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DOG RESCUE – Summer 2005

Tyson (Doberman) and Pierre (Pitbull) were rescued from a home where they were left behind when the family lost the house and had to move into an apartment that didn’t permit dogs. I would pass by the house every day going to work and noticed that the grass was growing in the yard and no one was cutting it. I also paid attention and figured out that no cars were ever parked in the driveway and I never saw anyone outside the house. I stopped and checked and didn’t see any water or food so I put some out for them. At first they barked at me but when they saw what I had for them, their tails starting wagging because they were so thirsty they were happy to get water due to the temperature being in the high 80’s. After that, they would bark excitedly as soon as I pulled into the driveway. I would stop every day on my way to work and every afternoon on my way home from work (just to make sure they didn’t run out of water). I also left them treats and bones.

I called the Animal Welfare League to inform them about the dogs and they said they had to go through a legal procedure of posting a notice on the door and seeing if the owners would contact them to be sure they were not wanted. They did post the notice and was contacted by the owner who said he didn’t want them anymore and was looking for homes for them. He said he tried to get there as often as he could but some days he couldn’t make it there to feed them. I told the AWL to inform him that I would stop everyday like I had been and make sure they had food and water. The AWL could not take them then because they had no room at the shelter.

I felt so sorry for them being out there in that heat with all the flies chewing on their ears. I also pulled a lot of ticks from their ears, face and bodies. After a week or so I decided to see if the owner would let me take them home with me so I could have them checked at the vet and get their proper shots and medicine. AWL gave me his phone number and he said he would be happy to let me have them because he couldn’t find them a home anyway. I told the owner that I noticed that Pierre wasn’t feeling good. He wasn’t eating and he was breathing really hard so I really wanted to get him to the vet ASAP to see what was wrong with him. He said OK; take them.

So I called my vet and John and I loaded them up in the truck and took them straight to the vet. It was a bittersweet trip; they both tested positive for heartworm. Being Tyson was young (maybe 2 years old), he could fight it a little better so he wasn’t too bad and could be treated. Unfortunately for Pierre, his test showed that he was off the charts which meant he was too old to fight it and the only humane thing to do was to put him down. He was such a sweet dog and I felt so bad that he was finally going to get away from being tied up to that doghouse and come home with us and get some real TLC – and then this. We hugged him and gave him kisses and tried to make it as easy for him as we could. I know we did the right thing because he would have died anyway and it would have been such and slow, terrible death that I feel good knowing he went quickly and peacefully this way.

My vet told me about the Doberman Rescue that he provides services for and they said to bring there because they thought they already had a family who would take him. The family had just lost their own Doberman and was looking for another one so if he was what they were looking for, they would take him that night. Needless to say we drove Tyson that night to the Doberman Rescue and told them about his sweet disposition and easy going personality and they fell in love with him right then and there. They were going to pay for all his heartworm treatments. Tyson has a new home and will never be tied to a doghouse again and he even has kids to play with every day.

I wish Pierre would have had the same happy ending as Tyson but I guess it was not meant to be; hopefully he is still happy wherever he is now

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