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What's the story behind your Rescue / Shelter dog?

41K views 94 replies 66 participants last post by  Karen519 
#1 ·
I got Woody, an 18 month old Golden Toller mix, from a Rescue Center not far from where I live. I've had him about seven months now and I wouldn't trade him for the world.

He was scheduled to be put down the following day at the shelter he was rescued from. The High Sierra Rescue Center picked him up along with six other dogs who were also going to be put down the following day.

I wonder how this beautiful dog ended up at the Shelter? If only dogs could talk - I'd sure love to hear his story.

He was very people oriented - when I first met him he crawled right into my lap and looked up at me with those deep brown eyes and that was all it took - I'd been adopted.

From what I've read most strays tend to be very shy initially when first captured. Woody must of been raised by a loving family as it showed so much in his personality. He was house broken and careful when inside - no attempt to jump up on the counters and he stayed out of the garbage can on the floor.

Don't get me wrong he was a ball of fire outside but he did settle down once inside. He slept up on my bed his first night and was right at home there.

I think someone breed him purposely for duck hunting. The area he was found was definitely a duck hunting area. He's very likely a cross between a Golden and a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Because there just aren't many Toller's in the area - I myself have never seen one - it would seem someone did some research to locate one and breed it.

My feeling is Woody took off after something - he is a chaser - got lost and ended up at the shelter. And thankfully from there to my home. Why his family didn't search the shelters in the area is beyond me???

How much of the story behind your rescued dog do you know?

Pete

 
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#29 ·
Our first Golden, Beau, was a 4 month old in our local shelter. The shelter had just installed a voice mail line describing dogs available for adoption. I called on a whim and we decided to ride our bikes to the shelter (about 7 miles each way) to check him out. Biking would prevent us from making an impulse decision. We fell in love with him instantly. The shelter workers told us he was found, near death from Parvo, on the road and a veterinarian picked him up, nursed him to health and then brought him to the shelter (this one had a good adoption rate). He was adopted out almost immediately but returned. The owners said he wasn't housebroken. Their loss--our HUGE blessing. We ran to the store to pick up supplies and drove directly to the shelter to adopt him. We paid $3. Best $3 we ever spent! Beau was smart, cute, friendly, gentle, and, oh, housebroken from day 1! He imprinted us with his heart and gentle ways and we've been golden retriever adopters ever since. He lived 13 1/2 years. He had some serious medical issues over the years, but he was a true champion through them all.

About 5 months before we lost Beau our local paper had an article about 2 goldens adopted by a family from GRRNT. That night I went and looked at GRRNT's website for the first time and a curly coated golden's face caught my eye. He had a curly coat just like our Beau. I called the hubby in to take a look and he asked me, do you want to adopt him? It took me by surprise but I immediately said YES! We knew from his profile that he was special needs--allergies, but we figured we could handle it. I put an application in at 7 p.m. At 9 the president of the organization called me and asked if we really expressed an interest in that particular dog, instead of another with a similar name. I assured him we were interested in Barkley. A few minutes later the adoption coordinator called, asking some questions. At the end of the conversation she said the foster family might be calling. That call came early the next day. We spent 2 hours on the phone and arrangements were made to come to meet him. During that call I learned the extent of Barkley's special needs. He was previously owned by a medical doctor who apparently neglected him to the point he had no fur due to allergies and skin infections. The doctor brought him to the vet, at age 6 (almost 7) for euthanasia. The vet got him to release him to rescue and Barkley's life was saved. He spent over a year in rehabilitation. It took months for him to get over his severe depression. It was love at first sight when we met and Beau accepted him immediately. Barkley does have special needs but they are manageable. He is almost 12 1/2 now and we enjoy each and every moment we have with him.

When we lost Beau Barkley's foster parents "selected" a puppy for us that had just been turned into GRRNT by his owners. The owners had picked up Toby from a breeder. Toby is AKC and from a long line of field champions. He is high energy, highly intelligent and very interactive. He also has a congential cataract in one eye, rendering him partially blind. His owners got their deposit back but begged to keep him. The breeder consented, then the owners contacted rescue. They had him maybe 2 weeks. We adopted him and our lives changed forever! He was the puppy from hell! I am so grateful his owners got him into a rescue because they could have just thrown him in the backyard or dumped him on the streets. Today toby is almost 6--still as active as ever and still extremely bright. Nothing gets by him! We all survived his puppyhood thankfully! Poor Barkley was a true champion, enduring lots of abuse, but today the dogs are best buddies and conspirators in mischief! Toby is calming down, but I suspect he will be high energy and keenly focused until he crosses the Bridge. He has such spark! His cataract is easily managed and he is thankfully healthy as a horse. He keeps us busy and provides us with lots of laughs.
 
#30 ·
Mine aren't goldens but here it goes:

Molly is a black lab who will be 7 in late February. She is a calm, sweet loving dog who gets jealous when you pet another dog. She gets in between you and the other dog and grins and wags her tail until she has your undivided attention. Overweight and it's a constant struggle to get her to lose weight, she also has moderately bad hip displasia, which I just found out about 3 months ago. She was a free to good home ad on Craigslist. Her owner was on older lady and her health was failing and was going to move in with one of her sons, his landlord would not allow any animals so Molly had to find a new home. I emailed her about Molly and from a large pile of requests for her she picked me for her dog. I got very lucky to have her my life, I couldn't ask for a better dog.

Lily was a flat coated retriever mix puppy that I did a leg on her rescue transport from Oklahoma to Ohio. She was one of three sisters, I don't know why out of almost identical puppies, but she's the one that grabbed my heart, I picked her up to put in my car and it was almost as if she said 'I'm the dog you've been looking for'. Prior to that I was going to get a golden from a breeder in my area and was to see the litter and pick out a puppy, unfortunately a week before I was to do that I did another transport and two of the puppies broke with Parvo a day after it ended. So no young puppy for me fpr at least 7 months. Very upsetting and I felt so sorry for the pups as neither survived.

It's strange how some things work out, I was all set for finally getting the golden I've wanted for years and fate or chance intervened and I wound up with two of the best dogs I could think of.
 
#34 ·
Mine aren't goldens but here it goes:

Molly is a black lab who will be 7 in late February. She is a calm, sweet loving dog who gets jealous when you pet another dog. She gets in between you and the other dog and grins and wags her tail until she has your undivided attention. Overweight and it's a constant struggle to get her to lose weight, she also has moderately bad hip displasia, which I just found out about 3 months ago. She was a free to good home ad on Craigslist. Her owner was on older lady and her health was failing and was going to move in with one of her sons, his landlord would not allow any animals so Molly had to find a new home. I emailed her about Molly and from a large pile of requests for her she picked me for her dog. I got very lucky to have her my life, I couldn't ask for a better dog.

Lily was a flat coated retriever mix puppy that I did a leg on her rescue transport from Oklahoma to Ohio. She was one of three sisters, I don't know why out of almost identical puppies, but she's the one that grabbed my heart, I picked her up to put in my car and it was almost as if she said 'I'm the dog you've been looking for'. Prior to that I was going to get a golden from a breeder in my area and was to see the litter and pick out a puppy, unfortunately a week before I was to do that I did another transport and two of the puppies broke with Parvo a day after it ended. So no young puppy for me fpr at least 7 months. Very upsetting and I felt so sorry for the pups as neither survived.

It's strange how some things work out, I was all set for finally getting the golden I've wanted for years and fate or chance intervened and I wound up with two of the best dogs I could think of.
Good story. I'm sure you will have a golden one day. And I plan to have another one someday, but just not now. I'm a one dog person and I'm happy with my new lab friend.:)
 
#31 ·
I was a foster for the Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue in Oklahoma, when the volunteers dropped off my first foster, they said they wouldn't be surprised if I became a "foster failure". I actually had no plans of adopting as I'm single & in the military--not quite the most stable lifestyle for a dog. 30+ dogs into fostering I was working the org's hotline and we had an odd request out of Texas. A miller on the Arkansas/Oklahoma border had died and his adult children were left to deal with his "estate"...bulldogs, labs, weimaraners & 3 goldens. At the time I had just sent my last 2 foster pups to Wisconsin Adopt A Golden Retriever (Oklahoma has way too many goldens & not enough adoptive homes) and was heartbroken--they were my first up close experience with puppymill rescues and in the months that I had spent rehabbing & socializing them I had a bond with them that I don't think another dog can ever fill. Anyhow, went home to a way too silent house couldn't stand it so I jumped in the car to go check out the latest intakes, the 3 goldens from the puppymill. I brought home "Tiffany" that night. I adopted her out a short time later where she would have a positive golden canine to set the example & a stay at home Mom. The adoption didn't stick as the family was hoping for a companion for their dog & Tiffany wouldn't come out from under the bed except to be taken outside for potty breaks. She came back to me & from there I set up a care plan to ensure I would have support for her in case of deployment, obtained landlord approval for a golden (I was in the process of relocating to Illinois) and then applied to adopt. She has made tremendous progress and there are days where her past isn't so obvious, but step outside the house & the mill dog mentality resurfaces in an instant--our journey is far from over & Tiffany isn't done surprising me (or herself).

It's because of dogs like Shelby & Ramsey (my first mill pups) and Tiffany that I continue to volunteer with rescue. I'm lucky to be with Dirks Fund now to continue learning & hopefully able to make a difference.

On a side note, Tiffany's dad, Parker, was recently transferred to the Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles Rescue--you can see his pic under the "Project Gold Rush" section & on the availables...just in case anyone in LA is looking for a wonderful addition to the family!
 
#33 ·
Geeeze Rob that's quite a story - more like a novel !!! But I did ask what was the story....


If I ever had to give up a dog, god forbid, I'd sure like to know it was going to a home like yours. I've thought about getting a second dog for many years now but just haven't been able to pull the trigger.


I'm sure Oakly was delighted when Caue arrived on the scene. Sounds like he's one very lucky dog.


Thanks for sharing...


Pete
 
#35 ·
My sweet little rescue

Shadow is a Golden retriever/chow/Australian Terrier mix and an absolute sweetheart. Shadow and his brother bandit were first rescued by a very sweet lady (Nancy) at 7 weeks of age. They were next on list to be euthanized and were found with kennel cough and ticks all over them. Nancy took them in, cleaned them up, got them up to date on shots, fixed them, even had a DNA test done on them. She had them for about 5 months and gave both some basic obedience as well. She then posted them up for adoption so that she could bring more dogs in her home to rescue. We first saw Shadow’s picture and fell in love with him. When we went to meet him we knew instantly because of how well mannered he was with us and our children. We came back a week later to pick him up and Nancy had him micro chipped with our information and even gave us all his paperwork as well. We tried to offer her money for all her troubles, but all she wanted was for him to find a loving family. She is a true angel. Shadow is still adjusting to his new surroundings (we have had him a little over a month and he is now about 8 months old) he went through some separation anxiety from his brother and from Nancy, but is doing much better. He is now my little Shadow and follows me everywhere I go. We are going to take him to some group obedience classes because he is having some issues with food aggression (just with my kids) all of a sudden and is also not comfortable around other dogs. We will work through it, and I know he will just be a well adjusted happy guy. We are so lucky to have found him and for him to be a part of our family.
 

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#36 ·
We lost our nine year old golden all of a sudden in the middle of the night and we were devastated. Fast forward a few months to the point we were beginning to think of getting another dog, and my husband's niece calls to say she had received an email from the rescue organization. They had taken in 12 dogs from a backyard puppy mill and almost all were under a year old. We went to their web site and saw that one of the dogs was pregnant. It was as if the stars and moons had aligned and we were meant to adopt. We adopted Morgan at 8 weeks and she is the perfect dog for us. We met her mother's rescuer and she said the dogs were living in filth and had to be coaxed out from under the house. I am so grateful for rescue and I am in awe of those who go to such ends to give these dogs a better life.
 
#38 ·
I hope that it's ok that I posted here although Laura has passed the Rainbow Bridge. She was a special girl.

When I was in high school and college, I worked at the local animal shelter. We already had Casey, our big red golden. Laura came in as a stray. A family found her at a nearby camp-ground. She had a 20-25 foot chain lead on her that she supposedly drug behind her. She must have broke free. After getting to know Laura, brushing her poor burr-ridden fur and getting the mats out of her coat, I knew that she was so scared. This baby couldn't stay in the shelter that night. I brought this poor, emaciated baby home with me. She never went back. She fit in with our family so well. It didn't take long for her to build up a healthy weight and for her true personality to shine. She was the perfect dog, I still don't understand how she ended up at the shelter's door. She didn't get on the furniture, was house trained, and friendly. She had been abused at some point- she would cower if you lifted your hand above her head. She ran if you had a newspaper, too. Over time, she grew to trust us and became a wonderful member of the family. We had her for about 7 years until cancer claimed her life. She was a wonderful friend- I miss her, our good girl.
 

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#39 ·
Thanks Rob for bumping this up - it's sure nice hearing all these stories of these wonderful deserving rescues. CarolinaCasy Laura was one lucky girl to have found a forever home with such a loving family. I'm sorry to hear she's no longer with us - they give so much the seemly short time they're with us.

Woody's doing just great - I don't think I could love him anymore than I do. I never considered a rescue. I had the breeders all lined up and it was sheer coincidence or perhaps fate that I found a home with him. A rescue is a wonderful alternative - please give it some serious consideration before deciding on your next Golden. - you won't be disappointed.

Please share your rescue story with us,

Pete
 
#41 ·
We got Jax, our 1 year old, from North Shore Animal League. It is a no-kill shelter. My husband heard of a bunch of dogs that were rescued from a puppy mill on the news. We looked online, at the news station, and found that a few of them were taken to a local animal recue not all too far from our house. We took the ride that weekend, and found that most dogs were already re-homed, except for 2 pregnant females. We filled out an application and waited. When I knew it was almost time for the pups to be ready for homes, I started calling the shelter, every day, since it was a first come first served basis. After 10 days, we found out "all the pups were re-homed". I complained to the manager..."how is that possible?" I called every darn day. Two days later, the manager called, they had 1 pup that was available, he was parvo positive when born but had been treated and was now ready for a home. We rushed over to pick up our ball of fluff....sooooo cute....we were instantly in love!

We will never know why they said all the pups were re-homed. I had a gut feeling big donors were given first choice. I don't know if my pretty vocal complaints and threats to get to the bottom of the situation made a difference, or if it was just a coincidence. Either way...I'm just happy to have Jax in our lives!
 
#42 ·
I found Mila (Lab/beagle) apparently dumped and pregnant when I lived in Texas. I don't think she had ever been inside a house before. She has congenital hip problems and had terrible separation anxiety, but she's doing fine now.

Tia I got from a rescue; she had been a breeding dog in a puppy mill.

Gage (RB) came from a rescue in Tennessee. He was transported to CA to get him away from thunderstorms, of which he was terribly afraid. He was a stray from Mississippi initially.

Toby (RB), my heart dog (one of a couple) was a stray from the Sacramento area who ended up in the humane society where I worked.

Casey (RB), my first golden, also came from the humane society. He was a certified therapy dog and earned his CDX in obedience.

Monte (RB) was a stray found in San Jose and adopted from a local rescue.

My non-goldens were: Daisy (English springer spaniel), adopted from the local humane society. She was an owner-surrender and had terrible separation anxiety. Jackson (my avatar), a JRT/cattle dog from the Palo Alto animal shelter. He was a stray and had scars on both back legs of unknown origin. Samantha (beagle/dachshund) came from a shelter in IL when I was in grad school. Finally, Patches (terrier X) was from a shelter in MD, where I was living at the time.
 
#43 ·
I just saw that I never included Hogan in this post.........

Hogan was owner surrender to a shelter out in Zanesville Ohio in October of 2007. Prior to being surrendered Hogan had been primarily an outside dog, so the Ohio shelter had put Hogan in a local prison out there for 7 weeks in a Cell Dog Program to learn house breaking and social manners. After completion of the Cell dog program he was sent back to the shelter. One week later he was transported over 9 hours to Eastern PA to be placed in GRAPE rescue for adoption. I was his foster home. Hogan was placed with a family about 2 months later. However about 3 days later he was asked to be returned to GRAPE because he had growled at the lady of the house several times for no apparent reason. Later he too growled at my mother when she stopped petting him. We contacted the animal trainer out in Ohio prison in the cell dog program and we were taught how to correct his issues with women. It was determined that Hogan was trying to be “dominant” over women. GRAPE tried to adopt him back out but warning families that Hogan may try his dominance issues with women with them as well. After a few weeks (on March 9th 2008) I decided to adopt Hogan since I knew all his issues and how to work with him. I felt better and safer in doing this that possibly having him adopted out and then later returned again. Hogan has seemed to have gotten over all his dominance issues and is an energetic, happy boy that loves to constantly play. All in all I am glad to have him fail as a foster and be permanently placed in my house.

Below was his picture used for adoption by GRAPE and one of the first ones I took of him.
 

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#44 ·
I brought Annie home three weeks ago from the humane society. Annie is a purebred australian shepherd. She was brought in as a stray, so there is no story behind her. Annie was spayed and given her first set of shots there. I called and waited for Annie 3 hours at the humane society until she was available because they do not hold pets. When I saw her online I knew she was the one for me and I HAD to have her! I'm so glad I did, even though the people at the humane society were a little irritated I was there so early, so I waited out in my car for her.

Annie came home and she was deathly afraid of men. She didn't know how to play at all. She didn't know that she could play with toys and her doggie sister Bailey. It didn't take long for Annie to come out of her shell after teaching her it's okay to play and not all men are scarey. After a week or so she would let hubby pet her and soon after she was all over him giving him kisses.

Annie is the most obedient, well behaved, loving dog I've ever met. She is extremely willing to please and learns very fast with her training.

I can't believe how well Annie adjusted and I'm soooooooo happy to have her in my life. Bailey is happy too, you can see it in their eyes!

Here is her humane society picture



Here she is sometime this past week sharing a bone



You can tell she is very happy with us here.
 
#46 ·
I adopted Ranger last May from a rescue society who had picked him up not even a week earlier. His foster mom said he'd never been in a house, didn't know how to walk up stairs, but quickly adapted to house life. They told me he'd been chained up to a tree and left behind when his owners moved away. I figured there was some abuse, along with the neglect, as Ranger doesn't like men carrying sticks, bats, or golf clubs.

I recently found out that it hadn't just been neglect, but systematic and regular abuse so severe that the Humane Society had been called to intervene numerous times. This took place over a period of 9 months - starting when he was a puppy. The stories I heard about what his past owner had done to him made me cry for a week and I still can't believe someone could ever do that to a dog... knowing that it happened to MY DOG makes it even more atrocious. How Ranger can play with my dad, trust strange men to pet him on the streets or even just generally be the well-adjusted adaptable, loving dog he is today is unbelievable to me. The power of a dog's willingness to forgive is awe-inspiring and hearbreaking, since in Ranger's case, it was taken advantage of over and over.

I'm tearing up as I write this and I can't get into further details for a variety of reasons. I'm so glad Ranger got out of that situation thanks to the angels who work in animal rescue and I'm so glad his foster mom thought I was "the one" for Ranger. I knew as soon as I saw him that he was "the one" for me.

This first picture was a few days after I got him...you can see the shadow of abuse in the look of his eyes. He adapted quickly to my life but it's only recently that he's starting to let his personality really shine through. The second was taken in 3 months ago. The difference between the look in his eyes then and now is apparent, I think.
 

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#47 ·
I love all these stories!! :)

As many of the older members know, I got Dillon through this forum. His owner surrendered him to Jenna (AquaClaraCanines) due to some family issue and I just happened to be looking for a young adult male Golden to add to our family to be a buddy for Sammy. 4 GRF members, 1 non-member, and he was chauffeured from Florida to California like the spoiled boy he is :)

I can never thank those members who drove him across, and all the members who cheered us on, enough for getting me the most wonderful dog imaginable :)
 
#50 ·
I love all these stories!! :)

As many of the older members know, I got Dillon through this forum. His owner surrendered him to Jenna (AquaClaraCanines) due to some family issue and I just happened to be looking for a young adult male Golden to add to our family to be a buddy for Sammy. 4 GRF members, 1 non-member, and he was chauffeured from Florida to California like the spoiled boy he is :)

I can never thank those members who drove him across, and all the members who cheered us on, enough for getting me the most wonderful dog imaginable :)
WOW!!!! What a story, and all the way across the country!!! I missed that one.

And that's the best picture of Ranger - he's really got kind eyes. Old Woody's rescue name was Rainger. They're sure great dogs!!!!
 
#52 ·
Reading Ranger's story brought tears to my eyes as well. I don't understand if the abuse was so bad, why wasn't he apprehended the first time animal control was called; or at least the second. Why wait until he suffered so much abuse......I'm just happy he was able to find his forever home!!!!

All of these stories are great!!!
 
#53 ·
Love all the Ranger names! I named him that myself because he was so skinny and "rangy" looking, and the number of times he escaped from my yard to roam.

The person who had him was a sneaky d-bag and apparently only abused him when it was dark so the neighbours (who were reporting it) couldn't take pictures or video what was happening. One of the neighbours tried to video it and apparently you can hear Ranger screaming in the tape but can't see what's going on. Typing that just made me feel sick to my stomach.

When the Humane Society did come out to check on him, Ranger was always chained up but had food, water, shelter and they couldn't do anything. Not to mention whenever the neighbours intervened, the person took it out on Ranger afterwards. The few times Ranger chewed through his rope and got loose, the person would catch him and beat him. No wonder Ranger didn't come to me when he was loose the first few times he escaped.

I'm glad I didn't know this previously about Ranger. I would have adopted him anyway, of course, but it would have been a lot harder to take a firmer stance and give him the discipline he needed at the beginning when we were establishing trust and respect. It's hard to train a dog who only obeys out of fear of harsh punishment. Then when Ranger realized there wouldn't be harsh punishment...why WOULD he obey? Praise, "good boy"s meant nothing to him because he'd never heard it before. Luckily, I had the help of an amazing dog behaviourist who helped me figure out how to get to Ranger. Ranger now has the "will to please" just like any other golden retriever and will now (just found out) work for praise. Break through!

Edited to add: that Ranger - right now - is out laying in the sunshine chewing on a marrow bone. He finally has the life he's always deserved! And here's a pic of us...though he always looks doofy and sad when I take pics of him AND me together. (I'm not usually so ghostly, either.)
 

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