Wiley's Rescue Story

Today marks Wiley's two-year anniversary of joining our family. Two years ago today we brought him home from the shelter during a stifling heat wave, and our adventure began. We don't know his birthday, so we celebrate his Gotcha Day instead.

Here's the first picture I posted of him, already breaking the house rules within just a few minutes of his arrival.

We had been dog-less for a little over a year when I went to the Hillside SPCA with some donations and a little bit of interest in looking at dogs.

Mac

Mac

Our beloved Mac had died the year before at age 15, not long after I was diagnosed with Premature Ovarian Failure, which translates into untreatable infertility.

Mac

After Mac died my mom suffered from a number of illnesses, a few of which were life-threatening, and in fact spent that Christmas in the ICU and many weeks off and on in the hospital. I too had a series of illnesses that resulted in some hospital time. Did I mention I also totaled my car? It was, to put it mildly, a traumatic year; these were just some of the events that contributed to my slide into clinical depression. When I look back now I don't know how I made it, but you can see why the timing wasn't right to bring home a new pet.

My husband, knowing what animals meant to me, began pushing me as the summer was approaching. He knew the emptiness I was feeling and knew a pet would help. But after suffering so much depression and anxiety and so many health problems I just didn't know if I could commit to caring for another living thing at that time. Still, as a teacher, the summer is the time to act when looking to adopt a pet.

Which brings us to that Tuesday in July when I went to drop off supplies at the shelter. My husband and I had discussed at length what we were looking for: female, young (not a puppy), medium to small size, good with other dogs.

I wanted a female because that's what we had always had growing up. I was looking for submissiveness and docility.  I was looking for a dog I could take with me when I visited my parents. I wanted a pet I could carry if they were sick or injured.

So I explained all that to the worker at the shelter, and she took me into the small dog building. It was packed to the brim with yip-yippers and some puppies. They were all precious and I wanted every last one. They ran to me when I walked in, and there was an interior room where even more ran towards me and pressed their nose up to the door.

I surveyed the scene while the words of the worker faded in and out. . . "part beagle, not dog aggressive. . .this girl is sweet. . .she hates cats. . . this one just got here yesterday. . maybe a lab mix. . .'' but my eyes settled on a dog far too large to be in the small dog building. He was curled up on top of a four foot high crate where the other dogs couldn't reach him, with his ears back and his tail hidden. And he was a red-tri Australian Shepherd, just like our Mac had been. I recognized that in an instant.

This is Wiley at the shelter, sitting on top of a desk to get away from the other pups.

I said "What's he doing here?" and he perked up a bit.

She walked over to the crate and put her hand towards him and he came over to her. "This guy is stressing really bad. We need to get him out of here fast. He is scared of all the other dogs. The big dogs would pick on him so we had to put him here where he could get away from the bullies."

Well. Be still my bleeding heart. 

I said "I want to walk him."

"You sure? He's a handful."  

"Yep."

And he was a handful. He hated every minute of being on the leash. All he wanted was to go back to the top of his crate. He shook from head to toe. He barely even acknowledged me. 


 I took him to a seating area at the shelter near their walking paths, and I couldn't even get him to face me. He just pulled as hard as he could to go back in the building.

Wiley and my husband on a recent visit to the shelter to drop off supplies.

I took a picture of his back and sent it to my husband. I didn't even explain it.

He said "He looks like Mac!"

I said "I want him!" I explained the details.

He said "He meets none of the criteria."

I said "He's the one."

Wiley's adoption requirements said he had to go to a house with no other dogs, no cats, and no kids. Well, sadly enough, we met his specifications even if he didn't meet ours. I couldn't bring him home that Tuesday because I had to go out of town all day Wednesday, so I paid for him and said I'd be up first thing on Thursday. And that dog, the one who barely bothered with me on Tuesday, leapt off the crate and licked my face on Thursday when I walked in. My heart skipped a beat because I knew he remembered me.

And just like in Harry Potter, where the wand chooses the wizard, Wiley (then named Moses) chose which family he was going to rescue that day.

Happy Gotcha Day Wiley. Even if you could understand every word I say I wouldn't be able to put into words how I feel about you and what you have done for us. 

SO- I have finally shared Wiley's rescue story. I'm not sure I did it any justice but there it is. Now it's your turn. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

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What did you miss? 7/15/13 -7/19/13

While I was away for a few days I asked Wiley to take over the writing duties on the Rescue Dog Blog.  Rather predictably he completely shirked his duties, so I had to get everyone all caught up on Wednesday when I shared pictures of some cute dogs we ran into on our trip and made Wiley show off his souvenir.  Thursday I took the blog back to its traditional format of a great rescue story. Athena is a survivor, and now she helps Alexa do the same.  Then we ended the week with our Feel-Good Friday post about Shaka the police dog. I'm always inspired when I hear about police departments with an open mind about breeds. 

This week I have to go away to a conference for a few days, but I am hoping to introduce our newest photo share this Wednesday. We also need stories so keep them coming please! Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

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Feel-Good Friday: From Homeless to Hero

This week's Feel-Good Friday story was initially shared with me by my sister-in-law. I did a bit more digging into the story and loved what I saw.

Photo from Born Again Pit Bull Rescues. Click here to see original.

Shaka was a pit bull headed for euthanization in a NY shelter when she was pulled by the rescue group Out of the Pits. Her new foster mom saw something special in her and contacted the K-9 Drug Detection Training Unit that's a part of the Washington State Patrol Academy.

Shaka flourished at her job as a drug detection dog for a few years, until the police department she was working with had to downsize. That's when she was listed on the OPCA (Oregon Police Canine Association) website, which is how she got paired up with Officer Billy Wells of the Milwaukie Police Department in Oregon around two years ago.

Photo from Stubby Dog. Click here to see the original.

Now the two work all day together and head home together at the end of the work day. Officer Wells says she is not only excellent at her drug-sniffing duties, but in general Shaka is a people-pleaser. She's a perfect fit for this job.

Photo from Stubby Dog. Click here to see the original.

Recently there have been some horrifying and sad stories in the news about officers killing beloved family pets out of misplaced fear or even worse, out of ignorance.  I thought we all could use a story about a police department who doesn't waste their time worrying about "bully" breeds and instead looks at the animal itself. 

Photo from Born Again Pit Bull Rescues. Click here to see original.

Click on the picture below for a short video about Shaka.

Many thanks to all who had a hand in getting Shaka to where she is today. Saving rescues is a team effort-don't forget!

Share your rescue stories with us!  Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.

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K-9 Detection Training Unit at Washington State Patrol Academy.
Read more at http://www.dogheirs.com/tamara/posts/1217-a-rescued-pit-bull-is-an-ace-police-dog-and-family-member#hAZrqF7AiUlAyDuQ.99

K-9 Detection Training Unit at Washington State Patrol Academy.
Read more at http://www.dogheirs.com/tamara/posts/1217-a-rescued-pit-bull-is-an-ace-police-dog-and-family-member#hAZrqF7AiUlAyDuQ.99

K-9 Detection Training Unit at Washington State Patrol Academy.
Read more at http://www.dogheirs.com/tamara/posts/1217-a-rescued-pit-bull-is-an-ace-police-dog-and-family-member#hAZrqF7AiUlAyDuQ.99

K-9 Detection Training Unit at Washington State Patrol Academy.
Read more at http://www.dogheirs.com/tamara/posts/1217-a-rescued-pit-bull-is-an-ace-police-dog-and-family-member#hAZrqF7AiUlAyDuQ.99

Athena

Athena's story started out as a very sad and scary one. She and another dog, Zeus, were found in North Carolina as strays who had been severely maltreated and abused. 

Their background story can be found right here, although I should tell you that I tried to read it twice and it is so heartbreaking (and graphic) I couldn't get through it.

SO, because we try to keep things as upbeat as possible here on the blog, not because we are ignoring the reality of animal cruelty but because we need as many positive stories as possible to get us through this life, we will pick up Athena's story when she came to live with Alexa.

Alexa had just moved out of her parents' house and needed a service dog to help remind her to take her seizure meds, call 911 if she had a seizure,  and just generally look after her. 

 

 She had long been in love with the Doberman breed, and was thrilled when she found Athena online. Athena was part of a rehabilitation program for prisoners who train rescues to be service dogs, which I have always thought to be an incredible idea.

Anyway, Alexa put a deposit on her and was able to bring her home in a few months, but had no idea of her incredibly difficult start in life. Athena had obvious physical scars but Alexa didn't know their origin until Athena's foster mom filled her in. Once Alexa found out that Athena had been found with another dog, Zeus, she put a plan in motion to try to find him and reunite the two.

Athena was skittish at first and was not into trying new things. It took her a little while to develop her confidence, and in the meantime she and Alexa went for daily hikes and just tried to get used to life together. 

Eventually Athena was reunited with Zeus, which I will tell you more about in a later post, and that's when she really came out of her shell. She would watch Zeus and imitate whatever he did. That's how she discovered she loved to swim!

Athena has developed into a beautiful and confident dog who accompanies Alexa everywhere and has not failed her yet. She loves nature and digging and surprisingly, given her past, isn't dog aggressive either. 

She is sweet and lovable and Alexa's best friend, and none of the things some uneducated people expect Dobermans to be.

This doggie family has gone through some changes recently. Zeus is staying with his dad for now, and  Athena also got a new little brother, Novak, whom Alexa is just getting to know. 

I look forward to sharing these dogs at some point, and I want to thank Alexa for sharing her story. It's the first time we have had a Doberman here on the blog, and it's all a part of what we aim to do here on the Rescue Dog Blog: dispel myths about what kind of dogs are available for rescue and encourage people to really research a breed and not accept the stereotypes.

One more thing to share. . . today is Athena's 4th birthday! Happy Birthday Athena from the Rescue Dog Blog! You can follow Athena on Instagram @athena_novak.

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Feeling crabby

Well I'm finally back from my adventures in Baltimore and Annapolis, and my trip to New York to see The Monkees in concert. Now I can put a few solid days in on the blog, and then I have to go to a literacy conference (cue sad music here). 

However, I am pleased to report that I found the Chesapeake Bay area to be a very dog-friendly place. I didn't snap a lot of pictures on my phone because quite frankly most of the time my hands were full with either fresh-squeezed lemon/limeade, gelato, or perhaps an adult beverage. 

One of my favorite places in Baltimore was the American Visionary Art Museum. It is full of original, thought-provoking art done by various mostly untrained artists who followed no specific tradition but rather created their own. 

 

 It also has a 15 ft high poodle. As a matter of fact, when this poodle was  in the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race in Baltimore this year (the participating models are powered by humans), one of the participants used it as a backdrop to propose to his girlfriend. BOL. You can read about it here.

The entrance to the museum had this poster, which of course was out-of-date by the time I took the picture but it was too cute not to share. 

Visitors were prohibited from photographing the actual art exhibits, but I was really enamored with the art of Chris Roberts Antieau. She creates what she calls "fabric paintings," many of which are very relatable. This is a sneaky shot of one of her dog-themed pieces.

Do yourself a favor and check out her website to see what works she has created. There are a lot of dog and cat oriented pieces.

On the last day of our getaway we road-tripped to Annapolis, and just like in Baltimore, I was surprised to see so many people walking their dogs or hanging out with them at sidewalk cafes. While we were walking back from the waterfront I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this girl:

Her name was Vivian. I asked her human if I could take her picture, but that made her all excited since she is still just a puppy. It was tough to get her to sit still long enough to get a shot that wasn't blurry but I did the best I could.

I thought Viv was a cute name for her, but I said to my husband as we walked away, "If that was a male and they didn't name it Rowlf they would be doing everything wrong."

The highlight of my day was Nigel, though! Will you look at him?

I saw him from about 15 yards away, and I thought "Well that's a mutt if ever I've seen one; he must be a rescue."

So I put aside my stranger-aversion and approached just as this woman was asking Nigel's dad if she could give him a dog treat.

He's no free-loader though, so he sat pretty and he gave high fives.

His human said Nigel was feeling a bit salty since he had taken an unexpected swim in the river earlier that day, but he was being a champ about it all.  Nigel was rescued from a shelter when he was just a little puppy, and his dad said he thinks he's part Aussie, part who knows?  They keep his body hair trimmed short but he definitely has some Aussie trademarks.Take a good look at those eyes; that's a Wiley expression if ever I saw one.

And, of course, speaking of Wiley. . . his back stroke could use a little work.

Now before you go thinking about how cooperative Wiley is for these pictures and how much he loves being dressed up and photographed, take a look at his expression in this picture, which pretty much sums up how he feels. I interpret it as exasperated tolerance.

Speaking of tolerance, thanks for tolerating my vacation. I'll do my best to return to my daily updates, at least until it's time for me to go to my literacy conference. In the meantime, you need to do your best to share your rescue stories with me. Email me at pabibliophile@gmail.com.  Thanks!

PS. In non-dog related terms I'm prepared to declare the vacation a success. We had a great time in the Chesapeake with Luke and Kim.

And Carrie and I had a blast at The Monkees concert.

Last and littlest but certainly not least, last December I shared a picture of little Charlotte Josephine, Carrie and Scot's daughter who was awaiting heart surgery. I'm pleased to say she is doing remarkably well. I had a chance to visit with Charlie Jo while I was in New York. In this picture I'm telling her all about the Rescue Dog Blog.

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