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Don't Buy ... Rescue!
Here is a photo collage of our happy fur babies! On the left is Charlie, she was given to us about 5 years ago by someone that was going to take them to the pound aka Animal Shelter. She is my daughter's dog and my grand dog aka gram cracker LOL! She has been a great friend to me through some very rough times. She "sits pretty" when she wants some attention. She does not beg unless you call putting her paws on my leg and laying her head on her paws and then looking up at me with those eyes! I love this dog, she has been amazing. I have spent so much time with her and there were a lot of family and/or emotional issues that we went through and she was such a comfort to me.
The top right furbaby is Shasta, she I purchased 12 years ago. I have since learned the error of my ways! Not that she isn't a great dog, she is. I love her but I could have saved a dog! Don't get me wrong I wouldn't take for her. She has been a loyal friend as well. She is smart, trainable and yet hard-headed all at the same time. She has an obsession for squeeky toys and balls. Oh my gosh, she would chase these all day long if I would throw them. I remember once when we were trying to collect the multitude of toys from all over the house. We would let her bring one then put it up. Not too long after that, she would bring another and we would put it up. This went on and on until we had a bucket of toys. We were also in the process of moving and had a few boxes packed waiting to be moved sitting in the corner. In the corner of the ceiling was a plant hook, which I proceeded to hang this bucket of toys from. You can not see any toys in the bucket from below. There were maybe three boxes in corner each box just a little smaller than the next creating a very small ledge. Keep in mind these are nine foot ceilings and the boxes are maybe stacked four feet high. While relaxing one night watching a movie, we heard a crash. We went into the room with "The Bucket" and saw that it was on the floor with all the toys everywhere and the little five-pound wonder dog just chewing away. That hard-headed, little dog got that bucket down! The only way I can figure is she jumped to each ledge even though there was not enough room to land, then got to the top somehow and jumped to hit the bucket to knock it off and then all came tumbling down. She had to have gotten it on the first try or we would have heard her attempting this madness! What a wonderful, crazy, independent little girl!
The third dog is Sadie, she was rescued from our local shelter in Decatur, Texas at the Wise County Animal Shelter. I wish I could find the before photos. I took pictures of her when we walked the line looking at all the soon to be gone babies (People this is a kill shelter!) (sad face). We saw her, she saw us. She had picked us, not the other way around. That was almost 2 years ago. She has been the most loyal, loving, eager to please pet I have ever seen. She is so trainable. She has some quirks like if we hear her howling whether it is her outdoor play time or her "quiet time" in her room, we know to just listen a little longer and we will hear sirens. She hears them way before we do and apparently either loves or hates them. The shelter is not too far from the hospital, so maybe she heard them a lot while on death row at the shelter. Anyway, I haven't had as much time with her as with the other rescue but she has been a lot of fun. She is so smart, I can snap my fingers and she knows to go get on her bean bag bed in her room. What a beautiful fun-loving dog she is.
People if you have not been to this shelter please go, please rescue first! It is a nice shelter but there is a metal roof. The roof is not insulated and with the concrete floors and nothing to absorb the sound, it is incredible loud! I can not stress enough how loud it is! I can not imagine having to stay in there myself and I don't have bionic hearing like the dogs do. I suspect this definitely affects their demeanor! It would make me crazy! Please help the babies! Plus the shelter does not offer the greatest of hours to adopt, oh sure, if you don't work you can go during the day. If you work the typical 9-5 though, it's hard. I mean you can't go before because there is not enough time to get the dog home and somewhat acclimated before running off to work, so you have to go after and I seem to remember them saying you have to be there by 4! What kind of deal is that? I think they offer some Saturdays though, so please go!!! So although they have become numb (and I guess they would have to in order to work there) they are all these little fur babies have until you come and rescue them!! Please save these babies! Purchasing a "pure" bred dog does not give status or more joy than a rescue pet. We used to raise jack russell terriers, most were really great dogs but there were the occasional quirky one, so it can happen whether pure bred or a rescue. It's cheaper to rescue, not as much training involved as with an eight-week old puppy, it's all around a better experience for you.
Please know that these statements are just my observations and changes may have been made since I have been there.
PLEASE RESCUE FIRST! ADOPT A PET AND GIVE THEM A FUR EVER (forever) HOME!!
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