How did you choose your rescue dog?

[tarheelmd07]

My husband and I both grew up with dogs - he with labs and I with golden retrievers. We both liked big dogs, but due to his allergies and my hatred of vacuuming, a golden was out of the question. We wanted to adopt a dog from the moment we got married, but for many reasons, we waited. First, we lived in a 16th floor apartment in the middle of a city. Second, I was a medical resident who worked crazy hours and he had a 1.5hr each way commute. Third, I was competing several horses who lived at a barn that was a good hour drive each way.

Eventually, we moved out of the city, bought a house, fenced in the yard, I finished my training and got a “real job” with more regular hours, and I moved the horse closer to my house…so it was finally time for a dog. We live in a county with BSL so many of the pitt-mixes that pulled at my heartstrings on rescue sites were off-limits. We made several visits to local shelters and saw many lovely dogs…but none of them seemed to be “the one.”

Until we happened to see this photo on a local shelter’s site on a Thursday evening:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v692/tarheelmd07/Widget-headshot.jpg

Something about this beautiful girl’s photo spoke to us and I scooted over to the shelter over lunch on Friday. As I pulled into the parking lot, there she was, being walked (or more accurately dragging a poor volunteer) around the grassy area in front of the shelter. She was a bit skinny, super-high energy, and appeared to have no manners whatsoever…but she had just the cutest face. I played with her for a bit and told the shelter volunteers I would be back with my husband first thing Saturday morning, since we both had to be there to put in an application. I think my husband was a bit suspicious at first of this brindled blocky-headed ball of energy…but after she climbed into his lap at the shelter and curled up into a ball while wagging her little tail nub (someone did a horrible cropping job on her tail and she only has a tiny little nubbin), he was sold. We turned in our application, stayed as long as the shelter would let us, and made arrangements to pick her up after her spay surgery the following Tuesday.

The funny part is, when I went back to pick her up, my husband was out of town. The shelter’s vet determined she had already been spayed so her adoption fee was only the cost of her vaccines…a whopping $32 check made out to the county government. Weeks later, when the bank statement came, my husband asked me if I’d gotten a parking ticket…I was confused until I realized that he thought the check I’d written for the dog was a parking ticket I’d forgotten to mention, since it’s exactly the same cost

We’ve had Widget almost 2 years - hard to believe as the time has flown by! She has been our gateway into dog training and we’re now about to start showing her in rally and obedience - and she has settled down a bit and developed some nice doggy manners. She’s not the greatest barn dog…but she more than makes up for it by being a champion snuggler and couch buddy.

And she’s still pretty much the cutest thing…and terribly photogenic

http://melissa-mcdaniel.smugmug.com/Covers/Fake-Covers-Photo-Print-8x10s/22672708_bGJPVF#!i=3073841949&k=zdtTV4R

[fourfillies]

After losing my two beloved Corgis a year apart we adopted an older Lab from the local HS. Great guy, our first “big dog” and counter surfer extraordinaire but I missed having a Corgi in the house. After about a year and lots of surfing, I found a youngish Corgi at an all breed rescue 400 miles away whose picture said come get me. Took old Lab and DH on a serious road trip and brought home our Fozzy through a minor snowstorm. He is amazing. Smart, funny and sleeping at the foot of the bed

[kmwines01]

As a vet student, I am a super sucker for old dogs… but my SO at the time (now fiance) wanted a puppy/younger dog. We checked out several breed specific rescues for German Shorthairs but decided a)we couldn’t meet the rescues’ fence requirements and b) we couldn’t have that high energy of a dog in our living situation. So we looked at puppies at the local humane society and shelters. In our areas it was a lot of Australian Cattle Dog/heeler types which weren’t what we were looking for. Nothing against them but not the mentality we were looking for.

So we found a puppy rescue about an hour south and went to their adoption day. They had a bunch of puppies that were lab mixes who were a bit plain. We ended up taking home a “lab/shepherd mix” who was shy but very food motivated and got friendly when we offered treats. Can’t tell you why we picked her exactly but we liked the different coloring and the prospect of her being bigger. We just connected with her I guess. Really can’t explain it two years later. She’s been a great dog but not without her issues. Doesn’t really like strangers, particularly when they come in the house, can’t be left out (see pictures), still a bit wild, and not nearly as big as we thought we’d she’d get. But we love her.

First pic with us:
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/mikekatie15/media/311_zps539fc2af.jpg.html?sort=3&o=2

Puppy at the deli/bar:http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/mikeg83/media/IMAG0392_zps8e6c0d31.jpg.html?sort=3&o=6

Snow!:http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/mikeg83/media/VIDEO0026_0000025632_zps9bd1c280.jpg.html?sort=3&o=4

Gameday:http://s1312.photobucket.com/user/mikeg83/media/IMAG0549_zpsc5a68068.jpg.html?sort=3&o=5

Home alone:
http://s768.photobucket.com/user/mikekatie15/media/IMAG0903_zpsd54458ae.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

After bed destruction is found out: http://s768.photobucket.com/user/mikekatie15/media/IMAG0916_zps14947dd7.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

She has ended up at 55 lbs and we have no idea what breed/breeds she is. Best guesses so far are Boxer/Rottie, Boxer/Rhodesian, Red Pitt/Rottie, Rottie/Rhodesian. But she’s little and has webbed feet so it’s really a big guess!

[jenm]

![](ine picked me! He was a shelter surrender, and was picked up by a local rescue. A friend of mine who knew the rescue’s vet, told me he had completely shut down and they thought he would do better if he were fostered. I wasn’t even looking for a dog, but I figured I could take him on temporarily.

The day I picked him up, I opened the door to his crate on the ride home because he was scrunched up in the back and looking miserable. As soon as I opened the door, he came out and sat right next to me. I was in love!

He passed all of my tests: not a yapper, is fine with cats and able to chill on his own at horse shows.

He’s a special needs dog and is on medication for seizures, which is probably why he was surrendered in the first place. Even though he was four years old, he wasn’t house trained and didn’t know how to walk on a leash.

I love this little guy to pieces and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have found him if I was looking.

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e350/Jen4USC/Calvin/Happy.jpg)

[IMG]http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e350/Jen4USC/Calvin/CuteCalvin.jpg)

[weixiao]

What lovely stories and wonderful dogs! These stories make me so happy.

kmwines01 that bed destruction picture made me laugh so hard. Oh no!

[equisusan]

My first rescue (Chihuahua) was actually rescued by one of my friends and had been living with them for a year. I moved to their area and stayed with them until I bought a house. We fell in love. Totally in love and my friend graciously offered him to me as long as I followed a few rules.

1. Install a fence around my yard at my new house.
2. Buy a house in the neighboring areas so he wasn’t far away.
3. Drop him off at her horse farm every day so he could play with his friends while I was at work.

We did that and he is the little love of my life.

I rescued a second dog from a large kill shelter in my state so he would have company and we could wean off the doggie daycare every day. I really really wanted another male chihuahua but none of the available ones floated my boat. I got the sweetest rat terrier girl instead. She was in a large kennel with all pitties and other large, barking dogs. The shelter worker got her out and she walked like a little lady straight down the aisle as the other dogs flung themselves at their doors and barked. She didn’t flinch. She is a wonderful dog and she was with me for many years. She was quite shy to start with but she came out of her shell over time. She developed very severe allergies so she now lives on my friend’s horse farm in a state where she’s not allergic to everything. I see her every summer.

Third rescue was my littlest chihuahua girl. Oh my! This was not an intelligent selection process. I tried two male chihuahua rescues at my house and both of my other dogs loved them but I really had it in my head to have a cuter and smaller dog this time so we didn’t adopt either of these. Neither of them seemed to be potty trained or smart enough to figure out the dog door either.

So I compiled a list of all available chihuahuas in my area and started out to see them all. The very first one I went to see was adorable… Cute, snuggly, little… An absolute charmer. I didn’t really want another girl dog but what the heck. The shelter insisted I bring my dogs in to make sure they’d be ok together so I ran home and got them. Well I could tell right away they didn’t like her and she had some dominance issues but the shelter girl didn’t seem to have a clue so I adopted her. She has been a handful - literally. Ha ha. I love her and we have managed to get her integrated into our pack but I am always having to remind her that she is not in charge of the other dogs or me. Oh well… I got what I wanted: cute, small. I think she is my trophy dog. LOL High maintenance.

[bits619]

Tarheel, is your girl a weimaraner mix? I may remember you posting about her a while back, I remember that picture. Now that I own a weim and have fostered three others (a fourth hopefully coming this week), I REALLY see weimaraner in her face. Just gorgeous!!

[tarheelmd07]

[QUOTE=bits619;7432816]
Tarheel, is your girl a weimaraner mix? I may remember you posting about her a while back, I remember that picture. Now that I own a weim and have fostered three others (a fourth hopefully coming this week), I REALLY see weimaraner in her face. Just gorgeous!![/QUOTE]

The shelter thought Boxer/Weim or Boxer/Pointer given her coloring, head-shape, and prey drive - we did one of those DNA tests on her that told us pretty much nothing, as it said she’s pretty much mixed on both sides (with some boxer and mini bull terrier influences).

[SarahKing]

My husband picked her out. We had just bought a house after renting for three years, and had been casually perusing the local humane society website. On a Thursday night that we wouldn’t normally be home, we decided to just go look. Nothing on the site caught our eye, but when we got there, there was this one little black dog. She was about knee-height, maybe 35 pounds, and wasn’t barking. She was essentially the only dog that wasn’t flinging itself against the front of the run. And she was the perfect size! So we asked to “meet” her. They have little rooms for visits, and we poked and prodded and pulled all over her - eyes, ears, mouth, tail, feet. She just kind of looked at us like we were crazy but didn’t flinch at anything. We fell in love! She was a stray and still had a few days to be claimed, so we had to put down a “deposit” and wait. She wasn’t claimed by Monday morning, so they spayed her that day and we took her home on Tuesday. Since she was a stray they had no history or anything on her. She was a dream in the car, only every had two accidents, and crate-trained beautifully. We had an invisible fence for a while until my husband cut the wire, and to this day, we can just send her outside to pee and poop and she doesn’t wander off and comes right back.

That was almost ten years and three kids ago! She’s been fantastic and 99% healthy … the occasional ear infection, one vomiting induction, and one torn ACL back in 2011. Of course, that was our 10th wedding anniversary, so we ended up getting her knee fixed instead of doing anything special for ourselves. She’s still the best dog ever, as far as we’re concerned.

Oh … and even though she was estimated to be 9 months old, she got at least six inches taller and gained 25 pounds!

[OTV]

My family’s first rescue dog fell into our laps. We already a full house - golden retriever and 2 cats, and my brother and I were in our teens.

But my mom and I were in our riding lesson one night and our trainer’s adult daughter came in and asked if anyone wanted a dog. They’d found him dumped on the road by their acreage and he’d been scavenging for about a week. There had been another dog, same colouring, that had been chasing their horses that same week. When our dog walked up to the house, trainer’s daughter’s husband had the gun out, ready to shoot him. Luckily, he realized it was a different dog than the one chasing horses.

They took him in but their dog was highly aggressive to other dogs so it didn’t work out. They dropped him off at the shelter but his time was up. If no one adopted him, he was going to be put down the next day.

So I begged and cried, and cried some more for my dad to at least go look at the dog. He was furious. Said we didn’t have room and he didn’t have time to go look at some “damn dog.”

After school, I ran home and asked my dad about the dog. Dad was calm and quiet, and said, “well, he’s a pretty nice dog.” When dad had gone in to check him out, all the other dogs were barking at the front of their kennels. Except this dog. He was in the back of his kennel, sitting, and not looking around. Dad eventually got him to come up to the front while the other dogs kept barking at him. Dad petted him and left, the lady at the society said another guy was going to come back and adopt him but she’d call my dad if the other guy didn’t show up.

Next day, dad got the call. He went down to pick him up. This time poor dog wasn’t responsive at all. Just curled up in a ball in the back of his kennel, ignoring everything, including the lady who was trying to get him to come. Dad called him, dog lifted his head up, got up, and wagged his tail.

That was it. From that moment on, he was my dad’s dog. He liked the rest of us okay, but it was my dad he loved. He was perfect for my dad. Followed my dad around like a little lamb, never wandered off, never thought he was a dog. He always reminded me of Farley Mowatt’s The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be. He’d wait at the door 5 minutes before my dad got home on the days my dad wouldn’t take him with him to work. He ignored other dogs. He put up with children. But he loved and trusted my dad to an incredible degree.

We had to put him down a few years ago and my dad’s still upset at his passing. He keeps his ashes in his car, so that they can still travel together.

[Nicker]

I gave up along time ago setting “standards” for what I want. I never stick to them!
Our current dog is a mini Aussie, dumped on the steps of the local Humane Society the day after Christmas two years ago. The director knew we were looking for another agility dog and called me to see if I would foster her. We did and she never went back, though we have yet to try her in agility. Still working with her on basic obedience. She was 4 months old when we brought her home, was food and toy aggressive and absolutely not housebroken. While investigating the abandonment case I found out she was shipped from a breeder in KY as a childs Christmas present. Contacted the breeder and she was in such a state of denial, even after swapping photos and seeing it was definitely the same dog! Not surprised to find that everything she breeds is “mini”, including horses. We’ve taken care of the resource guarding and food aggression, though she will have her moments when we are fostering a dog.

Currently have an 8 month old male Aussie mix in foster right now. He’s been here forever and DH keeps asking when he is going back to the shelter to be adopted. I just can’t bring myself to take him back yet, even though he has growled at me(only when in uniform). He is absolutely in love with my 11 yr old DD. She was crying the other night when he climbed onto the couch next to her, laid his head on her chest and licked her chin. He kept persisting till she stopped crying and then just laid his head in her lap. We’ve had alot of fosters over the last few years, and while he is not my favorite(I love my dogs with BIG personalities), he has blended in so well I don’t know if I can let him go.

[JanM]

My only boy was a total find. A friend lost her terrier, and she wanted to go dog shopping, and I went with her. I saw a young male Min. Schnauzer, and it was love at first sight. Once I walked by he kept hopping up to look over the side panel to see where I was. I thought about it, went back the next day and put my name on the wait list, and a few days later I picked him up. I did the classic boo boo, and just took him right in the house, and my older Min. Schnauzer loved him at first sight too. He was second dog until she died, and then he was my only dog. The first day we were at my home when I moved to Alabama, he wanted to go out, and since the rest of the furniture, including the patio doggy door wasn’t there yet, I had to let him in and out. He wanted out after dark, and it was summer, very dark, and very noisy (frogs, and many other noisy creatures). He went to the door, I turned on the back porch light, let him out, and when he realized how noisy it was, he wanted back in. I never heard a dog so clearly think “I don’t need to go in this noisy place, and I’ll hold on til morning if you just let me back in”. I told him to hurry up, he went about 3" outside the door on the patio, and it was the fastest he ever did his business. Then I let him back in-he never really liked the noisy part of summer, but sometimes it was so noisy that I didn’t like it in mid-summer either. He was the best boy.

[harnessphoto]

[QUOTE=bugsynskeeter;7429136]
They have always chosen me.[/QUOTE]

Me too. My boss at the vet clinic brought in a puppy that had been found on the streets mid-seizure and had to have her stomach pumped. That was dog #1.

The neighbor saw a dog get dumped out of a van at the local boat launch. I took him in to ‘foster’ and he fit our lifestyle. That’s dog #2.

[glfprncs]

My husband and I had been our home for 6 months when we went looking for our first pet. My MIL had JUST moved out that morning, and we went to the shelter in the afternoon.

I fell in love with a pair of female lab mixes, but my husband spied a nice medium/large black/brown/brindle mix that wasn’t barking, wasn’t jumping at the kennel…just hanging back, staring from his bed. I honestly didn’t even notice him. We were allowed to take him into a yard, where he plopped himself down in the shade and licked himself. He wasn’t all over us like you’d think…but for whatever reason, he won our hearts. I liked that he didn’t seem ridiculously high energy or yappy. Louie has remained a very low keel dog. What’s interesting is that I eventually began volunteering at the shelter where we found Louie. The female lab mixes I originally loved had horrible health issues. One died of kidney failure at a very young age.

#2 was supposed to be a female ‘mini mi’ of dog #1. My husband was out of town when I met her, and by the time I talked it over with him, the dog had a new home. It wasn’t meant to be. The adoption counselor, though, asked me to come meet another dog, T.C., at their adoption event the next weekend. He was 6, a black lab mix, and was SO homely. I saw him first from a distance, and his ‘foster mom’ was a 12 year old girl, and she was eating a sandwich at a table. As she looked away for an instant, T.C. gently put his paws on the table, ate the sandwich in one gulp, and was back on the ground before she even knew it. Clever boy. We made an arrangement for him to meet our dog at a local park the next day, and took him home shortly thereafter. He’s truly been my ‘heart’ dog for the past 8 years.

#3 was because of COTH. Someone, on an off topic day, posted, “Share the cutest dog photos at your local shelter.” So off I went…and saw James’ picture. He was 11 weeks at the time…a brindle hound mix. I showed his picture to my husband and he said, “We have to meet him.” I did NOT want a 3rd dog AT ALL…but once I met him…I was smitten. I was a little worried that T.C. (dog #2 and the oldest) wouldn’t be okay with a puppy, but he was PERFECT for James. Took him right under his wing and showed him the ropes. 4 1/2 years later, they’re still best buds. James is definitely ALL hound (probably a Plott Hound)…his nose gets the best of him.

This is a picture of James about a week after we brought him home (yes, he sleeps in the bed). I had no idea this was where he slept, though. My husband took the photo at 3:00 a.m.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1194924067267&set=a.1013375528667.2002158.1053400816&type=3&theater

[khall]

3 of my 4 are road finds, I picked them up and they stayed. My original one all 95 lbs of him (he was only 50 lb puppy when I chose him) I picked out at local high kill shelter. He was very friendly and wanted to meet everybody. A bit out of control when I brought him home (a reformed cat chaser!) and 2 sessions of training we have a lovely family dog that we have had for 9 yrs now.

I foster for a local rescue, some dogs just speak to you more than others. That is how I ended up with the 2 fosters I have now. Their pictures on FB touched my heart.

[EventingDreaming]

After my family got the “family dog” 6 years ago, and she bonded very nicely to my mom, I wanted “my own” dog. So when our little cockapoo was 3, i started browsing pet finder. I wanted a big (bigger) dog. I found a couple I thought were cute and sent them to my mom. (Yeah… she wanted no part in it.) But then I found an adorable, scared looking, 2 month old pitbull x spaniel. He was the cutest puppy I had ever seen and his rescue was having an adoption day in my state! He was from a state over. Sent him to my mom and she actually submitted the application! I was beyond thrilled. 3 weeks later my mom told me that there was another family wanting him too. (Ahhh no!!) So we drove to the adoption day to meet him and I was told he was out finishing up his bath. A few minutes later he came out with the lime green collar and leash I had wanted for him and the lady handed him to me saying “Merry Christmas!” I started crying and he just started licking my face all over. From that very moment I knew he was mine. He apparently was an accident puppy and was heading to be put down if I didn’t get him. He chose me. I know he did. Come to find my mom had planned this as a surprise and there really was no other family looking at him. He is the best dog I’ve ever had, and the easiest to train. 3 years later and he is my absolute best friend. Still as wimpy and clumsy as he was as a puppy. Long legs don’t suit him and he is literally scared of everything. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better dog. And now we have the family dog (moms dog) and definitely MY dog. Everyone can tell and there is really no better friend than a great dog. I love him with all my heart.

[toady123]

I knew I wanted a lab, and had been searching pet finder regularly. Came across a costing from a single-breed rescue within a few hours of us. I started to check their website regularly and saw the pics of two young cuties that they wanted to be adopted together. I showed DH the photo and his exact words were “you’re nuts - we are NOT getting two dogs”.

Next day I decided to e-mail them to inquire about the pair- their website specifically said it took time to respond as they were quite backlogged. I figured I’d have time to negotiate with DH while awaiting a response.

Well low and behold within 10 MINUTES of me hitting send I had a phone call from the rescue director - I guess they were at that moment grappling with the situation as they had a number of inquires for one of them, but nobody wanted both. They had never split up a pair but the situation was such that they were considering it when my e-mail showed up.

Within 20 minutes we were pre-approved for a ‘meet and greet’ time a date and time. Hung up the phone and realized I needed to tell DH - whose only words on the subject had been “we are NOT getting two dogs”.

He took it in stride with a sigh and an eye role. We went and met them and fell in love. Now when I watch DH wrestling and racing around, or snuggling them and saying things like “Whose my favowit wittle puppy wuppy” I realize I did the right thing.

ETA that our two have been FANTASTIC. Got home the first night, slept right through till morning and never put a foot wrong. They have NEVER counter surfed, gone through a garbage, or done anything destructive in the house (with the exception of ripping stuffing out of the dogs beds - for some reason that is very fascinating). It took two months before we heard a bark, they don’t jump, are good with kids, and generally just awesome to have around. So a rescue can be a wonderful thing!! We can take very little credit for their behaviour!

[EventingDreaming]

[QUOTE=toady123;7439815]
ETA that our two have been FANTASTIC. Got home the first night, slept right through till morning and never put a foot wrong. They have NEVER counter surfed, gone through a garbage, or done anything destructive in the house (with the exception of ripping stuffing out of the dogs beds - for some reason that is very fascinating). It took two months before we heard a bark, they don’t jump, are good with kids, and generally just awesome to have around. So a rescue can be a wonderful thing!! We can take very little credit for their behaviour![/QUOTE]

That’s so awesome!! When I got my puppy he slept through the nights, was out of his crate within a month to sleep actually with me. He potty trained very quickly and only had one accident on the floor! He also likes to rip stuffing out of toys/beds and only had one small chewing accident (my riding helmet of all things:sadsmile:). And it took him 6 months until we ever heard a bark. I agree rescue is definitely a wonderful thing!! He is definitely much better behaved than my mom’s dog who we got from a breeder. Love the rescue animals!

[Mango20]

I’m on rescues #3 & 4 now. My goal for all four was some kind of lab/retriever mix.

#1: Just moved out on my own and wanted a puppy (1992). I went to a local shelter and looked at what they had. There were two little black 9 week old lab/chow mixes there, in two different puppy pens. One was what you’d expect a puppy to be like and the other one was being terrorized by another puppy and clearly not enjoying it. I took the “normal” one but moved the sad puppy over to the other pen to get away from the aggressive puppy. Before choosing the one I got, I spent a lot of time going back and forth between the puppy area and a one-year old golden retriever named Cody. It was a very hard decision. The lab/chow was the smartest dog I’ve ever had, and very loyal but not aggressive at all.

#2 (1995) belonged to our white trash neighbors about 4 houses down and was always loose and flea-infested. She was some sort of small black lab mix. We got to know her and eventually, through some other neighbors, we were told we could have her if we wanted her. I went to the owners to say okay. She said she liked to sleep on the bed, but with all those fleas and the fact that she clearly wasn’t housebroken, their house must have been disgusting!

I looked for #3 (2006) after #1 died and #2 was very lonely. I wanted a lab mix one year old or less, preferably not black for a change, and my almost 5 year old son wanted a girl dog because “girl dogs are prettier”. Seems like an easy fit, right? Well, by then all that was in shelters were pit mixes and rescue groups wouldn’t adopt young dogs to households with young children (even those who have had dogs their whole lives) or people who aren’t home during the day. I was getting very discouraged. I finally found our dog at a no-kill city shelter. She was 6 months old and had been trucked up from Georgia to try to find a home. She is a golden retriever mix. She has the hair color but not the length, and who knows what else she’s mixed with. She is super awesome and I will be very sad when she goes (she’s 8 now, so it’ll be a while).

After #2 died, it was time to look for #4 (2012). I had the same criteria - lab/retriever mix. I found this one’s picture and flattering write-up on a local rescue site and asked about her. They called her a lab and there was only one picture (http://www.reachoutrescue.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=4579359). She sounded good but was at a shelter in Georgia. They offered to send her to me on trial as a “foster to adopt” program, so I agreed. The van shows up in the middle of the night and drops off this extremely frighted dog who doesn’t look like the dog in the picture. She clearly had some pit bull in her and probably was a mix of several breeds, which may or may not have included lab. I was pretty unhappy about it but agreed to give her a try. She got comfortable with my son first, and eventually started coming out of her shell and learning to play. She was also super sweet and gentle, so in the end I kept her. Now, a year and a half later, she’s still very easily frightened if you make a wrong move, but is sweet and loving and plays well with our other dog. Someone must have really abused her, and she seems more scared of women then men. She was hard to train because of it, but the good thing was that she was so scared to do anything wrong that she was a pretty good girl, even if you sent her into a fleeing panic if you asked her to sit. She’s still got a ways to go, but I’m glad I kept her even though she was very different than what I was expecting.

[tallyho392]

after dealing with the heartbreak of watching my large dogs…labs and shepherd…fall apart bit by bit, and know that I couldnot easily cary a 90+ lb dog in and out of the house for walks,car rides,vet ,etc, I thought I was going to stick with small dogs…terrier-type…my last jrt was fast approaching 19 yrs, and has been quite hale and hearty most of her long life…so, small dog->long life sounded good to me…I had been haunting the local shelters, but there was little to choose from,and nothing really spoke to me…
one day,again, all large dogs at the shelter…one empty kennel with the name Chelsea on it…I came back to look for the missing dog, and found a large-ish,shorthaired,red and white dog trying to stand at the front of the kennel while the akita next to her was pawing at her through the bars…she seemed sad and friendly,though NOT NOT what I wanted…I wanted a dog small enough to throw in the kitchen sink for a bath…but ,I asked to have her come out…she was trembling,like a dog does during a thunderstorm, but looked me right in the eye and wagged her tail a bit…a funny looking combination of dog parts is the only way to describe her…huge broad chest and bulky body of lab or pit,broad head, but longish pointed nose, and tiny tiny feet…they never looked as though they could support her…and pit coloring.that ruddy red,whith broad white chest,white belly ,tips of tail and feet white and white freckles on legs…oh,and labby ears…truly,a look only a mother could love…okay,just for the heck of it, I stood in the looooooong line to get her background info, lead line in hand…as I look up, there she is, standing in the open doorway leading to behind the kennels, staring at me, just barely wagging her tail…now, to get to that point, her outside kennel door had to be open , AND the double doors where she was standing had to be open,something not normally occurring…when I saw her, I said, “what the heck are YOU doing here?”…and she calmly walked over to me,sat down next to me,and looked up,very pleased…someone further back in the line said,“well, I guess you found YOUR dog!”…and indeed I had…from that day on,we were glued together…smartest dog I have ever met…she was my protector, guard dog of kids and household…she even knew which cats were “our” barn cats,and which ones she would chase away…in 30+ of dogs, I have NEVER had a dog so intuitive, smart,and loving…she was 3 when I got her, and just 4 short yrs later ,I lost her to some bizarre respiratory infection…my heart has never quite recovered, and even the 4 dogs I have now cannot make up for the something extra she had…I named her jane…plain jane, because nothing else would have worked…and I miss her every day…she even had red eyelashes…