First a Bear update. I really wish this boy could talk. We need to know what it is that he needs. He continues to eat well. Sometimes too well. And I’m not sure but I think that Bear and Sashka are in cahoots. Bear has started to become a thief. First it was the treats in a closet. Not once, not twice but 4 times. All the treats are in boxes hidden away but somehow he has managed to dig around till he finds them. And in the process he usually chews up something else. Then it was the bacon bits. How he managed to get them off the centre of the table is beyond me. He shouldn’t be able to reach that far. And finally, the eggs. I came home to find the destroyed egg carton and 2 tiny tiny pieces of shell. No mess from the yolk, no stickiness, just the destruction. “Someone” left the carton with 4 eggs on the kitchen counter. I tried to get Bear to take some cheese off the counter but he couldn’t reach it. So how did he get the eggs? Personally I think Sashka is helping him. So his appetite is good. But his health continues to mystify me. Some days I can get that slow old dog to actually run. But other days, it seems like he almost can’t stand. I really wish the old guy would let me know exactly what he wants. We would do almost anything to help him.
And West Coast Rottweiler Rescue welcomes in George. He is a sweet 2 yr old boy from a reserve on Vancouver Island. He is so unsure of city life. All the activity makes him kinda nervous but he is quick to recover. George is with our new foster family and they are already in love with this boy. He is very good with the resident female rottie and even plays nicely with the resident chihuahua. He has been to the local dog park and had a blast. George is paying way too much attention to the cat but is starting to learn not to chase. Our wish for George would be to find a family with another dog that will show George all he needs to know. George would be suited to an active lifestyle and even though he knows some commands, obedience classes are needed to guide him to be the best that he can be.
So that’s the good news. Now I am going to rant.
WCRR now has a policy that we will NOT take owner surrender dogs. And now it is written in stone. And here are the reasons why.
Ruby. He owners contacted us asking that we take her. I said no, I don’t have the room. After talking to them and listening to Ruby’s owner cry about how they so wanted to keep her but couldn’t find a place to live, I said I would post her on a rescue site to see if anyone else could help. And someone did. Waverlea stepped up to the plate and offered to take Ruby in until her family could change their living conditions. And WCRR agreed to help with any vet bills should we be needed. We told Ruby’s owners that we needed paperwork stating we had permission to care for her. A plan was set out, and soon folks had leads on homes for Ruby’s owners. But suddenly they wouldn’t return our calls or answer our emails. It was like they had forgotten all about this sweet old girl. Finally after several weeks I sent them an email informing them that because we had no paperwork saying we were caring for Ruby we would have to take Ruby to the spca and declare her an abandoned animal. Finally they sent us a surrender form and Ruby became a member of West Coast Rottweiler Rescue. And no sooner had that been done, then Ruby started to show signs of illness. Waverlea was wonderful and continued to care for Ruby. There really isn’t much in life that is harder than giving your heart to a dog that you know will die soon. Just a few short months after Waverlea promised to care for Ruby she had to let her go. Today our hearts break as Waverlea did the right thing and held Ruby one last time. They say that dogs live in the now and I hope that is true. I hope that Ruby didn’t remember that those other people ran away when she needed them the most. I pray that the only thing she knew was Waverlea loved her.
And then there was Bailey. Bailey was a young girl. Her owner told me that she was moving to South America and couldn’t take her girl. It was a sad sad story and again, I fell for it and tried to help. I knew of a nice man that had lost his rottie boy and was looking to bring another dog into his life. Geoff was patient and wanted to wait for just the right dog. He wasn’t up for adopting an older dog, only because his heart truly broke when he lost his boy. So this seemed like a good match. Bailey was young (3 yrs old) and her owner said there were no health problems. But there must have been something. 2 weeks after coming to Geoff and his wife, Bailey stopped eating. She was taken to the vets, tests were done, but no one could pinpoint anything. Just a short 8 weeks after stealing Geoff’s heart, Bailey started to hemorrhage and had to be put down. Again, a wonderful dog, abandoned by those she trusted and left with strangers who opened their hearts only to have it broken.
These dogs deserved to be with their families. The ones they lived with and loved for years. The ones that they trusted. But instead, both these dogs were left behind. Both with medical problems that were not disclosed.
When we started West Coast Rottweiler Rescue we decided that we would focus on shelter dogs. Those dogs that, without our help, would most likely lose their lives. Those are the ones that need our help. Dogs like Ruby and Bailey had owners. Those owners wouldn’t take their dogs to a shelter. Oh noooooooooooo, they apparently loved those dogs too much for that. But instead they dumped those dogs trusting that someone else would do the right thing. Well folks, I’m sorry but shame on you. You should have been the ones to help them. You should have been the ones to hold them as they passed. And you should have been honest with us. Next time please get yourself a stuff animal.
Rant finished
