another week

It's been a long hard week here at West Coast Rottweiler Rescue. We have 4 puppies in our care. And no they aren't Rottweilers. But they were dogs in need. They need good loving homes, with families that will always stand by them no matter what.
They are cute active, normal puppies that drive me crazy, keep me up at night and melt my old tired heart. And for the most part we have found them homes and they will leave once they are altered.
Bolt's adoption was finalized today. He is such a happy funny boy and his mom is totally taken with him. His older sister Bella, well, having Bolt around has put a spring in the old girls step. And from what we could see, Bolt is willing to bow to the queen. And that is how it should be.
Doesn't it sound like a good week? Well, as much as some of it was good, some of it just stinks. Yesterday we lost Kysha.
Kysha came to us when her owners decided to move out of province. I guess you don't want to take a 13 yr old Rottweiler to your new home. I really don't know the true answer. I think it was they said they couldn't find a place that would take her. But whatever the reason it wasn't good enough. 13 yrs old for a rottie is a very old age. Kysha deserved to be with the family that had had her for years, not with people that barely knew her.
Danielle loved having Kysha and she worked hard to make her new life as wonderful as she could. But Kysha was an old dog and old dogs will always break your heart. Her back end wouldn't work anymore, she had so much trouble getting up and then couldn't stay up. Maybe there was more that we could do, but really, who are we keeping her here for? Should we risk having her live in pain so that "we" could love her for another day, week, or month. Is that fair to the dog. Not in this case. So I stood by and watched while Danielle's heart broke again. All I could offer was a hug because there is nothing to say. At that moment, I hated what we do in rescue. I hated the decisions we have to make that really are for the original dogs owners to do. But damm it, they weren't around and while they said they were sad, they were the ones that left Kysha behind with strangers.
And I keep hearing about puppies in need on reservations. I have emails from people wanting to rehome their dogs, I have wonderful dogs sitting in rescue cause I can't help them. I'm tired

Some days rescue just doesn’t seem worth it.

There seems to be a never ending supply of dogs needing help and never enough money, resources, etc to do it all. We don’t take owner surrenders but sometimes you have to look beyond the owner to the dog. And that’s what is happening right now. We are going to take care of the dog because the owners really and truly can not.
I am tired and stressed and not really looking forward to the puppies arriving on Sunday. The responsibility of caring for them, finding them the perfect home and being able to cut thru the crap to do that boggles this old girls mind. LOL But then I remember I’m not in this alone, I have a host of people helping. Our vet Kevin Harris from Trenant Park Pet Hospital has always been kind and now has agreed to discount the cost of spaying these girls. This means I have the peace of mind of knowing that they will get the best care available and at a cost that would kill us. I have folks promising to do what they can for us and that means the world to me.
If it was only the dogs I had to deal with my little world would be pretty content. I do have the best Board of Directors supporting my decisions and a circle of friends and mentors that help guide me. Without them, I surely would be a basket case. Cause its people that drive me crazy. Those that want a puppy today and no they will not wait until they are assessed or vetted. There are those in the rescue community that have opinions about how we do things and if we don’t do them their way then it must be wrong. Then there are those rescues that need to say, “I” saved this dog and “I” saved that dog and if it wasn’t for “me”, this or that dog would be dead and” I’m better than everyone else for saving it”. And most times there are 2 sides to something, but god forbid we actually talk about that. Lets instead talk about how WE did something. It seems I get slammed if I voice my opinion, or not, so maybe for awhile I will do just that. I will let those that care (and even those that don’t) know that they aren’t the only ones in the world pissed off.

Sometimes Love isn't enough

Today was a day that every rescue dreads. It was the day that we have to put one of our dogs down. Not because they are too old or too sick or even too out of control. It was because they weren't safe.
I really wanted to believe that all Kay needed was time and love. And I thought we could give her that. But Kayla had been allowed to make decisions on her own for too long and those decisions weren't healthy ones. When Kay came to us, she had such a hard look about her. She wasn't trusting, she wasn't friendly, she wasn't afraid either. Kay wanted what she wanted and there was no changing that.
That hard untrusting look changed quickly. She became confident almost overnight and I missed the signs of trouble. When she went after Sashka, I blamed it on my not paying close enough attention to what signs I though she was giving. When she growled at people, I thought "Oh she just doesn't like them standing over her". She allowed me to do all sorts of things to her, but I realize now, they were on her terms, not mine.
Kayla I don't think ever really trusted anyone. She would allow you to pet her, she would even encourage it, but then she would growl and give people that hard stare. Not to Jim or I, but to everyone else.
I so wanted her to find that one person that would make her safe. Someone that would understand her, give her time and space and allow her to become the dog "I" wanted her to be. But as she settled more in our home, I started to see a side of Kay that worried me.
Last week Kay backed one of our board members up, growling and barking at her. All this woman was doing was showing her affection. Affection that Kay had asked for.
The next day on a walk, Kay bit someone. Again, they had been petting her, had stopped before she wanted them to, and as he tried to walk away Kay nailed him. The bite was bad enough to require 4 stitches.
I still thought that we could give Kay another chance. I booked an appointment with a behaviorist, thinking I just need some help and then I can change her behavior. That appointment was for tomorrow morning.
Friday as we were coming home from a walk Kay made another bad decision. She didn't want to come in the house. I got behind her to give her a little nudge, just as I had done many times before. Kay turned and tried to bite me. She didn't try to nip me, or just scare me, she meant to do damage.
After a talk with those that knew Kay in the shelter, her vet and Jim, we decided that Kay could never safely be homed. For whatever reason, love this time would not be enough.
One of the hardest things about rehoming a Rottweiler is that you have to be sure that whomever takes the dog can manage that dog. And that the dog will not bite unprovoked. I take the responsibility of owning this breed very seriously. Without careful management, the Rottweiler will suffer the same fate that Pit bulls suffer.
My heart is broken. I wanted so badly to do what was right for this dog and all the dogs we care for. I can't fix them all. I can't help them all. I can't change what others have done to them. I did do the only thing I knew at that point to do. That was to hold this girl in my arms while we released her.
There are going to be those that say I have no right to be rescuing these dogs. Maybe I don’t' have enough experience. Maybe I don't have the right training, or resources, or the right facilitates. But until someone else steps up to the plate to help them I will continue to bring dogs out of shelters and offer them whatever I can.
Kayla, my girl, I am so very very sorry.

Is it always about money?

I don't think that it can be when it comes to adoptions.
I recently met a man that so desperately wanted a dog to share his life with. He didn't have a fancy home, nor did he have lots of money, but he did have a heart of gold. This kind man takes a handy dart bus 5 days a week to walk dogs at his local shelter. He falls hard for all the dogs there but has an extra soft place in his heart for the big dogs. But coming up with the whole adoption fee all at once would be a hardship.

He asked about adopting several of the dogs he walked and played with. But on his fixed income paying high fees just wasn't going to happen for him. He offered to make payments on the adoption fee but was denied. And so month after month he showed up at the shelter, loving those dogs but going home to an empty basement apartment day after day after day.

And then he found us. And for awhile we thought perhaps we had found the perfect home for one of are harder to adopt dogs. But as circumstance would have it, it wasn't a match. And this mans heart was broken again.
This got me thinking about whom we adopt to. Yes we have adoption fees. And yes I believe that they are important. But I also believe that sometimes you have to look past money and look at what someone has to offer.
A couple of months ago, we were asked to take a dog from a shelter. She growled at everyone there and everyone was afraid of her. But her only problem really, was that she was so scared that she just couldn't trust. At the time, we had no space for her. And I knew that if we didn't pull her, she would lose her life. And this dog deserved a chance.

I got a call from a friend that knew someone that could take her. This woman really had nothing. She lived in a very small apartment, was unemployed and was just making ends meet. But she was willing to try to help the dog. And for me that was enough. We pulled the dog, paid her vet bills, and watched the miracle happen. This dog that growled at everyone changed. She became a happy well adjusted being again. She trusted and she loved and she was safe and she knew it.
When the young lady that took her in decided to move back to her home province, she called broken hearted because she knew that she either had to adopt this dog or give her back. But she had very little money and a long trip ahead of her. West Coast Rottweiler Rescue allowed her to take the dog and we would keep that adoption fee on file until she was able to pay it. And she did.

I know there are many that would not agree with that decision. But I have to say, no matter what happens in the future; this dog is loved and cared for. And if she needs help with medical issues, well, we will find away.

I am hoping beyond hope that the shelter that this kind man I talked about will see the light. I know they are a big organization and they have rules and protocols they must see to, but I also know that sometimes, if we look at the bigger picture, we can see that adoption fees are not the issue and the welfare of the animal is.

Someday it just doesn’t pay

To come home from holidays
We pulled in Sat night at around 9:30. It was a long trip home and I was tired and certainly wasn’t going to check the rescue email until morning. Sometimes you just need to take a break.
But I always check the home voice mail and that’s when I heard the message about the young Rottweiler that had been shot in the head in Chilliwack. My heart sunk. I knew we had to help this boy but dam it I had no space and no place to put him. But, sometimes you just have to work a little harder to get things together.
I called Trina right away and found out that this dog had been shot with buckshot, had already had some surgery but needed more and then he needed a place to go. Bolt as he was called, had been on the run long enough for the flesh around his wounds to start to rot away. His care would be expensive and the recovery would take time and a shelter was not the place for any of that to happen. I rarely send out group emails cause, well, they seldom work, but I had no other ideas late on a Sat night. So I sent out the plea for help.
Jim and I slept little that night, thinking about this poor dog. He must be afraid and in pain. Would he be the kind of dog that would never trust again? I had no idea about any of it. I hadn’t seen him yet, nor had he been assessed nor had I been able to talk to the vet caring for him. All of this was a worry, but the most worrisome of all was where could we put him?
Late Sunday afternoon, I got the call that every rescue prays for. The perfect foster home had stepped forward and offered to help. They had medical training, had owned Rottweilers and understood how afraid Bolt might be. Monday morning I was on the phone to the vet asking for information. Bolt could leave the vets office Monday evening.
I didn’t get to meet Bolt until Tues night. By then he settled in to the home and was learning about playing with other dogs. He was also learning about homes, and stairs, and love. Perhaps for the first time. I tried to do some of the usual assessment stuff but it’s hard to assess a dog when all it wants to do is give you kisses. J So we do know that Bolt is about 1 yr old and still has some growing to do. He has the most beautiful coat, both a deep dark black and a warm mahogany color. Bolt still has a full tail that wags and wags and wags. He is pretty quick to learn but will need further socialization with other dogs so that he can be taught what correct play is all about. He will need someone that is able to provide him with leadership and love, someone that will ensure that Bolt gets the training that he needs, someone that will continue to teach Bolt that not all humans are out to kill you.
To the person that used to own Bolt, shame on you. This is a wonderful young boy with a ton of potential that only needs a chance to prove himself. And to the person that shot Bolt (who knows if it’s the same person or not), shame on you. You let this boy run away and live in pain. But to all those that have helped Bolt, Thank You. We will make sure that no one ever hurts this dog again.

Kay and the bull;

I wished I had been able to take a picture but I was still sort of asleep.
I was lying in the tent trailer, just in that place between awake and asleep. I could hear Jim and Kay outside chopping wood and wandering around but I just wasn’t ready to get up to face the day yet. Until I heard Jim yell; “Kay get away from that bull”.
BULL??? I think?? What Bull??? I peek out the trailer window and there is Kay with her feet planted firmly on the ground stopping a huge bull from coming on our property. She wouldn’t come back to us until that big beast had moved on. What a good girl. Even though we had only been at camp a few days, she knew the property line and was ready to guard us against danger.
Now, the little diva dog, well, she’s not quite as smart. As I opened the trailer door, she rushed out barking. She charged up to the bull ready to take on anything until this monster lifted its head and looked at her. Poor little white dog. LOL She couldn’t get back to camp quick enough and stayed close by for the rest of the morning.
The moral of the story: If your 20 lbs of fluffy dog, leave the big bulls to the Rottweiler.

It gets harder and harder to write the blog

Its not the writing but rather the time. Working 40 +hours a week, the hour there and and the hour back, the dogs stuff, and then finding time for the spouse. All of it make for keeping the blog up to date hard. So for those that watch the blog, I apologize.

Kay has settled in nicely. but there are certain traits that make handling her somewhat worrisome.
Kay loves her food. She loves her food so much that when the food comes out, she can think of nothing else. She knows she has to sit to get her bowl, but other than that, she is impossible to train with food. I am so used to training with this method, that finding other things that motivate her is difficult. But she loves affection as so that's what we are working on.
Kay does sit nicely. She also came with the command to shake a paw. But either she doesn't know down very well or she is choosing not to do it. LOL. We are continuing to work with that one.
Kay also does not care for other dogs. Its not that she is dog aggressive, but she prefers to be the only one in your life. Her and Sashka have had a couple of instances of pushing over water dishes and food. And Sash now is cautious about how she approaches those areas of the house. But all in all things have been fine.
Kay is also wary of strangers. She will allow a quick pet but nothing more. New people must be careful of bending over her or we do see some lip lifting. This isn't out and out aggression but rather a warning to be respectful of her. But once she knows you, she is your typical rottie. she loves "her" people and is always looking for an ear scratch or a belly rub. But again, these must be limited because she is a dominate dog and will quickly start to demand attention.
The other thing that has kept us busy is the amount of emails and calls we get regarding owner surrenders. As much as we would like to help, we can't and won't. Our focus is shelter dogs. They are the ones that stand to lose if they aren't helped. but it is difficult sometimes to tell someone that we won't take their dog. I believe that most want what is best, but that is little help. And some of the dogs lately have been purebreed rottweilers coming from respectable breeders. And those breeders need to know what is happening with their dogs. I have pleaded with people to contact the dogs breeder and if they won't, then I will. sorry folks, that's just how it is.