House Sitting

I have been away from home for almost 2 weeks while I house sit for my dear friend who has adopted Belle. I miss Clyde and Sashka and most of all my partner in life, Jim. One more sleep and then I am back where I belong.
It has been wonderful to spend time with Belle. And Sharon's is the perfect home for her. Things are calm, relaxed and it shows in Belle's manner. She is such a loving dog and is still playful and active enough to enjoy a good game of tug
Just when I thought the season of pet fairs was done I find I still have 2 more to go to. Thats ok, one of them is inside so I don't have to worry about the weather or a tent or any of the great stuff. It was a busy summer and I am more then a little burnt out.

Rescue for me is serious stuff. I take offence quickly when I think that people involved are passing the buck, doing it to make money, not caring for the animals properly, etc. And as anyone will tell you, I am quick to speak my mind. Once you have crossed the line with me, there is rarely ever a chance to go back again.
Last week I was involved in a conversation about a small middle aged dog that needed some care. I don't usually concern myself with these ones, there are lots of dog rescues that take the small ones and can provide great care for them. But................................ the rescue that was working for him posted that if no funds could be found or no one else would take him, he would be put to sleep. WTF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just because a dog is going to cost money isn't the reason we kill them. (I hate the term "put to sleep") We work harder, longer and with more dedication but we don't kill them cause they are going to cost a couple of hundred or even a couple o f grand. "WE" are the ones that save them from that. "WE" are the ones that help them recover and find them homes. "WE" never use that card. Thats just freaking wrong. Those are the things that shelters do. Those are just the things that we fight so hard against.
I guess I don't have to tell you that I had a meltdown. LOL Or that I let me opinion be known loud and clear.
Ive said it before and I guess it should be said again. Rescue is not for the faint of heart. It is hard work, it is expensive, its heartbreaking. Its not about saving the easy, the young the well adjusted. Its about saving the ones that no one wants.
As for the post on the forum, somehow it got deleted. Thats pretty convenient for the person. I don't know how much of it I saved but I do know that I have the most important parts. I will keep it cause somewhere down the road, people are going to need to know about the ethics around rescues.

Rhonda

Our hearts go out to Alison and Damon. Rhonda passed away in their arms last Sat. Thank you both for loving her.

Rhonda was only the 2nd dog that WCRR brought in. She came from a northern shelter that said she wasn't doing well and was becoming incontinent. Rhonda was overweight The shelter ran on reduced hours and I think that maybe Rhonda just had trouble getting up off her bed and would have small accidents. Regardless, we took her cause she needed someone.

Rhonda had been a farm dog. And when each new tenant moved onto the farm they got Rhonda. As you can imagine, some folks cared for her but many did not. From what I could find out, Rhonda spent lots of time either tied up or left to wander the area looking for food. When the last tenant passed away his kids took Rhonda to the local spca. Thank god they did.

Rhonda stayed a couple of months with us and we loved her. she was calm and kind and affectionate. She was good with the resident little dog. She didn't hate the neighbours cat. She was just a good girl.

As so often happens in the rescue world someone mentioned to someone else that there was this very nice older female rottie needing a home. We took Rhonda out to meet Alison and Damon and their pack. Rhonda growled at all the dogs. I think she was just asking for some space. And she wandered over to Damon and he fell for her right away. I was worried about the other animals as there were cats and horses on the property, but Rhonda seemed to do well everywhere she went. And this home was the kind of home you want for all your animals. These folks were kind and totally devoted to the companion animals in their care. Everyone was vetted whenever anything was needed and I never worried about Rhonda at all.

Several months ago, I found out that Rhonda had cancer and they were amputating a leg. I went out to see her shortly after that and thats when this picture was taken.

Rhonda, Alison and Damon fought tooth and nail trying to beat the cancer but as is so often the case, the disease won out in the end.

Rest easy my girl. We will meet again at the bridge

What the hell is it about old dogs

Almost every big old dog we have had come into our home refuses to walk in the rain. All of them do it. Stop at the door and refuse to walk outside. Today was by far the worst. Clyde is learning to walk with a halti. I am insisting that he do it cause he has almost pulled me into the street a couple of times. Clyde hates the halti. He is sure it is a devil device that is killing him. So this morning not only do I have to drag 110 lbs of dog out the door, he is also on the end of the leash doing the crocodile roll. To the idiot that thought he should honk his horn and shake his finger at me this morning, BUGGER OFF. I was not killing him, I am not abusing the poor old thing, we are simply out for our morning walk.

It amazes me how quickly our dogs become spoiled. Less then 2 months ago, Clyde was a homeless dog tied to a post. Now, I not only can't get the old fart to walk in the rain, but he is getting really spoiled with food.

I made the mistake of feeling sorry for him. I don't know when I will learn that this is never a good idea. I get sucked in all the time. Clyde wasn't feeling well when he came into care and in an effort to get him to eat enough for us to give him pain meds, I started supplementing his food with really yummy stuff. Stuff like canned pheasant, rabbit and salmon. Not only was I giving him this, I was warming it up for him. Like I said, I get sucked in.

One morning I am running late for work (and I need to work to pay for the freaking dog food) and I didn't add the warm water to the pheasant before I poured it on his kibble. How simple awful of me. Cause this old homeless stray dog ran to his food dish, took a big bite out of it, whipped his head around, looked directly at me, and spit his food out. The horrified look on his face spoke volumes How dare I feed him cold pheasant for breakfast. I knew in that moment that I had lost all chance of maintaining any illusion on my part that I am the leader in my house.

I'm sure Cesar Milan and Brad Patterson would be so disappointed in me. LOL

I'm Back

Well I never really left but I needed a break from the responsibility of updating the blog. Sometimes it is quite difficult to keep my personal opinions to myself. I originally started this blog as a way of venting and letting others see how simply childish rescue can get sometimes. It evolved to keep people updated on the dogs of West Coast Rottweiler Rescue and I find it hard to keep things upbeat and positive when I just want to scream some of the time. So, I may scream and yell and even curse. LOL this is not a family site. If you are going to be offended by the odd bad language don't read this blog But if you do read it feel free to comment cause otherwise I think I am simply talking to myself again.

Now for the updates

Carson has passed away. Waverly gave him a wonderful last few weeks. Homemade food, lots of love, short walk, and medications to keep him comfortable. That is all we can do for dogs like Carson. He was dying when he came to us. We have no magical thing that we can do other then keep them pain free until it is time to let them go. Then we hold them softly in our arms so that their last moments are gentle and loving. Palliative care is not for the faint of heart. It can be messy, it is always expensive, and most of all it is hard on your heart. Old dogs are easy only in that they don't want much. What they need can be costly.

All the pups have been adopted. This wasn't final until they had all be spayed and done obedience classes. Finding homes for pups is easy. Finding good homes for pups is harder. Finding great homes for pups is really hard but that's what I seem to have done this time. All the girls have been placed in homes where I have no doubt that they are loved and cared for and trained so that they will be great examples of what well behaved Rottweilers should be.

Sadie and Belle are also adopted. Both of them were adopted by their foster homes. Belle wasn't officially adopted until we knew exactly what was going on with her health wise. We found (after a series of tests) that she had tumors on her spleen and on her adrenal gland. While it is fairly routine to remove a spleen, the adrenal gland was a whole different story. I know I have said it before but it needs to be said again. Without our very kind and generous vet we would not be able to do what we do. With the help and guidance from Kevin, the surgery was done successfully and at a great discount to us. Testing showed cancerous cells but the margins were clear and no further vet care was recommended. Belle is now living with a Golden Retriever brother Jackson whom she loves to boss around.

Sadie is now Mera. She lives with Cricket and her pack. Mera will never be a show dog and she will most likely always have some sort of issue going on, but Cricket works very hard at keeping her comfortable, and she know that WCRR will always be there to help if needed.

And now on to new stuff

In May we got a call from the Vancouver Animal Shelter. They had a young male there that would benefit from some one on one training. We pulled him and quickly took him to Canine Harmony http://www.canineharmony.com/index.php Our friend and long time supporter (and past adopter) Chanone taught Mack what he needed to be a part of a family. Simple things like not grabbing people with your mouth and not jumping on people or humping them Things that a good owner would teach a puppy. Mack was around 2 and at an age that if something wasn't done pretty quickly he would have become a problem dog. But we managed to avoid that and found Mack a home quite quickly. Lots of folks wanted Mack. He is a very good looking boy, but Mack needed someone that was strong enough to handle him and yet had enough sense not to think he had to use force on him. There is a fine line sometimes when dealing with large dogs with big personalities and not everyone gets what is needed.

In June Gus came to stay with us. God I loved that boy. And no he was not a rottweiler. Gus was Lab. but, he was a big black old dog that needed a home. Gus was goofy and loving. He was sweet and gentle. When Gus came to us he showed no real signs of any illness. He was a little lame from arthritis and could get a little cranky sometimes but he was wonderful. After about a month of living with us Gus had a seizure. And a couple of days later he had another one. Even with medication there were signs of small ones happening. I came home one day to find he had passed away. It is heartbreaking to lose a dog. It is even more heartbreaking to find a dog has died alone. I have always been there for all the passings and I felt (and still feel) awful that I failed Gus. I am so very very sorry my man.

there is no rest in rescue. No time that you think ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh, I can stop for a moment. Jake was next in line. Jake came via Gladwin Kennels. They are just outside of Lytton, B.C. He was picked up by the bylaw officer. In Lytton, all strays are taken there. They are held for 72 hrs and if no one claims them the owner of the kennel can dispose of them as she sees fit. Lots of times she finds homes for them herself. But Genny didn't want Jake to go to just any home. So she called us and we went out to pick him up. As is usual, Sashka hated him. But Jake was very dog social and very submissive. We got him neutered and up to date on his shots and found him a wonderful home in West Vancouver. From being a stray that no one wanted to living in the lap of luxury. LOL Not bad for a stray from the humble little town of Lytton.

And then came Clyde. This is why the human race so often disgusts me. Clyde is a very old 9 years. What I mean is that he is in rough shape for a dog of 9 yrs old. We think that he has had a hard life. And it shouldn't have been. But Clyde is one of those dogs people let down. Clyde was found in July, in the middle of a heat wave, tied to a post here is Surrey. Clyde had no collar, no micro chip and an old tattoo that could not be traced. He was dirty and smelly and his coat was a mess. His nails were long and his teeth yellow. An angel found Clyde tied to that post with nothing more than a short piece of yellow rope. When I say an angel found Clyde that's exactly what I mean. Most people would have just "called someone" rather then put their hands on this old dirty dog. But this angel took him to her home. She took him into her house with her own dogs and made sure he had food and water. The angel tried to take him to the local shelter but she was told that if no one claimed him his outlook wasn't good. You dear reader can take that anyway you want. I know how I took it. Clyde's angel wouldn't leave him there knowing that he might not make it out of the shelter. She took him back to her home and started searching for someone to help Clyde. She contacted us and I went and picked him up. I will always be grateful to that angel. Because Clyde is a sweetheart. Clyde is most likely a shepherd/rottie cross. It doesn't really matter at this stage of the game. Clyde is in our home and will stay there. As we always with any dogs coming into our care, we took Clyde to the vet for a checkup. My old boy has many many lumps. After some discussion we decided to x-ray to make sure what we were thinking was a fact. Clyde has hip displacia. He has a torn criciate and of course he has arthritis. But worst of all the x-rays showed tumors on his bowels. Another x-ray was taken of his chest and there are tumors on his chest. Clyde has advanced cancer.
Was this the reason Clyde was left tied to that post all alone. Did someone know and just didn't want or couldn't afford to care for him any longer. Whatever the reason, shame on them. To leave a family member to strangers to care for is horrible. We know Clyde belonged to someone. He has wonderful house manners. We know he was neutered and was part of another rescue. We know someone should have cared enough for Clyde to stand by him for his entire life, not just the easy parts. WCRR will care for Clyde the same way we care for all our palliative dogs. We will manage his pain. Right now Clyde has wonderful days and them some very quiet days. Some days he runs and jumps and rolls around. Other days he walks very slowly. I doubt it will be long. And Jim and I will be heartbroken once again. Because none of us can bring a dog home and not love it.

Now I want to talk about rescue. Rescue is becoming quite fashionable these days. There are rescues popping up all over the place. Please check them out carefully. Not all of them run the rescues ethically. So please be aware when adopting. Check them out. Are the dogs actually living in foster homes right now, or are they in shelters in other countries just waiting for an order. One of the problems with rescues is being able to stand for the dog you adopt. Do they stay in touch with the adopters. Not all of them do apparently. Clyde was from a long established rescue in the fraser valley. They have left the area and there is no one from that rescue willing to take Clyde or even help with the cost of medicine. So for the newer rescues, make sure you have a plan in place for when a dog needs you again. Because sooner or later a dog you adopt out will need to come back to you. Don't leave it for strangers to figure out.

Another week of dogs

I need to be barred from the rescue forums. Too much drama. I need to focus my energy on the dogs. So here goes the updates

Carson:
What a wonderful old man he is. He is proving to be gentle, and loving. He has stolen the hearts of so very many people in his short time with us. While Carson has a marvelous character, he is also a very very old boy. And he comes with some serious health issues. Not the least of them being pain management.
As painful as it was to watch Carson try to move the day I met him, both vets that have seem him say the very same thing. He does not feel any pain in his back end. He actually feels nothing there. There is no bowel control really and he does leak a little. But Carson does feel pain in his front leg and we will try to get this under control for him. Carson seems to suffer from Canine Cognitive Dysfunction. We are going to try him on some meds to see if it helps him at all. But for the mean time, Carson is having good days, he is happy, he is eating, he is getting up to say hello. We are taking him day by day. Cause that’s the way he lives.

Belle:
Months go by and no one even seems to look at Belle’s petfinder profile. And then all of a sudden, people are asking about her. But I think we need to keep Belle in our care a little longer. Ms. Belle has some stuff going on healthwise and because of that we can not adopt her to anyone right now. She isn’t in any pain, hasn’t had an accident in quite awhile and is having the time of her life in her new foster home with her buddy Jackson and her new foster family, Sharon and Steve. She adjusted to the move like to trooper she is.

Sadie:
LOL What a girl!. She goes goes goes. Most of the scratching has subsided. Not completely, but certainly a lot. She does still lick and has some scabbing but she is cleaning up nicely. Sadie will be a project job for someone. She is spoiled and without her routine, becomes very agitated. Not in bad way, but rather she just doesn’t know what to do with herself. Sadie likes to eat at a certain time. And if it isn’t ready or if it isn’t served fast enough, she keeps running back and forth whining and growling and complaining and explaining to you that she MUST have food. And that is when the scratching and chewing start. Its almost like she has no control. Food is her life. It is what brings her the most comfort. Exercise is not what she wants (or really needs).
And Sadie is the kind of dog that also can refuse to go for walks. Take this morning for example. It was misty out. Not a heavy rain. Just wet. Sadie made it as far as the sidewalk before she said, Nope, I’m not going anywhere.
If you have ever met me, you realize that this doesn’t cut it. I got up early, got dressed for the weather, rushed thru my coffee just so we could get your walk in before I leave for work, so, you know what, YOUR WALKING. Hehehehe Yes we cut the walk short but really I won cause we did walk

Puppies:
Dammmmmm puppies. Ok, yeah, cute, even cuddly. But, still pooping, peeing machines. Please pity the poor foster mom. Cause she has them more than I do
Dixie will be going to the Island to live with another rottie. Faith is moving to her new home just around the corner from me. Emma, well she is still looking for that special home. I’m not sure why everyone has passed her over. She is becoming so freaking cute and now wants to cuddle. She does have a slight heart murmur but our vets are sure she will grow out of it. It is hard to find and is only a grade 1. The girls will be ready to leave their foster home by the end of Feb. Good riddance. (just joking)

What a week it has been. Dogs moving to new foster homes, emergencies, and puppies.

All of it a total drain on my poor little brain.

First up will be the puppies: They are amazing, but oh my god, what a lot of work. They have finally received their first set of vaccination. They have all gained weight and I was told that soon I won’t be able to carry them around and they need to learn about collars and leashes. But in my mind they are still sweet little babies and need so much. LOL But next weekend we will start the collars and leashes. Cause they might as well get used to it now
We have of course had a ton of applications for them. But as I have tried to explain to everyone, the pups will be place according to what THEY need. Not according to who comes first or who thinks they need a dog quickly. As hard as it is to make these decisions, it is about the dogs and not about the people. The more I get to know the pups the better I am able to wade thru the applications and find homes that will be appropriate. Many may disagree but the reality is, these dogs are the responsibility of West Coast Rottweiler Rescue. And some of the applications are really not what these dogs need. It doesn’t mean that the families aren’t good, or they wouldn’t make great rottie owners, it simply means that these particular pups need a certain environment to thrive. And it’s our job to make sure they get just that. Pups take a lot of work. Some pups are not suitable for homes with babies, or older couples just looking for someone to hang out with. I have found in the past that people want what they want when they want it and they are not willing to look at the bigger picture. But it is our job to stand firm. And we will
Next up is our girls. Belle has moved over to a home with one of our directors. Poor Belle must be getting confused about what is going on. But she adjusts pretty darn easily and is resilient enough to handle this. Sadie is also ready to move on to bigger things. Sadie bonds very quickly and very deeply and to move her from Wendy’s home is going to be hard on both of them. But Sadie needs to learn not to be anxious and we are hoping that a move to my home where there are more rules and structure will benefit her recovery. Wendy and her husband have done an amazing job. They have stood by this girl when she was going thru some of the worst of her recovery and she has blossomed there. I will personally be forever grateful to both of them for opening their home and their hearts to her. And I promise, I will try to keep her as well as they have.
And now a story about the hard part of rescue. We were informed about an old dog in a local municipal shelter. I was told he needed out of there and quickly. But I hear this often. And I can’t save all of them. But I wanted the shelter to know that we would help in any way we could. It’s no secret that the senior dogs are where my heart lies. So I took the drive out to the valley to visit and take pictures and ask the shelter to give us some time so that I could again plea to those that can help.
When they brought the old boy out to me, my heart broke and I couldn’t believe a dog could live in that condition. He was dirty and smelly and was very weak. His back legs could not support him. And his eyes showed pain and sorrow. I usually try to take pictures right away, but I literally fell to my knees in front of him, to hold his head in my hands and let him know I was there and would try to help. As I looked at him, he leaned forward and graced me with a sweet gentle kiss. That’s when the tears started.
Carson as we have decided to call him was found living under a school trailer. The children are the ones that most likely saved his life. It’s clear he loves them as he loves everyone that shows him kindness. The staff at the school took him into the office, gave him a warm place to rest, with food and treats while they waited for animal control to come and pick him up. He was held until his stray period was up but no one claimed him.
Carson must have lived with someone once upon a time. He has great house manners. Is gentle and sweet. And only wants to be near you. We traced his tattoo and we learned that Carson was neutered in Oct of 1998. That makes this boy 12 yrs old. That is an old age for this breed. Especially considering the life he has led lately. Cause while he must have been loved once, it has been a long time since he was shown that love. As I said, he coat was matted and filthy. You could actually feel the grit on his skin. And because he has such trouble moving around, the odor of urine was strong on him. He can’t stand well enough to eliminate properly.
Many would say the kindness act would have been to put him down right away. And maybe it would have been. But Carson shows such love for others. I could not bear the thought of him passing away in a cold wet shelter. Better that we bring him into our care, feed him good food, shower him with love and make his last days better.
I don’t know how long Carson will be with us. We won’t put him thru a lot of tests. We won’t do any surgery on him. We won’t make him uncomfortable. Because there are those that I have been blessed to meet on this road of rescue, we were able to get Carson out of the shelter later that same day. He came to my house to rest for a bit, went to another home to spend the night. Came back to my place the next day so we could transport him to a home on an island. There he will spend whatever time he has. He will be spoiled and loved and respected.
I can’t say thank you enough to those that have opened their homes, hearts and wallets so that this special dog could be saved. You all know who you are. And know that YOU are my heroes.

Yes we have puppies

I'm almost sorry I agreed to take them on. Its never easy having puppies in care. Everyone wants one. And we get tons of applications from all over the place. But there are only 3 and we need to remember that we place the dogs according to what THEY need, not what the humans want.
The pups are loud, and nippy, and active, and need so very much. They need someone that is home more often then not so they can be properly potty trained. They can't do that if you are at work 14 hrs a day. They need socialization. They need training. They need structure. They need leadership. And its our job to make sure they get all that.
The pups are only about 7 weeks old. They are not ready to leave what is left of the litter. West Coast Rottweiler Rescue wants to make sure that they are placed with families that KNOW what they are getting into. Because the last thing we want is for any dog to have to be returned.
Puppies are cute, there is no denying that. But they are a ton of work and whomever gets them had better be prepared for that.
We will make sure they are all spayed before the adoption is final. We do that so that we never have to worry about our pups having pups. It doesn't matter if you agree with our policy. It is what it is.
Training is mandatory. Yes this means even you. And when I say training, I mean that you must take your dog/puppy to obedience classes. And no, it can't be Petsmart. It must be with a trainer whose methods we approve of. Rottweilers don't just need one set of classes. They are an intelligent breed and they need ongoing training or being involved in some sort of dog sport.
They need a job.
Our dogs must live inside your home. They can not be left outside to guard your property. I don't care is someone steals your lawn. Everything that I value is safe inside my home. And that's where the dog is.
If your still interested after all of this, then please, yes, ask for an application. I would be glad to send one. But that doesn't mean that you will be able to adopt one of these puppies. Sorry. There are only 3. We have not even begun to advertise them on petfinder or with our local breed contacts. As I said before, we will place these pups the same way we place all our dogs. In the very best home we can find for that dogs special needs.