# Wonderful things about a Rescue



## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

When I was at a rescue meeting the other day someone said, "People need to understand they are tough to deal with, they have issues". 
The director disagreed, "They are NO tougher than any dog that needs proper training". 
Someone else said, my dog from a breeder is actually more work.










Sometimes rescues get a bad rap. 

What are the wonderful things about your rescues?? That out weigh any issues?

If this needs to be moved to take a poll or something, feel free.


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## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

I will go first. 

Watching their progress. 

The way they make you feel. The only words I have is, it makes me feel like a "Rock Star" to rescue a dog. Like one of the reasons I was put here on earth. 

They are grateful. They show it. They are shocked by their new bed or toy. "For me? "









Or when I went to pet Shadow, he would start to shrink down his head. Then eventually it stops. You see in their eyes, "that's right, you are nice". 

Their devotion. Bring them into your home, family, and life. They do not make you regret it.


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## frenchie27 (Jan 12, 2008)

God bless you all. You are all awesome. Whoever rescues a lovely GSD deserves the best. Don't get me wrong, I am NOT a religious person, I am just a nice person who does no harm and HATES those who harm pets. Any breed. 

So...... since I am in a small town I have really no opportunity to rescue, but it it were up to me...trust me, I would rescue them all...no questions asked...


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## MoongazrNH04 (Feb 9, 2004)

The "tender" moments, when you've just taken him out of the (insert appropriate place..aka shelter, bad situation, etc) and as your driving back, he lay's his head down on your hand & sighs.









The "ah ha" moments, when you finally see the bell go off in their head that say's: My person will protect me, I don't need to be scared anymore. (dog aggression)


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## doggonefool (Apr 15, 2004)

I was looking to rescue a GSD, joined a couple of rescue groups and was waiting for 'the right dog'. I stumbled into a pair of alaskan husky pups (I would bet my last dollar that they have shepherd in them). They were pulled out of the 'breeders' home, which was a car, and they were all near feral. Jukka, the little girl, is especially frightened of men and acts like she was frequently kicked. Loki, the little male, has absolutely no manners and such a joy of life, that I almost look forward to the challenges that he brings.

We were missing our loss of Whimsey so much, and didn't think that we were quite ready for another, let alone two nine month olds. Our house seemed so empty, Ranger, my BSD was moping around, DH and I were not motivated for anything, then these two dynamos came in and shook everything up.

Kevin didn't want to get a dog run, too confining, but huskies are quite the escape artists. We had to hotwire our fence after we found out that they were regularly going over fences on all three sides to play with pitbulls and such. We have turned our family room into a dog run and come home to 'surprises' everyday.

But Jukka will now get on my lap and give kisses, she will roll on her back for a belly rub, and her manners are pretty good most of the time. She wants to please so bad. And she will give Kevin kisses, sometimes.

Loki still needs convincing that he's not in charge, but I can get them all to hold a sit/stay for meals, which is huge since they act like they've been starved all their lives.

And Ranger loves being the head of their pack. It took some work to get them to recognize him as such, but they do now. He is also a Rescue who got returned 3 times, my lucky day! He is so beautiful and so loving. And getting lots more exercise now!

There is nothing quite like knowing that they love you so unconditionally and to have our house so full of life.

Now off to see what my 'GSD's' in disguise have destroyed


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## Castlemaid (Jun 29, 2006)

Keeta, labeled as a GSD mix by the shelter, about a year old, picked up as a stray in January in Northern BC. We have had temperatures in the -40C that time of year, and who knows how long she had been roaming lost and homeless. She was sick with a bad cold, was underweight, had UTI. 

Friendly and starved for affection and attention. 

Was probably a tied dog prior to being rescued - did not know so much as sit, was afraid of anything moving, shied away from men. 
(Went totally BONKERS with delirious happiness around women and kids). Was afraid of Cars, trucks, noisy equipment, Big Rocks, stairs, bicycles, strollers, certain movements from my part, discarded car parts in the ditch. 

Hated the leash fought and bit at the leash and barked and growled at me for pulling on it. Shut completely down when I tried to tie her out as a test to see how she would react (lay down and did not move. I got in the car are left for an hour just to see how she would deal with it. When I came back, she was still lying in the exact same spot. Did not get up to greet me when I came to untie her - did not look at me - henc my feelings that she had been tied all her live, and gave up and got depressed when she thought she was going to be tied again and left).

Growled and snapped at me if I so much as touched her tail, picked up her feet - tried to clip her nails (yeah, right!). Obviously, hadn't been used to much handling. 

Alpha female. Dominant over other dogs. Will lift her leg like a male and mark. Will mark over dog pee, horse pee, fox pee, bird droppings, and moose tracks.

She has achieved much and learned much in the last three years. We have both learned and have grown and improved together and have covered amazing strides. 

But the most rewarding moment I can think of was one day, as we were walking, she saw a boulder in the ditch, and hesitated. I could tell by her body language that she was thinking of running away from the scary rock. Instead, she cautiously made her way over to a boulder in the ditch and tentatively streched out to sniff it, and continued on. She seemed to take in a BIG breath, let it out, and her demeanor visibly relaxed, her trot perked up. It was like at that moment, she had decided that the world was a safe and predictable place, and she could relax and just enjoy herself. From that moment on, her fears were replaced by open curiosity to new things and experiences, her self-confidence boosted by her trust that nothing will harm her. 

From that moment on, she walked and carried herself like a different dog, and a new light shone in her eyes. 

The only "issues" she had was a lack of training and trust. She is a confident girl with solid nerves, drive and energy, well suited for bite-work and other activities. Not really a dog with problems, I would say.


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## dhonner (Nov 27, 2007)

We are coming up on a year with our rescue, Samson. When we brought him home, it was quite a challenge. He didn't like the car (oh it scared him) the leash, the crate, the rules, etc. But he had a good heart and we just had to find it. 

(Through Liesje) we found a great trainer and she worked with us, working with him. 

>Now, he loves to go in the car. He sits at the door when we go to work - and we can see it in his eyes -can I come too? 
>Now he curls up on the end of the sofa and sleeps. He just needs to be near us. 
>Now he loves his crate. When he gets tired, he will go to his kennel and go to sleep. 
>We can see it in his eyes - he trusts us, his tail wags, he talks to us, he brings us his bone when he is done chewing. 

He is still afraid of brooms, plastic bags and barks at vacuums (but that is pretty standard). I shudder to think about his life before and how someone could throw him away. Some people just suck. 

We are crazy about our Mr. Handsome.


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## Yvette (Jan 29, 2001)

DaKota has been with us for 8 1/2 yrs. now. All who knew her before us, don't think she is the same cowering bag of bones.
I trained her on my own mostly. I took her to a few OB classes after she got her C.G.C just for socializing. She is not afraid of teen
boys now & loves to be told she's a good girl. She even now after so many years will allow our local ACO to come up & pat her. I think she has taught me alot about me & alot about trust & love & what it does.


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## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: MoongazrNH04The "tender" moments, when you've just taken him out of the (insert appropriate place..aka shelter, bad situation, etc) and as your driving back, he lay's his head down on your hand & sighs.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


All wonderful stories. 

The sigh. Yes you never forget the fist time that happens, some sooner than others. Lady, coming home from the shelter she was on my lap...Bella, right after I picked her up off the hwy, again in my lap in the car. Shadow, after about a week, he just could not figure things out, had never been in a house (I suspect he lived on a chain, he would do the turning in circle thing), Bella had her place on my lap while we were watching TV, Lady the end of the couch curled up, Shadow got right in between and put his head on my shoulder, it was so sweet. He was still a foster at that time, but I looked over at my DH and said, he found his place.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

mmmm...what to say? I could say so much!

Allie is me and my husbands best friend, just like Meeka and Kelso have been too. She is literally the first thing to make me laugh or smile at 6 am in the morning (you would laugh too..she is pretty hilarious) And the last one to stay up with me late at night patiently lying by my side while I study, giving me an encouraging lick every once in awhile









We had never owned a dog that had not been here from a pup, much less a dog from a resuce. So, not only has she been our first with getting into rescue or getting a dog that wasn't a "puppy", she has informed other people about rescue with her sweet and gentle ways. After we adopted her I also became more involved with GSD rescue in this area, I could not believe dogs like her and the many others that had it worse than her did not/or had lost their homes (before foster).

She is just a great dog, and most of all I feel fortunate that she has let us be a part of her life.


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## Fodder (Oct 21, 2007)

well i'm gonna take a (slightly humorous) different approach...

the wonderful thing about rescues to me, is that you always have someone else to blame for their flaws.







its easier for me to "fix" someones elses problems then to accept the fault that i potentially created the problem myself!

that said, there are so many rewards to rescuing a dog... there is a just a look in their eyes that one cant accurately describe. for some its a "thank you for rescuing me" and the others its a "please promise to keep me forever". neither of my rescues came from bad or abusive situations, only unfortunate circumstances... i just got lucky... but the gratefulness (both mine and theirs) is a physical feeling and it almost brings tears to my eyes to think of how much i love them.


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## kelso (Jan 22, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Camerafodderwell i'm gonna take a (slightly humorous) different approach...
> 
> the wonderful thing about rescues to me, is that you always have someone else to blame for their flaws.
> 
> ...


Ha! I was the one Kelly (Daisy) mentioned in her OP that said that I had a dog from a breeder that was much harder than our rescue! I know they are different dogs but I have no one but myself to blame for Kelso







(I give Kelso trouble but he is a ton of fun really) and Allie came to us practically perfect (at least in my eyes)! You are right! Except I was like, dang who would give a dog up like this...but her foster mom did do an excellent job with her as well. (Shout out to Emoore on this board, Sarah Palin style














)


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## Daisy1986 (Jul 9, 2008)

Awww! That is very sweet, what you said about Allie!


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

Many rescue dogs get worried when you take off their collar. The first time you take off their collar and they don't bat an eye is a very cool moment. 



> Originally Posted By: kelsobut her foster mom did do an excellent job with her as well. (Shout out to Emoore on this board, Sarah Palin style
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Back atcha!


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## Karin (Jan 4, 2008)

The wonderful thing about our rescue girl, Heidi, is watching her go from a scared, sad, cowering, skinny little thing to a happy, playful, confident, healthy-looking dog. I remember a few days after we got her, how happy we were just watching her lay on her pad and stretch out and let out a big sigh of contentment. It was (and still is) a great feeling knowing you helped to make the difference in a dog's life that made them realize that the world can be a good place.


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## kshort (Jun 4, 2004)

> Originally Posted By: Camerafodder
> the wonderful thing about rescues to me, is that you always have someone else to blame for their flaws.
> 
> 
> ...


Calone - that cracked me up, because I've thought it a lot of times. For once in my life, I have someone else to blame!!

We were very lucky to get Samson. He is such a great boy. Poor guy, he knew absolutely nothing - had obviously never seen a toy, no manners, had never been on a leash, had no idea how to get into a car, had never been up and down stairs, didn't know what a treat was. Yet he loves everyone -- people and other dogs. Kitties -- well, we're still working on that, but it's going well. Skinny and very rough, dry coat. Very sweet and so willing to please. He's been a dream to train. The toy thing has been the most fun to watch. His first toy was a jolly ball and when I would throw it, he would just look at me. We started running for it together and in a short time, he understood. That jolly ball is still his favorite. He has toys everywhere now and he plays with them all. It's been so fun to watch the joy he's experienced from having fun. A 9 month old puppy who had never had fun - wow, that's just incredible to me. He's certainly not perfect - mouthy and vocal - but those little issues have improved greatly also. 

This has been such a great experience for us and it just gets better every day. He's healthy, happy and having the time of his life - just exactly what he deserves. And yes, that first sigh of contentment from him with his head on my lap -- there's just nothing better.


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## terry_demag (Jun 8, 2004)

The thing that I can't get over with Raphael, my rescue, is how he is about eating.

When I got him (sick with Heartworm), I was concerned because I couldn't get him to eat. I would put cheese in his food and try and coax him by hand. He would approach to food bowl like it was going to bite him, very tense, ready to bolt at any second. You just wonder what he had to go through to get food before. It was like he knew something bad would happen to him. Eating scared him and that made me so sad..

After a year and a half, now, well I can't even describe the excitement and happy dance he does when he knows he will be getting fed. He is unbelievably excited. He makes me laugh every day with how joyful he is about getting fed. And this is for plain old dry food (good quality, but it's not fresh meat if you know what I mean ;>) He is so food focused - I still shake my head that this is the same dog that used to quake when he approached his bowl.

Rescues make you appreciate the little things - like getting a good meal and how much that can mean.


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## Mary Jane (Mar 3, 2006)

Working with a great rescue with phenomenal foster homes meant that we adopted the dog that was born to be our dog. We knew a great deal about him and the rescue had detailed information about our life style-it's truly a match made in heaven.

He is not the dog for everyone and we surely are not the home for the normal GSD-but who cares when you're in love.


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Camerafodderbut the gratefulness (both mine and theirs) is a physical feeling and it almost brings tears to my eyes to think of how much i love them.


I agree. 

Phoenix came from a horrible situation and Shelia and Ruth at Brightstar did a great job at nursing him back to health and giving him lots of love. He was a dog with a severely imbedded collar who is now a heathly happy dog with a true love of life. Thanks Brightstar!!!!


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## kularing (Aug 24, 2006)

And look at Phoenix and his mom!!!! Thank you Diana for giving Phoenix such a loving home!!!


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## chuckstar158 (Sep 8, 2004)

Funny thing... my rescues never had the alligator phase on my watch...









Serious... I've always thought that the rescues were more eager to please and a little more appreciative. Maybe it's just me.


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## SunCzarina (Nov 24, 2000)

> Originally Posted By: chuckstar158Serious... I've always thought that the rescues were more eager to please and a little more appreciative. Maybe it's just me.


Not just you. I always attributed this to coming from a horrid life to a firm but loving owner who had a warm house with carpets and lots of toys.


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## Kuklasmom (May 13, 2005)

For me, the rewards of a rescue also include the increase in my own knowledge of dog behavior in our attendance at obedience training classes.

How little I knew, how very much I have learned, and how very, very much I <u>continue</u> to learn, through careful observation of my dog every day!

I, too, have been extraordinarily blessed with a healthy, friendly, well-behaved rescued dog who loves our obedience classes and practice sessions. As so many will say, the challenge is for the human to stay at least a step or two ahead of the dog! (I've got to vary our practice routines always, or my dog will start anticipating!)

As all others have posted, the owners of a rescued dog can easily detect the dog's gratitude and happiness at finally being adopted into a stable, permanent family.


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## Lin (Jul 3, 2007)

Ok I don't have the attention span at the moment so I haven't read the replies. 

DEF on the "watching them grow" thing. The fosters I've had that came to be scared from abuse but left confident dogs are the closest to my heart. 

NO PUPPY ISSUES! Puppies are adorable, and yes when one is in my hands I want one. But when I can think rationally, no thanks! With my dogs I didnt have to deal with puppy housetraining, teething, eating anything in sight, etc. I also like that "what you see is what you get." We are all a little vain! Taping and stuff to fix ears etc. I'd hate to bring home a puppy that grew up to an ugly adult lol. Of course they'd still be beautiful and special to me, but I can take an unbiased look at my pets and point out their faults as well.


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## DnP (Jul 10, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: kularingAnd look at Phoenix and his mom!!!! Thank you Diana for giving Phoenix such a loving home!!!


Thanks! I love that picture! But let me tell you...he makes me feel blessed everyday!


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