Give Thanks - Rescue

I am so grateful to be a part of something bigger than myself.  A member of a group of people that care so deeply and feel the calling of rescue.  Lucky Dog Rescue is a wonderful group of people that have done so much for so many dogs in this community.  I love it.

I love rescue but I couldn't do it without having this group and support to do it.  I have fostered in the past, most notably Princess, Bear and Jojo.  Rescue work is hard and draining sometimes because you see people that don't value their pets as much as we do.  You want to scream at them and shame them but, in the end, it isn't worth it.  What is worth it is taking that dog and doing your best to improve its life and place it in a home that will truly care and love it.  Sometimes you don't get it right but when it does work out, it makes all the losses and disappointments worth it.  I am so grateful to be a part of it.

I haven't been as involved in the past year as I have been in the past but that's because of my negative feelings toward LD and my shifting focus into a relationship.  But I still love every minute of it and can't wait to take a more active roll when I open my own business.

Rescue and helping dogs will always be something I am grateful for.  I hope other people are too because the rescue workers deserve some recognition.

I'm a News Celebrity!

I was the lucky board member of Lucky Dog Rescue who got to go on Fox 21 News this morning and talk about our big event on Sunday, the Lucky Dog Jog.  It's a big event, or we hope so anyway, that sustains the rescue throughout the year on funds and donations.  This is the fifth year we've done something like it.  I always end up being extremely busy and really unable to fully help with the planning and prep for this, which I feel bad about, so I think that doing the news spot for it is more than enough to make up for it.

The Fox 21 weather man takes his dog to LD so we reached out to him to try to get some coverage for the rescue.  Myself and an apprentice took a rescue dog down there this morning for a quick chat about the jog.  It was cool to see the news room and everything but it felt a bit like flying by the seat of my pants since I really had no idea what was expected of me.  They said come in.  We came in.  They said sit and wait.  We sat and wait.  They said come sit here and put the mic on.  We sat down and I put the mic on.  Then off we went.

I was petrified but I guess I hid it pretty well.  I've never enjoyed public speaking but I used to have much worse stage fright than I do now.  Now I can kind of just shove that down and fake it.  Training classes in front of people has really made me a better speaker I think.  As long as I don't have to read anything or use notecards I'm fine.  Once I have to start reading and looking at notecards my dyslexia rears its ugly head and we're in real trouble.

So I was very glad that Justin took the lead and just kind of let me wing it with him.  I'm much more comfortable that way.  People tell me you can't tell just how nervous I am so win for me.  Hopefully this brings people into the jog!

Video

That destruction thing

You know, human beings are strange creatures.  We crave attention and companionship which lead us to form and put up with all sorts of societies.  We love each other and express friendship and relationships in one breath then turn around and systematically destroy the ties we've spent so much time cultivating.  We leave destruction, hurt and anger in our wakes at the same time we feed the fire of our own hurt and anger.  It turns into a vicious cycle of bitterness and self loathing.  Yet we do it over and over again all over the world.  It's amazing we obey laws when they tell us not to steal or murder.  Sometimes it's amazing the human race manages to continue without snuffing ourselves out.

I've spend the last 24 hours witnessing such a destructive act between two people I both care for and respect.  Things were said that were both unfair and cruel.  A relationship, a multi-layered relationship, went up in smoke for no good reason.  I wish I could have headed it off.

First, I was reminding myself that people grieve in their own ways.  Sometimes that means lashing out.
Second, I was reminding myself of my own advice of "if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."
Third, I was trying to stay on top of all the shit flying around while being respectful to both parties.
Fourth, I was shocked by the mushroom cloud of the explosion and didn't know what to do next.

Fifth... deal with the fallout.

Hopefully the core group of us that have managed to keep ourselves mostly clean from the shit flying around can come together and form a stronger group.  Maybe we'll be stronger after we lick our wounds and move on.  Those of us that can keep a clear mind and head above the storm clouds can do our best to pick up the pieces and find a new way for them to fit together.

It sucks though.  I wish everyone could have taken a couple deep breaths, counted to ten, dealt with their hurt and anger in a mature way then sat down in a couple of days to work everything out and come to an understanding.  But that frisky human desire to destroy got in the way.

Damnit.

Ram and Hard Decisions

Ram, my precious Ramrod, passed over the rainbow bridge Monday, April 26th.

Ram's story is a sad one.  He was such a beautiful Shepherd.  He came to our rescue about three or four years ago from a breeder.  He was the stud dog but they had to give him up with they acquired too many dogs.  When he came in, he was intact and used to breeding.  Life in the kennel was hard on him and he quickly deteriorated.  A high drive, anxious shepherd should never be confined to a kennel.

Unfortunately, when fence fighting with another intact male, Ram severely bit an employee on the leg.  We were able to find him a home after that but essentially, he was living on borrowed time.  While in that home, unknown to us, his owners used traditional and confrontational training techniques on poor Ram.  His behavior and anxiety worsened.  When his owners decided to divorced and dumped their dogs back on us, Ram's behavior quickly worsened.  He was not the same dog we'd had before.  We could clearly see the destruction of training techniques like shock collars and prong collars in him.  I hate those people for doing that to him.

Again, Ram deteriorated in the kennel.  He became aggressive toward fence fighting dogs, accruing several bad bites on dogs through the gates.  He also badly bit another person on the leg while fence fighting.  It was the second bad bite for his record.  We had him for 8 months total.  Twice in those 8 months, we homed Ram with a family.  The first time, Ram patrolled the home and became so overly protective that no one but the family could enter.  We paid for a trainer/behaviorist to go to Denver to evaluate him.  Her recommendation that Ram was a danger in that home and that he should be removed.  We took him back.  The second bite happened and we were faced with a hard decision.

Ram's behavior had become dangerous and unpredictable in the kennel.  He would either be the sweetest dog you've ever met or lunge at someone out of the blue.  I've known Ram for a long time and always had a good bond with him.  One night I was standing close behind him during class.  He looked at me twice but I did not feel any warning sign from him.  Suddenly he lunged at me, straight up toward my throat and face.  It was pretty startling and I believe that if an experienced apprentice hadn't been on the other side of that leash he would have gotten me.  Then he was alright several minutes later.  It was incredibly hard to read him.  He didn't give warning signs and we never knew if he was going to be okay with a person or dog or not.

When things were not looking good for Ram, we were able to find one more family to adopt him and try.  They were a shepherd savvy home that had previous experience with a patrolling shepherd.  Ram seemed to love them and we did a slow intro to get Ram into that home successfully.

Sadly, the family contacted Angie Sunday and let her know that Ram was not doing well.  He was cowering, startling, growling and unable to settle.  We agreed to come into their home on Monday and try to help them out.  Monday morning, Ram was growling at one of their sons as he got ready for school.  He was having a hard time coping with the father.  Before going into the home, the Board of Directors had a conversation about what we should do if this home did not work out.

Unfortunately, euthanasia was the option we came to.  We did not make that decision lightly.  We've all lost dogs but it is so hard to make the choice to end a dog's life because of the actions of people.  Dogs are pure souls and I HATE the fact that people and ruin them so completely that they can not recover.  We did EVERYTHING we could for Ram.  Behavior modifications, training, medication... everything we had, we gave him.  We loved him.  He was getting worse.  I did not believe that Ram was safe to adopt because of his behavior and unpredictability.  Although we love our dogs, we have to think about the safety of the people around them.  We can not adopt a dog out if we know he is a bite risk.  The last thing we want to do is for him to badly bite a child and then be put down alone and afraid anyway.  I also believe as a member of the board that we need to protect the well being of our dogs.  If they aren't happy and have no quality of life, we need to think of them and not be selfish.  Ram had no quality of life in the kennel.  He also would have no good quality of life in a sanctuary.  We came down to peacefully letting Ram go over in a loving and peaceful environment.

Angie and I went into the home and the family had already made the decision to send Ram back to us.  All of his belongings were packed by the door.  We did not tell them what we had decided but took Ram from their home.  They did their best for him and it was no fault of theirs.  They couldn't risk their children's safety, rightfully so.

We took Ram, letting him have all the treats in the world, and took him to the vet where he got to enjoy some quality time with peanut butter and pets.  He passed over the rainbow bridge knowing he was safe and loved.  Now he is safe and happy forever.

It doesn't change the fact that we are all heartbroken and hating ourselves for having to make that decision.  I cried myself to sleep that night because Ram deserved so much better.  We did our best but it was not enough to save him.  We did the right thing but... I'll always regret it.

There was huge fallout over it but that's not why I'm writing this.  This is for Ram.  Ram was a sweet guy who loved getting scratched and rolling around on the floor with a squeaky ball.  He was also a damaged dog.  People can do so much harm and not have to deal with the consequences.  Other good people have to be the ones to make the unselfish decision.

Ram deserved so much better.  He will have a legacy of us helping dogs.  We don't give up until we have exhausted everything.  We will not let dogs go alone and unwanted.  We will love every dog we come across, even if they are misunderstood.

RIP Ramrod.  I will remember you in every hard dog I come across.  I hope you're on my shoulder helping me out.  Ram's legacy will also be a stronger rescue that can continue to save dogs.

Sable may have a home!

Sable is a dog in the rescue I work with.  She's a sweet sweet baby girl that has some quirks that has made her hard to adopt out.  Mostly she's dog aggressive and has the ability to do damage to another animal.  It doesn't help that she's a black pit bull type dog.  But, after two years with us, Sable may have found her forever home through the Best Friends network!  This would just be an incredible dream come true if she did.

Check this out:

Sable's Best Friend's page