Newcomer!
Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:53 am
Greetings all!
My name is Foster, and along with my fiancee and our two kids, I have just entered the wonderful world of chows. Since I'm new around here, I thought I would introduce myself, and tell all of you chow lovers a sad story with a happy ending.
My family lives in a nice development in central PA. We have been talking about getting a dog for a while now, but arguing over the breed. We all wanted a shelter dog, but the kids wanted a toy dog, my fiancee wanted a beagle, and I wanted the dog that would win my heart in the shelter, whatever it may be.
We went on vacation for a week, and when we returned, the neighborhood had a new member. A beautiful chow had taken up residence, sleeping in bushes and eating out of garbage cans. As we talked to the neighbors, the story filled out. Apparently, the chow had been living in the neighborhood for almost 2 weeks. Apparently, someone had driven into the development, and pushed her out of the car, before speeding away. 3 people saw her dropped off, but no one got the owner's license plate number. She would play with the neighborhood kids, and since she was so friendly, some of the people had taken to putting out food for her. She had a fear of adults though, and would run as soon as anyone came near. Two kids in the neighborhood had already taken the chow home, to see if they could keep him. As each parent said no, she was back on the street. We heard that the humane society had been called on her, and would be there in the morning.
Later that evening, the chow was sleeping across the street from our house. I went out with a leash and a box of doggie biscuits, wanting to make sure the dog was ok, and to see if she wanted a drink. Although she ran from me at first, patience and the doggie treats eventually lured her in, until she was eating out of my hand and letting me pet her. She was beautiful, but dirty, with a tagless, too-tight collar. Her fur was matted, and she had a bunch of brambles stuck in her coat, but she looked like she was well taken care of before she was abandoned. Her nails had been recently clipped, and she was so friendly once you got to know her.
I slipped the leash on her, and took her home. The kids were spending the night at their grandmothers, so I figured I'd give the chow a safe place to sleep before she was taken to the humane society the next day. Long story short? We fell in love with her overnight. We gave her a flea bath, and I cut her collar off, as well as the brambles out of her fur. She didn't touch anything in the house. No chewed shoes, no carried socks, nothing. The biggest shock was when she went to the door and barked once, the first noise she had made all night. She was already house trained! I took her for a walk, and I found out she also knew "Sit," "Stay," "heel," and "lie down." When we went to sleep, the dog laid down at the foot of the bed, and went to sleep with us.
When I woke up, I knew I wanted this dog. It turns out, my fiancee had the same thought, and woke me up trying to convince me to keep him. We talked to the person from the humane society when they came, and he checked out the dog. It turns out she is a 5 yr old spayed chow. Over the past week, we've been getting her checkups, her shots and her license. I named her Pygmalion, because she went from streetwalker to a princess, but since the kids are young, we all just call her Princess.
I don't know how to explain how amazing this dog is. She is everything we could have asked for. She's good when we aren't at home, she is great with the kids, in fact, great with all kids. All the neighborhood kids come around to see if they can pet Princess. Our kids are meeting lots of new friends. She doesn't snap, she doesn't bark, she doesn't have accidents, she doesn't jump, she only barks when she needs to go outside, and she sleeps on the foot of our bed and on the floor by us on the couch everynight. All she does is walk around the house with her tail held high. The only negative I can even think to say, is when walking her she will pull a bit if she sees a rabbit or a cat. She is the perfect dog for my family, and I am completely in love with my bear-lion, my Princess.
I have no idea how anyone could throw this dog out of a car like that. How do you go from loving an animal to throwing it away? All I can think is maybe her owner died, and no one could take the dog, so they just ditched her. Or maybe some one moved and couldn't take her with them. No matter what, I could never even imagine just abandoning any animal, let alone a beautiful friendly dog like Princess.
I'll be back with pictures of her after I look around a bit. As for now, I have to take my puppykins for her walkies.
Foster
My name is Foster, and along with my fiancee and our two kids, I have just entered the wonderful world of chows. Since I'm new around here, I thought I would introduce myself, and tell all of you chow lovers a sad story with a happy ending.
My family lives in a nice development in central PA. We have been talking about getting a dog for a while now, but arguing over the breed. We all wanted a shelter dog, but the kids wanted a toy dog, my fiancee wanted a beagle, and I wanted the dog that would win my heart in the shelter, whatever it may be.
We went on vacation for a week, and when we returned, the neighborhood had a new member. A beautiful chow had taken up residence, sleeping in bushes and eating out of garbage cans. As we talked to the neighbors, the story filled out. Apparently, the chow had been living in the neighborhood for almost 2 weeks. Apparently, someone had driven into the development, and pushed her out of the car, before speeding away. 3 people saw her dropped off, but no one got the owner's license plate number. She would play with the neighborhood kids, and since she was so friendly, some of the people had taken to putting out food for her. She had a fear of adults though, and would run as soon as anyone came near. Two kids in the neighborhood had already taken the chow home, to see if they could keep him. As each parent said no, she was back on the street. We heard that the humane society had been called on her, and would be there in the morning.
Later that evening, the chow was sleeping across the street from our house. I went out with a leash and a box of doggie biscuits, wanting to make sure the dog was ok, and to see if she wanted a drink. Although she ran from me at first, patience and the doggie treats eventually lured her in, until she was eating out of my hand and letting me pet her. She was beautiful, but dirty, with a tagless, too-tight collar. Her fur was matted, and she had a bunch of brambles stuck in her coat, but she looked like she was well taken care of before she was abandoned. Her nails had been recently clipped, and she was so friendly once you got to know her.
I slipped the leash on her, and took her home. The kids were spending the night at their grandmothers, so I figured I'd give the chow a safe place to sleep before she was taken to the humane society the next day. Long story short? We fell in love with her overnight. We gave her a flea bath, and I cut her collar off, as well as the brambles out of her fur. She didn't touch anything in the house. No chewed shoes, no carried socks, nothing. The biggest shock was when she went to the door and barked once, the first noise she had made all night. She was already house trained! I took her for a walk, and I found out she also knew "Sit," "Stay," "heel," and "lie down." When we went to sleep, the dog laid down at the foot of the bed, and went to sleep with us.
When I woke up, I knew I wanted this dog. It turns out, my fiancee had the same thought, and woke me up trying to convince me to keep him. We talked to the person from the humane society when they came, and he checked out the dog. It turns out she is a 5 yr old spayed chow. Over the past week, we've been getting her checkups, her shots and her license. I named her Pygmalion, because she went from streetwalker to a princess, but since the kids are young, we all just call her Princess.
I don't know how to explain how amazing this dog is. She is everything we could have asked for. She's good when we aren't at home, she is great with the kids, in fact, great with all kids. All the neighborhood kids come around to see if they can pet Princess. Our kids are meeting lots of new friends. She doesn't snap, she doesn't bark, she doesn't have accidents, she doesn't jump, she only barks when she needs to go outside, and she sleeps on the foot of our bed and on the floor by us on the couch everynight. All she does is walk around the house with her tail held high. The only negative I can even think to say, is when walking her she will pull a bit if she sees a rabbit or a cat. She is the perfect dog for my family, and I am completely in love with my bear-lion, my Princess.
I have no idea how anyone could throw this dog out of a car like that. How do you go from loving an animal to throwing it away? All I can think is maybe her owner died, and no one could take the dog, so they just ditched her. Or maybe some one moved and couldn't take her with them. No matter what, I could never even imagine just abandoning any animal, let alone a beautiful friendly dog like Princess.
I'll be back with pictures of her after I look around a bit. As for now, I have to take my puppykins for her walkies.
Foster
Angel's "little" brother is a rescued Greyhound, Ripley. 
. I'm glad I was already on the happy side of the story!!