Today We Rescued Your Dog
by Pat Closher
Today we rescued your dog. We don’t know where you got him from - maybe you saw him in a pet store window or maybe one of your neighbors bred a few litters a year just to make some vacation money or because they loved their dogs so much that of course they wanted to have puppies. We don’t know much about how you cared for him either, although our vet thought that for such a young dog, his teeth were in pretty bad shape.
by Pat Closher
Today we rescued your dog. We don’t know where you got him from - maybe you saw him in a pet store window or maybe one of your neighbors bred a few litters a year just to make some vacation money or because they loved their dogs so much that of course they wanted to have puppies. We don’t know much about how you cared for him either, although our vet thought that for such a young dog, his teeth were in pretty bad shape.
Did you know they were going to keep him outside? At least it was a pretty mild winter. There were no heavy snows, not much heavy winter rain and only a few days of bitter cold. But for all of those weeks he had no companionship, no care, and no love.
For some reason, your grandparents took him to the shelter. Maybe a neighbor complained about him or maybe their own health gave out or maybe they just got tired of him. You know the local shelter is a kill shelter, don’t you? You know that their own statistics indicate that about half of the dogs that enter are killed, don’t you? Maybe your grandparents thought he would be adopted quickly. He is a purebred, after all. No one was interested in him, though, maybe since he’s an adult dog and not a cute little puppy. No one contacted the purebred rescue group either. They probably would have placed him quickly, since he really is a great boy. The shelter is a clean place and they take good care of the dogs. They get good food and they’re bathed and brushed. It’s still a shelter though, and is noisy and chaotic and frightening. He spent two months there in that confusion, away from everyone and everything he had known.
One day, we saw him on the shelter web site. We called and asked about him. The shelter workers were so happy to hear from us and were delighted to agree to bring him to a local pet store where they do adoptions. Do you want to know why they were so accommodating? He was scheduled to be killed that afternoon. He didn’t know that, but the shelter workers certainly did. It hurt them and he felt that, so he knew something was wrong. All of a sudden, though, the shelter workers were happy and excited and so was he. They bathed him and brushed his coat. We think they probably told him this was it - his big chance, or maybe he just knew it somehow. When we met him, we all fell in love.
He had to go to the vet to be neutered, of course, but then he came home. He has his very own 13 year-old boy. You know, it’s almost like watching one of those old Lassie movies, seeing how well they’ve bonded. He’s got good food and his own toys. He’s taken on walks three times a day, is regularly groomed and is taken to the vet for needed care. We’ll be with him always, even if we have to make that last, difficult decision, because, you see, he is our dog and we are his family.
He has a good heart you know, but then he is a dog, so that’s to be expected. He’s probably forgiven you and, with a dog’s grace, doesn’t even remember you dumped him. He’d probably even be willing to greet you at the Rainbow Bridge. But you know what? He’ll greet us and go with us at the Bridge, and then he’ll be with us forever, because he’s our dog and we’re his family.
The way we heard the story, you moved out of state and didn’t want to take him with you. You left him at your grandparents. Maybe you thought a lively, handsome dog was just the thing for them, and under better circumstances it might have been. Maybe they have been cleaning up your messes for your entire life and an unwanted dog was just another mess to clean up.One day, we saw him on the shelter web site. We called and asked about him. The shelter workers were so happy to hear from us and were delighted to agree to bring him to a local pet store where they do adoptions. Do you want to know why they were so accommodating? He was scheduled to be killed that afternoon. He didn’t know that, but the shelter workers certainly did. It hurt them and he felt that, so he knew something was wrong. All of a sudden, though, the shelter workers were happy and excited and so was he. They bathed him and brushed his coat. We think they probably told him this was it - his big chance, or maybe he just knew it somehow. When we met him, we all fell in love.
He had to go to the vet to be neutered, of course, but then he came home. He has his very own 13 year-old boy. You know, it’s almost like watching one of those old Lassie movies, seeing how well they’ve bonded. He’s got good food and his own toys. He’s taken on walks three times a day, is regularly groomed and is taken to the vet for needed care. We’ll be with him always, even if we have to make that last, difficult decision, because, you see, he is our dog and we are his family.
He has a good heart you know, but then he is a dog, so that’s to be expected. He’s probably forgiven you and, with a dog’s grace, doesn’t even remember you dumped him. He’d probably even be willing to greet you at the Rainbow Bridge. But you know what? He’ll greet us and go with us at the Bridge, and then he’ll be with us forever, because he’s our dog and we’re his family.
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With great sadness and heartbreak we said goodbye to our sweet little Iris on 01/20/2012. This was one of the hardest decisions of our lives, but we knew that it was her time to go and we did not want her to be in pain. We feel very blessed to have had Iris in our lives, even if only for a short time. Iris was such a special pup and we miss her so very much. She touched our lives in so many ways and we cannot express how grateful we are that you, Alicia, took a chance on us. We could never wrap our minds around why anyone would have or even could have dropped her off at the pound. Iris had to have been one of the sweetest if not the sweetest dog ever! Her personality and little quirks, like grunting like a little piggy and trying to eat Duke's toenail clippings to the way she would tuck her little butt and take off running around the yard and house or how she thought clothes and blankets on laundry day were her bed, made her one of the most amazing lovable pups! Anywhere we went, people automatically fell in love with Iris. We had several friends and family members ask why we chose a deaf boxer, and I would always tell them, well, Jesse and Iris kind of chose each other. And I would always tell them the story of how Iris became a member of our family...How we had originally inquired about a few other boxers wanting to find a companion for our other boxer Duke and that Duke did not make the drive to Houston with us, so we had to make the decision without him. And the day we went to the rescue we had no idea we would be coming home with a deaf boxer. We were introduced to a few boxers, but did not feel they were the right fit. But sweet little Iris was a whole other story. Jesse knew from the moment he had seen her she was the one. Even before we knew anything about her or was introduced to her, he knew Iris was the one! When we were finally introduced to Iris, Jesse knelt down, Iris stepped up onto his lap, and gave him a little kiss. At that moment, she stole my heart and I knew she was the one. I also knew in that moment there was no way that we would be able to leave without her. And the fact that Iris was unable to hear, never mattered to us. She was a very smart dog and even though she could not hear our voices, we felt she always knew when we were talking to her. Iris instantly became a part of our family. Within the first 24 hrs, Duke was teaching her how to sneak onto our bed at night and how he liked to wake us up for breakfast. She was like our little shadow, always following us around the house...especially on house cleaning days. Iris was truly one of the best and will forever be in our hearts. Our sweet, sweet little Iris. You stole our hearts and made our family whole! No words can truly express our love for you. We miss you so very much. Love Mommy (Marie), Daddy (Jesse), & Duke
Hutch was a man among men who once saved 14 orphans from a burning building immediately following his 3rd running of the Kona Iron Man. Okay, not really; however, he was one incredible dog. We adopted Hutch in December of 05 and had the pleasure of his envious laid back presence for 5 1/2 years, until he passed away this last June. I would like to tell you an awesome tale of him dying from a failed parachute jump over Vietnam, but alas, it was cancer that took my buddy. Nonetheless, it wasn't before he chalked up 5 years of being the best shotgun riding, cupcake stealing, deadly gas passing, stranger intimidating, drooling, kid protecting, snoring, underwater swimming, staring contest winning beast of goodness ever to slowly saunter the earth. We miss you buddy. Sophie is still mad you haven't come home yet!
We adopted Lexi short 3 1/2 years ago. We had just lost our “first child”/boxer and were heartbroken. Lexi helped to heal our family and brought joy to us all. Her heart was so full of love (especially for her kids) that one day it just gave out. It was sudden and quick and she did not suffer. We will forever miss her happy face, affectionate manner, her joyous way of greeting everyone who entered our home, the thump of her tail, and the way she always watched us drive away from the front window. Everyone was her friend and she will be greatly missed by her family, as well as her neighborhood friends, big and small. We miss you sweet girl. You left your paw print on our hearts forever! Love: Shawn, Quan, Hana (8), Jonah (5), & Noah (3).
Dash came into our lives in August 2006, he was my wedding present from my husband. We drove from College Station down to Houston the Saturday after we were married to pick out a dog. Marsh and Mellow were siblings but completely different personalities. We were drawn to Marsh and decided to adopt him. On the way home we went back and forth on names eventually settling on Dash. We named him such due to his abundance of energy, just like the little boy in the Incredibles. By the time we arrived back in College station my hair was plastered to my face and I had to use a half box of Q-tips to clean all the slobber out of my ears. We and our families fell in love with him instantly, it was hard not to smile at him, he was always up to something. Eventually we moved from College Station to Conroe for my job and Harley joined the family. Then we moved down to Spring to be closer to Bill’s school. He handled each move well, as long as there was food to eat he was home. He didn’t bat an eye when we had Hurricane Ike and had to spend a week at grandma and grandpa’s house. Bill and I realized then how big a part of our family both dogs were, the house felt empty without them. I still remember the look Dash gave me when I tried to get him to go out and potty during the storm, the “are you nuts lady?!?!” look, but he did it. Then we added our own human kid to the mix. Dash was soooo curious about Ethan when he was born, he couldn’t keep his head out of the way, always sniffing and checking. Whenever Ethan would move it would startle Dash so much he would knock furniture over. As Ethan grew and started crawling, walking, and running Dash took it all in stride. He waited patiently for dinner to be over so he could “clean” the high chair. Whenever we went on walks no one was allowed to come near the stroller, he was very protective of his family. My favorite memory of him with Ethan was caught on film by my husband; Ethan, Dash, and Harley all crowded at the front window looking out at the world. I’ll never forget him “fighting” the vacuum, chasing snowflakes and getting overwhelmed, digging in the sandbox and wearing most of it into the house, circling five times before “rolling over,” letting Harley win just so they could keep playing, watching his ears perk when “Bill’s home,” and the way he sounded like a bowling ball flying down the stairs. After seeing three vets and making a very hard decision we had to let him go on January 7th 2012. He got sick pretty quickly, all of his symptoms were linked back to a probably tumor in his brain. We plan to take his ashes out to the farm where all of my families other dogs have been placed so he can be among his kind. I look forward to the greeting we will have at the Rainbow Bridge and know he will be waiting for us. The Shattuck Family
We only knew you a short time but it didn't take long to fall in love with you! Your soulful eyes were trying to tell us of your discomfort and despite your loving demeanor, you were in pain and struggling with each breath. We are so thankful for knowing you! Run free in peaceful bliss sweet Keegan! Your friends at LSBR
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