# Anyone in Houston???



## Jchrest

We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.


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## Gaia

are we allowed to "bump" posts?
As in, comment on them just so they get more recognition?

if so, i'm bumping this ;P


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## Steve Strom

Jchrest said:


> We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.


This could be difficult. You'd need someone with, maybe 30 or so years of "Real World" experience. Someone with the high moral authority to demand the original owners fess up to being spoiled and enabled, just generally bad people. Someone who doesn't just fantasize about things online, but has the sense to not try and teach him to focus while heeling. Where oh where to find such a person???


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## GSDchoice

@Sabis mom 

I'm in NC and the other graphic designer I was talking to, is in Nashville TN.
So Houston bit too far...
although happy to do for a local sheppie! 
We already have a great active GSD rescue here (www.gsdrescue.org) so usually all that's needed is to send them a message.
They prioritize dogs on the "kill list" in shelters and will usually not accept surrenders from owners, like most rescues.


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## GatorBytes

Jchrest said:


> We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.



I'm going to try the FB connection I have again.


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## Jchrest

Steve Strom said:


> Jchrest said:
> 
> 
> 
> We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.
> 
> 
> 
> This could be difficult. You'd need someone with, maybe 30 or so years of "Real World" experience. Someone with the high moral authority to demand the original owners fess up to being spoiled and enabled, just generally bad people. Someone who doesn't just fantasize about things online, but has the sense to not try and teach him to focus while heeling. Where oh where to find such a person???
Click to expand...

I’m sorry, am I missing something here? Feels like an inside joke, and I’m the punch line, and just don’t know it.


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## Spetzio

Steve Strom said:


> Jchrest said:
> 
> 
> 
> We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.
> 
> 
> 
> This could be difficult. You'd need someone with, maybe 30 or so years of "Real World" experience. Someone with the high moral authority to demand the original owners fess up to being spoiled and enabled, just generally bad people. Someone who doesn't just fantasize about things online, but has the sense to not try and teach him to focus while heeling. Where oh where to find such a person???
Click to expand...

I really enjoy your posts. ?


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## Steve Strom

No. I just spent a few minutes looking at past threads, nothing with you. In all honesty though, I think if you want to help dogs, its more effective to concentrate on locals. They're everywhere. Again not you, but thumping your chest online, moralizing about people's personal life and flexing your fantasized bona-fides is too much.


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## LoboFloppyEars

I’m on standby to help right now.


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## Jchrest

Steve Strom said:


> No. I just spent a few minutes looking at past threads, nothing with you. In all honesty though, I think if you want to help dogs, its more effective to concentrate on locals. They're everywhere. Again not you, but thumping your chest online, moralizing about people's personal life and flexing your fantasized bona-fides is too much.


I would love to do so locally, and I do. But my area is heavy with Pits and Chi’s. Very occasionally will another breed pop up. And with the shelter so overrun with these breeds, even if I took them and rehomed them, they would be impossible to home just based on volume alone. 

I foster for my shelter, and on rare occasions, I’ll get a shepherd. The shelter allows me to place them, (aka - weed out owners that would be a poor choice) and processes it all through the admin office at the shelter. 

Lobo just pulled at my heart, which is why I offered. And then Sheppie came up. I’m willing to home him if the rescue releases a hold on him. I didn’t mean to create drama, or continue a thread that was closed, I opened this one prior to the other getting closed.


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## JonRob

Steve Strom said:


> No. I just spent a few minutes looking at past threads, nothing with you. In all honesty though, I think if you want to help dogs, its more effective to concentrate on locals. They're everywhere. Again not you, but thumping your chest online, moralizing about people's personal life and flexing your fantasized bona-fides is too much.


 Why do you insist on continuing a closed thread by sneaking it into another thread? And why would you imagine that I could possibly care what someone like you thinks? I have no use for people who feel that venting their personal little snits is so important that they are happy to foul up a pound GSD's chance of being saved.

Again, this thread is about saving Sheppie in the Houston dog pound. Nothing else. Please start a new thread if you want to spew.


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## Steve Strom

You could ignore me and go save him then.


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## JonRob

Jchrest said:


> I didn’t mean to create drama, or continue a thread that was closed, I opened this one prior to the other getting closed.


 You have done nothing wrong. You have done everything right by stepping up to be there for a GSD in need if we can get him out of the pound. That's expensive and inconvenient and it's what really matters.

Please do not apologize to rude people. You deserve better than that.


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## Sabis mom

GSDchoice said:


> @Sabis mom
> 
> I'm in NC and the other graphic designer I was talking to, is in Nashville TN.
> So Houston bit too far...
> although happy to do for a local sheppie!
> We already have a great active GSD rescue here (www.gsdrescue.org) so usually all that's needed is to send them a message.
> They prioritize dogs on the "kill list" in shelters and will usually not accept surrenders from owners, like most rescues.


Sorry, just trying to remember who that was. I KNOW someone on here is around there I remember them discussing it on a thread. I hate getting old, lol, my brain is mush!


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## Sabis mom

LoboFloppyEars said:


> I’m on standby to help right now sooooo idk what Steve is trying to start right now.



OK! @Jchrest and @JonRob- got this? Need anything?


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## dogma13

***********Take a deep breath and calm down**********
Personal attacks against other members will result in another locked thread,official warnings,and time outs.Work out your disagreements via PMs not on the public forum.


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## Jchrest

Sabis mom said:


> LoboFloppyEars said:
> 
> 
> 
> I’m on standby to help right now sooooo idk what Steve is trying to start right now.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> OK! @Jchrest and @JonRob- got this? Need anything?
Click to expand...

Need to call the shelter in the am, send money to @LoboFloppyEars for the adoption fee, and get with @JonRob to see if he is providing transport, or if I need to get a sitter for my demon spawn and drive up there myself.


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## Sabis mom

Jchrest said:


> Need to call the shelter in the am, send money to @LoboFloppyEars for the adoption fee, and get with @JonRob to see if he is providing transport, or if I need to get a sitter for my demon spawn and drive up there myself.


Good job! Hang in there Sheppie , they are trying.


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## Magwart

Jchrest said:


> We have a home and transport setup for a GSD in a Houston shelter. We just don’t have anyone to actually physically go to the shelter to “adopt” the poor guy. You can PM if you prefer.


I’m all for saving shelter dogs and love the enthusiasm but I want to raise a few thoughts for y’all to consider:

1. the Gulf region has ivermectin-resistant HW emerging. Houston is very likely affected. It is resistant to Heartguard and many other prevention meds. It’s a nightmare. HW+ dogs with microfilariae from this region should not be transported out of it. They’re infectious — a bite from your local mosquitoes on arrival can spread this new resistant strain of HW to your region, and maybe even your own dogs since prevention doesn’t work well on it. I tell other rescues that it’s irresponsible to possibly spread this nasty strain to unaffected states. I’m going to tell you that too. It takes two to four weeks to get rid of the microfilariae(confirmed by rechecking blood). Who’s responsible for HW treatment? 

2. Who’s qualified to temperament test this dog? If you’re pulling one and transporting without doing that, it’s not a rescue good practice. If he’s a child-eater or dog-killer, what’s your plan? Adopt him out or euthanize on arrival?

3. Who’s done the vet reference check on the foster and checked credentials? I’m not picking on anybody! All rescuers I know enthusiastically welcome such checks because we know why they’re needed. I tell new-to-me shelters to call my vet before I pull dogs so that they know who they’re dealing with. It’s just a good, routine practice. 

I am all for saving good dogs. I have an endless supply of them dying in my local shelters. I just worry about not thinking through all the stuff that can and does go wrong pulling dogs from this region. 

If you want suggestions on Southern and Western shelters looking for transport partners for HW- GSDs, doing good vetting and decent temp testing, PM me.


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## LoboFloppyEars

Wait here’s something I’m worried about. Does this Houston shelter require you to be from Houston to adopt? Because some shelters require you to show proof off citizenship in the city/county and my address is still my Huntsville address.


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## Sabis mom

He is at Harris County and all it says on their site, basically, is bring money.


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## Jchrest

Sheppie is no longer available. I don’t know if this is because he was adopted already, picked up by a rescue, or euthanized. Just wanted to update for anyone interested.


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## Sabis mom

Jchrest said:


> Sheppie is no longer available. I don’t know if this is because he was adopted already, picked up by a rescue, or euthanized. Just wanted to update for anyone interested.




If you still want a dog there are a few lovlies available:smile2: Female beauty with a sweet, sad face.
Thank you for trying and I hope Sheppie has found a loving home.


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## Jchrest

Sabis mom said:


> Jchrest said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sheppie is no longer available. I don’t know if this is because he was adopted already, picked up by a rescue, or euthanized. Just wanted to update for anyone interested.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> If you still want a dog there are a few lovlies available/forum/images/Germanshepherds_2016/smilies/tango_face_smile.png Female beauty with a sweet, sad face.
> Thank you for trying and I hope Sheppie has found a loving home.
Click to expand...

I’m not actively looking for another dog, but will happily help out where I can, as a short or long term foster.


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## Sabis mom

It's always the old ones that get me in the heart. No old dog should be dumped in a shelter. 
Several years ago I waged an all out war to get a young, scared male pulled from a shelter in Louisiana. There was just something about him that broke my heart. They had tagged him aggressive, when he was really just scared. Local rescue wouldn't touch him so a group of us used connections and cash(money talks) to get him pulled by a rescue further away. MAGSDR got him. 
I tried to get an old girl pulled from Cali a few years ago. Couldn't get anyone to go get her and even with transport assured the shelter would not let me adopt from Canada. They held on and euth'ed a 12 year old dog instead. Next time I will just send you, lol.


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## GatorBytes

Jchrest said:


> Sheppie is no longer available. I don’t know if this is because he was adopted already, picked up by a rescue, *or euthanized*. Just wanted to update for anyone interested.


 
Likely rescue. PB (looking). Shepherd. HW+ is a rescues $ cash cow. FB posts, sad story. 
Sheppie was up for review On the 15th. So not likely euth'd .
Unless there was a mistake 
Happens


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## JonRob

GatorBytes said:


> Sheppie was up for review On the 15th. So not likely euth'd .
> Unless there was a mistake


Or unless he came down with kennel cough, diarrhea, vomiting, eye discharge, etc.--all of these are a death sentence in many pounds, even though they are treatable. I will call the pound tomorrow and see if I can find out what happened to him.


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## Jchrest

@JonRob, I tried every avenue I could think of, I simply couldn’t get child care until Thursday. I left voicemails and sent an email to the shelter, all unanswered or not returned. I wish I could have done more, but if I raced up there yesterday, my kids take up all the space in my car, and there would be zero room for an adult GSD. Not to mention not knowing his temperament in regards to children. 

I’m always willing to help in any way I can, but I can’t roll back time to rescue a dog halfway across the states. I would if I could.


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## Jchrest

Sabis mom said:


> It's always the old ones that get me in the heart. No old dog should be dumped in a shelter.
> Several years ago I waged an all out war to get a young, scared male pulled from a shelter in Louisiana. There was just something about him that broke my heart. They had tagged him aggressive, when he was really just scared. Local rescue wouldn't touch him so a group of us used connections and cash(money talks) to get him pulled by a rescue further away. MAGSDR got him.
> I tried to get an old girl pulled from Cali a few years ago. Couldn't get anyone to go get her and even with transport assured the shelter would not let me adopt from Canada. They held on and euth'ed a 12 year old dog instead. Next time I will just send you, lol.


More than willing to help! As transport or foster/adopter. My house is wide open for inspection, and I have vet references, and shelter references. My car is on the smaller side, so I couldn’t do a crate, but do have the dog tethers to secure any animal. If it’s not too far of a drive, I can take my beater 93 dodge Dakota, but it gets like 3 miles to the gallon, sooo I wouldn’t want to make a super far drive if possible. 

Seniors kill me too, I don’t know how people can just dump them at the end, like they are disposable and have no feelings at all.


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## JonRob

Jchrest said:


> @*JonRob*, I tried every avenue I could think of, I simply couldn’t get child care until Thursday. I left voicemails and sent an email to the shelter, all unanswered or not returned. I wish I could have done more, but if I raced up there yesterday, my kids take up all the space in my car, and there would be zero room for an adult GSD. Not to mention not knowing his temperament in regards to children.
> 
> I’m always willing to help in any way I can, but I can’t roll back time to rescue a dog halfway across the states. I would if I could.


 You are one of the few heroes! You were willing to make a 2-3 day drive to get him out of the pound and bring him to your home.

My girlfriend and I are both disabled, so we can't travel long distances. But we would have paid for your expenses and to have him boarded if needed.

For which one of the members here accused you and me of being serial killers trying to snatch up a dog to torture to death.

I'm hoping a rescue group took Sheppie, and I will keep looking for him if the pound refuses to provide any info.

BTW, the pound website states:

"Animals that show any sign of aggression are not adoptable"

Adopt | Veterinary Public Health - Harris County Public Health | Texas

So suppose someone dumps a GSD there and tells them the dog is aggressive toward other male dogs. Or doesn't tell them but the aggression becomes apparent, as it almost certainly will in a stressful shelter environment. 

Then the GSD will be quickly "rehomed" to the crematorium and never show up on the pound website.


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## Sabis mom

JonRob said:


> You are one of the few heroes! You were willing to make a 2-3 day drive to get him out of the pound and bring him to your home.
> 
> My girlfriend and I are both disabled, so we can't travel long distances. But we would have paid for your expenses and to have him boarded if needed.
> 
> For which one of the members here accused you and me of being serial killers trying to snatch up a dog to torture to death.
> 
> I'm hoping a rescue group took Sheppie, and I will keep looking for him if the pound refuses to provide any info.
> 
> BTW, the pound website states:
> 
> *"Animals that show any sign of aggression are not adoptable"*
> 
> Adopt | Veterinary Public Health - Harris County Public Health | Texas
> 
> So suppose someone dumps a GSD there and tells them the dog is aggressive toward other male dogs. Or doesn't tell them but the aggression becomes apparent, as it almost certainly will in a stressful shelter environment.
> 
> Then the GSD will be quickly "rehomed" to the crematorium and never show up on the pound website.


That bolded statement concerns me. It is common for most shelters and a huge number of GSD's, and some other breeds, WILL show aggression in a shelter environment. They are done before they start, doomed to fail.

It's one of the reasons I am so adamant about keeping them out of shelters. @Magwart pointed out that many, many shelters lack anyone to do a proper temperament test. Dogs are dying every day for that lack. Because a dog like my Shadow lashes out in fear and frustration and is labelled, when in a different environment and with skilled help she is a little sweetie.

I had debated before the logistics of a nationwide GSD rescue that would help anywhere in North America and get the dogs to fosters and permanent homes. With the resistant strains of HW and assorted nasties from the south, it simply is not feasible. Not to mention gov and border issues.
I keep thinking but I can see no way of making it work.


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## middleofnowhere

JR --- In this thread I saw no one accusing anyone of being a serial killer trying to snatch up dogs to torture. Thought I had read the full thread but I guess I missed it. 



I will say 'though that from my years on boards I do caution the "hero" labels ----- There was a time when "angel" was liberally applied for people posting their good deeds --- and time revealed that many of those "angels" and those deeds were fabrications or just not good. 





Sabis Mom -- Shelters are sad places. Well-run shelters are sad places. Bottom line seems to be that pet animals are often treated as commodities. Even warm, friendly animals do not necessarily make it out of a shelter.


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## Jchrest

I made a bad joke on the other thread. Someone said that just because we are on this forum doesn’t automatically make us trust worthy, and why would Lobo be better off with an unknown forum member rather than someone recommended by a friend and turned over in person. 

So when I replied, I said they were right, I could be a serial killer that tortured animals on the side for fun, for all anyone knows. Bad joke. I tend to have a morbid sense of humor. 

I know when I was dealing with Lyka’s puppies, many suggested I turn them over to a breed rescue. I got many many PM’s telling me what rescue to contact, and other members telling me that the same rescue was a sham, and it was a member that had been banned multiple times, and just kept creating new profiles. I spoke on the phone with a few of the forum members as well, and most just vented about other members opinions or contradicted themselves multiple times, and said the complete opposite on the phone than what they posted on the thread. 

It’s why I try to be as transparent as possible. I still have Lyka, and she’s amazing, she my heart dog. If I had listened to others wanting me to place her in a rescue, I wouldn’t have had the amazing years with her I’ve had. I also have zero problems giving out references (vet, shelter, owners I’ve placed dogs with) if asked. 

I’m not a hero or an angel, and I suck at taking compliments, it makes me very uncomfortable. I don’t offer help to make myself look better, I offer help because I genuinely want to help when I have the ability to help. Even if that’s just support via forum threads. I’m far from perfect, and have made mistakes with dogs in the past, and probably still make them. But each mistake teaches me a valuable lesson, and I truly believe that once you stop making mistakes, it’s because you stopped learning, not because you’ve learned everything you can.


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## JonRob

Jchrest said:


> I made a bad joke on the other thread. Someone said that just because we are on this forum doesn’t automatically make us trust worthy, and why would Lobo be better off with an unknown forum member rather than someone recommended by a friend and turned over in person.


Yeah, you made a joke, but it was prompted by the following accusations in another thread when we stood up to get Sheppie out of the pound:



> I've "seen" a lot of ugly. As in transporter stealing the dog, as in dogs adopted via the board (multiple dogs by one person with similar fates) dying within a short time of adoption, and other crapolla.


This kind of ugly doesn't involve offers to pay a professional transporter, pay for boarding and HW treatment, making plans for a 2-3 day trip across the country to get a single dog out of the pound, etc.

Yes there's a lot of scum out there but there are obvious red flags for these trash. And people who don't want to bust their butts and spend money to help a dog all too often accuse those who do of being scammers or worse. Makes them feel good about themselves for not helping out, I guess. Which is why there is no point in arguing with them about what is a side issue anyway.

I will post again on this when/if I find out something about Sheppie.


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## JonRob

Finally got to speak to a human being at the pound. The lady told me that Sheppie was taken by a rescue group but said she was not allowed to tell me which rescue group, whether it was a GSD rescue group, or even whether it was a local rescue group. So if true this is good news.

Petharbor.com is great for searching for dogs so I will see if Sheppie shows up at one of the rescue groups and let the forum know if I find him.


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## Jchrest

That’s great news! Rescue’s generally do due diligence in placing the dog in a stable home, correct? So Sheppie is better off with a rescue group than with the shelter, right?


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## JonRob

Jchrest said:


> That’s great news! Rescue’s generally do due diligence in placing the dog in a stable home, correct? So Sheppie is better off with a rescue group than with the shelter, right?


Depends on the rescue group. Many of them are very good about this. Others will hand the dog over to someone who is clearly a monster as long as they have the cash.

There's a dog novel that covers the ugly underside of dog "rescue" and some other dog things that you might be interested in:

http://www.amazon.com/Francine-Shan...t_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=1563219062

I warn you though that this novel is realistic and also has some real justice in it, so it's not for the faint of heart.


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## JonRob

middleofnowhere said:


> I do caution the "hero" labels ----- There was a time when "angel" was liberally applied for people posting their good deeds --- and time revealed that many of those "angels" and those deeds were fabrications or just not good.


You needn't worry about my overusing the term "hero." I haven't used it in this kind of context for years because there's been no reason to. The terms I use for many so-called dog people couldn't be printed in a family paper. But Jchrest deserves the term hero.

You also have no business whatsoever even suggesting that Jchrest is some kind of scum. Before Sheppie was taken by a rescue group, she and I exchanged many PM's working out the details of getting Sheppie out of the pound, even though this would be at at her considerable expense (and mine), and considerable trouble and inconvenience on her part.


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## JonRob

Sabis mom said:


> It is common for most shelters and a huge number of GSD's, and some other breeds, WILL show aggression in a shelter environment. They are done before they start, doomed to fail.


Excellent point.

Many years ago, I was asked to evaluate an owner surrender GSD by two sensible old ladies who ran a private dog shelter in a wealthy suburb. They were unable to find a home for him because he would bark ferociously in his kennel at strangers who came to see him. Once he was taken out of his kennel to meet the visitors (and few wanted this to happen) he was perfectly sociable and friendly. The smart, dog-savvy ladies figured that the GSD--although horribly upset about being dumped--understood his new job to be protecting the new territory he had been assigned, which was his kennel, and was just trying to do what he saw as his duty. When the staff introduced him to visitors, he understood that they were to be treated as friends.

I told the ladies that they were absolutely right and this was a splendid dog. If I had been looking for a dog then, I would have taken him myself. The dog was lucky that I had been looking for a family GSD for a nice couple. They adopted him the next day and he became the joy of their lives. He had superb judgment, was a great watchdog, and never bit anyone because he never had a reason to.

But that was a long time ago. Today he would be immediately executed.


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## JonRob

Now here's an interesting GSD:

http://www.petfinder.com/dog/nico-3...blue-angel-german-shepherd-dog-rescue-tx1264/

This may or may not be Sheppie, but he sure looks like a dog we've seen on Instagram--including the white markings.

Saved from death row and now with Blue Angel German Shepherd Rescue in San Antonio, TX.


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## WIBackpacker

*LAST warning, anyone who continues with personal attacks or nasty comments is getting a timeout. 

It would be a disgusting shame to have to close a thread that is intended to help rescue a dog, but there isn’t time to babysit these threads and pick through and edit out the personal nasty snark. *


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## El Pistolero

Don't want to wade thru 5 pages of stuff, but I'm in Houston. PM me if you like, and we'll talk


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## Fodder

JonRob said:


> Now here's an interesting GSD:
> 
> http://www.petfinder.com/dog/nico-3...blue-angel-german-shepherd-dog-rescue-tx1264/
> 
> This may or may not be Sheppie, but he sure looks like a dog we've seen on Instagram--including the white markings.
> 
> Saved from death row and now with Blue Angel German Shepherd Rescue in San Antonio, TX.


also
not
Lobo...


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## Heartandsoul

JonRob said:


> Excellent point.
> 
> Many years ago, I was asked to evaluate an owner surrender GSD by two sensible old ladies who ran a private dog shelter in a wealthy suburb. They were unable to find a home for him because he would bark ferociously in his kennel at strangers who came to see him. Once he was taken out of his kennel to meet the visitors (and few wanted this to happen) he was perfectly sociable and friendly. The smart, dog-savvy ladies figured that the GSD--although horribly upset about being dumped--understood his new job to be protecting the new territory he had been assigned, which was his kennel, and was just trying to do what he saw as his duty. When the staff introduced him to visitors, he understood that they were to be treated as friends.
> 
> I told the ladies that they were absolutely right and this was a splendid dog. If I had been looking for a dog then, I would have taken him myself. The dog was lucky that I had been looking for a family GSD for a nice couple. They adopted him the next day and he became the joy of their lives. He had superb judgment, was a great watchdog, and never bit anyone because he never had a reason to.
> 
> But that was a long time ago. Today he would be immediately executed.


What those ladies were observing is barrier frustration/aggression, not protection. There are so many owners/people that mis interpret displays of aggression as protection often times resulting in a less than optimum training methods to help a dog get past the issue or in rescue cases causes a dog his life.

I am not a trainer but have experienced it and worked through it.

I don’t want to derail this thread but I felt it important to point this out. Another thread can be started on the subject for further disscussion to keep this thread on course.


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## Jax08

Here's a whole shelter full of dogs that need immediate help.

https://weather.com/news/news/2019-...g-hits-arkansas-alabama-louisiana-mississippi


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## Magwart

I talked to a friend who arranges transports this weekend. She reminded me that all of the reputable, commercial transport companies moving dogs out of the South require (1) an interstate travel certificate, signed by a vet, confirming the dog is safe to travel, signed within a few days of departure (and mostly they won't take HW+ dogs, usually, absent special circumstances like confirmation of no microfilaria and an xray showing mild infection, as they don't want them dying from stress during transport), and (2) they require 2 weeks in a foster home (NOT shelter) before transport so that diseases like kennel cough can break in the foster home, not on transport. They absolutely will not transport dogs straight from a shelter, so her shelter is always looking for "transport fosters."


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## Jax08

You can not enter PA with a dog that does not have a health cert from a vet under these circumstances. I assume those are the laws for most states. It is almost impossible to transport a dog privately. Rescues have transport routes and volunteers set up as well as standard routes from shelters to them. Professional transports have strict requirements as Maggie posted to ensure the safety of the other animals as well as the specific dog.


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## JonRob

Heartandsoul said:


> What those ladies were observing is barrier frustration/aggression, not protection./


That's what this type of behavior usually is, but with this dog it was not. He was an exceptional GSD with a strong sense of duty. All you had to do is get him to understand that a particular behavior was his job and therefore his duty and he was totally committed to it. In his new home, the first time he was gated in a small kitchen, he barked at visitors. The owners followed my advice and told quietly told him, "You need to *sit*. It's important." He studied them intently, sat, and never barked at visitors again even when he was behind a barrier. He understood that it was his job to sit quietly when visitors arrived. But he was a very unusual dog. My point was that a superdog like this would be immediately executed in a shelter today, and that is a shame. I will always be grateful to those wise old shelter ladies who understood what he was.


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## JonRob

Magwart said:


> I talked to a friend who arranges transports this weekend. She reminded me that all of the reputable, commercial transport companies moving dogs out of the South require (1) an interstate travel certificate, signed by a vet, confirming the dog is safe to travel, signed within a few days of departure (and mostly they won't take HW+ dogs, usually, absent special circumstances like confirmation of no microfilaria and an xray showing mild infection, as they don't want them dying from stress during transport), and (2) they require 2 weeks in a foster home (NOT shelter) before transport so that diseases like kennel cough can break in the foster home, not on transport. They absolutely will not transport dogs straight from a shelter, so her shelter is always looking for "transport fosters."


Totally correct, which is why I've used professional transporters and not volunteers. And I'm darn picky about the professional transporters I use.

There's an easy but expensive solution to the HW problem: Adopt the dog to get him out of the pound, then board him locally with a veterinarian who will treat the HW and keep him there until the dog is ok to travel and has no microfilaria.

It's excellent to point out the obstacles, but my response to obstacles has been, let's figure out how to make this happen legally and safely for the dog. Not let's find an easier and cheaper dog to save.

For a couple reasons. The easier and cheaper dogs may have some chance. The harder and expensive ones often have no chance at at all. Also, some particular dogs just grab your heart and you decide you will move heaven and earth to save them. Maybe because he's a senior. Or really got screwed over. Or is blind or has three legs. Or has a fabulous temperament. That's just how people respond in these situations, and that response is necessary when there is a huge commitment of time and money needed.


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## middleofnowhere

No implication to any specific individual was intended. General caution on the internet was my advise. To all and any of us. We can claim to be anything. When moving from the internet to on-the-ground life -- a bit of caution.


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## JonRob

middleofnowhere said:


> No implication to any specific individual was intended. General caution on the internet was my advise. To all and any of us. We can claim to be anything. When moving from the internet to on-the-ground life -- a bit of caution.


 Useful advice.

There are certain red flags that indicate scammers. That's a whole different thread but here's the biggest red flag: Soliciting money through facebook or go fund me, to be given directly to the solicitor. The folks who are shelling out their own bucks and not asking for money--just a person to get a dog out of a shelter--are almost never scammers. They are losing money, not getting money, by saving a dog.


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