do the responsible thing here.  Don't make me have to take on a responsibility that is not mine.

 

Please understand!  I deal with the public...I have to do what's best for this rescue and our volunteers and adopters. 
 

Lisa C. Rossman
Founder of:
http://www.wgspr.com
Wisconsin German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue, Inc.
& Miracle's Corner

The Responsible?

Ahhh, finally a long week is over, and I could pour a glass of wine, and turn on my fav tv shows Friday night, when the phone rings.  So I grab it...and it's a guy who wants to tell me all about the dog he needs to find a new home for, because the dog is nippy with the baby and now they have twins on the way.  About then, everything else he said in my mind was, yes...you know it...blah, blah, blah...  he got the dog from a bad situation oh 6-7 yrs ago, the vet thinks she was 2-3 yrs old then, but with them having kids now, the 10+ yr old dog cannot be trusted.  I told him put her down.  He said "can I finish"?  Why certainly..he already destroyed my night so what's the difference?  Then he offered to 'sweeten the deal' paying for her food, vet work, boarding... WTH?  Since when do I have a stamp across my forehead that says I can save all dogs?  Who made me the "responsible"?  Just because I volunteer to save purebred german shorthaired pointers in Wisconsin, does not make me responsible for everyone else's problems!  My first priority are to shorthairs in Wisconsin's shelter system.  Adoptable dogs!  I don't need broken dogs!  The dude eventually just hung up on me, but not before dropping me a short, nasty email...so I let him have it back....who made me responsible for his problem?  Damn it.  Perhaps now you see why I don't have a real life anymore?  Ok, I assumed some of the responsiblity all on my own...but I'm drawing the line here.  If I can help an owner surrender I will.  If, after doing this for sheesh, how many years?  I know a dog is not highly adoptable, or even a little adoptable...why should I stick my neck out?  By doing so to save a dog's life, I could be endangering someone elses?  I am not a boarding facility, nor do I have time to fix a broken dog.  I know it's not the dog's fault.  But it's not mine either.  It's pretty exhausting, and never ending, and all consuming.  And if people don't want to hear what I have to say?  Don't bug me man.  Take responsibility for what you created!  Take care of your own dog.  Don't lay your problem on me and proceed to make me feel guilty about it too?  Ok, that's all, I'm done.  But I think you know what I mean?  

   

One by one...



Blizzard 2011

 Well, since I was here last, we shovelled ourselves out from a blizzard!  My dogs didn't know what to make of all those snow drifts well over their heads. 



Kirby works the Great Lakes Pet Expo

 Kirby got returned for attacking another dog in his adoptive home.  We did not have any problems with him in our foster home, we even worked him at the recent Great Lakes Pet Expo.  Of course he was always on watch!  Kirby leaves for his hopefully, last new home tomorrow.

I can't believe we still have Hunter!  He is an awesome boy.  He worked the show too! 

I have a Homeless Vets Rehoming project place interested to place a dog in one of their group homes to check out.  That might be a good option not only for the dog, but for the vets trying to get back on their feet...  something to be responsible for, to go home to, to keep them grounded to real life, is to have a dog!
 


Greta



Today we are pulling off another two GREAT SAVES!  Maureen is driving to get 7 yr old retired breeding momma, Greta from her breeder.  We are told she is a very tiny girl, nice disposition.  Let the potty training begin...

Our photographer, Peggy Morsch is on a road trip to bring home 9-yr old Dixie.  Save #2 for the week!  Yeah! 

We are no huge shelter organization.  All these dogs are fostered in our homes, one by one. 

One by one we get them out of shelters, figure out what makes them tick, find out what their adoptability factors are, let them rest up, perhaps toss a little training at them, always crate train and potty train them, and get them all vetted, cleaned up and ready for a new home.  It's our passion!  These dogs deserve that, rather they are a puppy with so much life ahead, or a senior with one foot on the banana peel.  It is, what it is...  And we do our best to do the best for them. 

9-yr old Dixie



We are riding high here in Wisconsin this week, since our Green Bay Packers took the Super Bowl!  It's a pretty big thing here.  They even let the kids outta school for a day and half in Green Bay!  In Wisconsin, we like our football team, our beer, and our German hunting dogs!  Ok, that's my perspective anyhow. 

So, on this very cold day in Wisconsin, two more dogs are saved.  That makes six this year so far, and it's only the beginning of Feb.  I have the first outdoor Super Rally of the year planned for May, location is not determined yet.  Before we know it the snow will have melted, the we can get back out there again to show off our dogs!   It's what we live for!