ChowChow.org

Hey everyone!
I have not been on here in months.. since I came back from asia it's been chaotic. n the bright side, Gabbana is good and has happily made mom love her.. no suprise there..

But, I wasn't particularly looking for another Chow but i sometimes check the animal services sites and other rescues we have around town (not many) to see if there ever was a chow on it, which i would definitely consider fostering or adopting.. mainly so they wouldn't get put down. There has been no chows on it for 2 years now because they are a rare breed in Alberta anyways.. so 4 days ago I go and look and there is a chow... they didn't know how old he was, from the pictures he was a red boy with badly matted fur. So because he was "lost" they hold them for 4 days if they don't have tags, and 10 days if they do have tags to be claimed by their owner, if they aren't claimed they get a health assesment and a behaviour assesment. So 4 days have passed and the boy was still on the site, so i decided to go down to the shelter and see what his story is and if they could give me more information.
When i got to the shelter i found out that they don't know if he was tags because he is so vicious. They had to use 2 of those catching hooks to get him and noone has been able to get close enough to him to even check if he has tags. His deadline is tomorrow . They have a vet coming in to see if the vet could handle him and if so, then they'll check for tags and maybe find an owner, but if not he's not adoptable.

Im so saddened by this!!!! I was ready to take him if he wasn't claimed... how can people do this.. i really hate people.... put down the owner and not the dog.. this is ridiculous...
Sorry.. I had to vent.. noone else understands...

Olga

Did you tell them if the Chow isn't tagged and there is no owner you want the Chow? I went through that with Onyx and Berkley there was no way they were going to give me Onyx so I fought them all the way and called enough people they had to turn them over. Berkley wasn't to bad but Onyx was hell getting her out it became a personal thing between me and the shelter director but there was no way in hell I was going to lose I drove those people nuts.. All 3 Chows, Onyx, Berkley and Merlin had Caution signs on their cages and red tagged for death apparently they didn't pass the temperament test, Merlin was a Puppy. No Chow is going to make it through that temperament test. The morale is if you complain enough you might to able to get the Chow. The way I see it is no power happy minimum wage shelter worker is going to tell me I can't adopt a Chow, thier job is to adopt them out not have a personal hatred for a breed.

I agree with Jeff. Did you actually get to go up to the cage he was in and see him? I know 100% that they would mark Holden aggressive. And he's not, he just wouldn't want strangers messing with him so he'd give them his best GRRR and show his teeth . Maybe you could foster him?

WELCOME HOME Olga!!!! Have been thinkin' about you alot and its nice to know your back & Gabbana made you love her....no SURPRISE there!!!! Can't wait to hear about your trip!!!
I'm sorry to hear about this boy.....maybe you can try Jeff's suggestions. Hey, maybe you can INSIST to see him in Asian I would be persistant thats for sure, and after checking for 2 yrs. perhaps thats why he's there....for you to rescue......Good Luck, I hope you can do some good for the poor scared boy....sucks that Chows are soooo misunderstood and even a scared GRRRR marks them as aggressive Let us know what you find out ok??

Welcome back and of course your Mom loves Gabbana, how could she not?

Did you offer to foster or adopt the chow? Are you willing to work with this boy? IMO, It is a rare chow that can't be brought around with sufficient time, patience, soft voices, a calm environment and good food. And you will be rewarded with love and loyalty that exceeds anything you can imagine. All while earning a special place in heaven for caring for one of god's creatures when they needed it most.

You can also try contacting a rescue to see if they can pull him but be warned that if you want to adopt him you may have to pay the rescues fee. You would also probably have to offer to foster him too. The shelters here will let rescues pull the "unadoptable" animals because the rescues are supposed to work on them to fix their issues or require that whoever they adopt them out to fix their issues. Very few chows will pass the shelter temperment tests. Chows are loyal and are wary of people who are afraid which most shelters seem to be. Were you able to go in and see for yourself how "vicious" he is? I would go there with some treats and see for myself if I were you.

My Teddie was listed as vicious and he had mostly F's and I think 1 D on the temperment test. He is very goofy but not at all vicious. Out of all the chows I have fostered I would label Teddie as least "vicious". The shelter would only get as close to him as they could with their catch pole and they had him labeled as a 5 year old female. He was a 6 month old unneutered male. I will have to say that after hearing what the shelter had to say about him I was a little scared to foster him but as soon as I saw him he ran up to me licking my hand and wiggling all over. He wasn't at all vicious or even aloof like the other chows.

Princess wrote: There has been no chows on it for 2 years now because they are a rare breed in Alberta anyways.. so 4 days ago I go and look and there is a chow... they didn't know how old he was, from the pictures he was a red boy with badly matted fur.

Wow does this make me feel horrible. If there hasn't been one in the pound for a couple years, and its a male, reddish in color, and looks approx 14-18 months old, I think it could be a sibling to my chewy :'( Even if it's not, it still makes a person sad.

Yep, I forgot to mention that part, try to get a rescue to back you up and call the shelter when they say not adoptable they might mean Rescue only, thats the usual trick they use with Chows.

I hope you get to at least see him for yourself.you would be able to evaluate him better than the shelter.
best of luck

http://www.chowwelfare.com/cciw/sheltereval.htm
Print this out and take it with you to the shelter, there is even a hotline number that they can call for help evaluating a chow's temperament.

Doesn't this belong in the Chows needing a home section? You moderators move everything else around, why aren't you moving this?

Why, thank you alert citizen, that's very helpful.

Just doing my job as a citizen of this community. Wouldn't want anyone to be shown any favoritism around here.

Apparently you didnt read the post...she's talking about a Chow she's trying to GET...not a chow that she found to post on here to get adopted.

If you read carefully, you will see that the chow already has a home, if only the shelter will release him to Olga. Is there some way you can help with this, Sam?

Sounds to me like the Chow still needs a home if it's still in the shelter? You would have to PM Jeff or Shaun about getting help with a shelter, they are the shelter gurus.

ciaobella wrote:If you read carefully, you will see that the chow already has a home, if only the shelter will release him to Olga. Is there some way you can help with this, Sam?

*Laugh* When has he ever helped a Chow in need? And btw Sam, my name is spelled Sean,tyvm.

Olga-you need to go up there with a bag of Dogswell treats and make nice with this Chow. If you really want this Chow then let nothing stop you. But you will have to make your own assessment and keep in mind that it could take a while to get this one right again. It might not be easy but that is what separates "dog owners" from Chow lovers. I would not waste any time with the shelter workers either in trying to change their minds about Chows or this Chow. Good Luck.

Hey Guys...

I have not been able to find one rescue in this area. There is just the animal and by-law services which catch the lost dogs and then a humane society, other animal rescues around here are the ones that deal with dogs from the Native reserves (boy do they have their hands full). We are pretty small compared to most given areas in US.. and I would consider us in Calgary here pretty good for people not "throwing" their dogs away.. the shelters are always pretty empty.

Anyhow, I did want to see him but I was unable to because technically as of yesterday he was considered as "someones pet".. and today he is no longer on the site . Unfortunately this is the City run shelter and they don't bend their rules because they are supposed to care for their employees safety, mine and the general population. Well that was one of the speeches they provided anyways.
When I went to talk to the lady at the front she said he is in no way he would be adoptable or even available for fostering unless they pass the assesment if he is not found, but since noone has been able to even get to him to check if he had tags the prognosis looked grim even if I was willing to deal with his temparement. I`m sure it was partially that i`m a 23 year old inquiring about a `vicious` animal that they wouldn`t even give me a second thought. Jeff on the other hand especially with more experience, they may have given it a second though. I will admit that I was not prepared for them to deal with him as fast as they did, not well thought out plan... but i would have tried to make it work. I just needed him to be other dog friendly (can`t put Gabbana at risk, and she can`t defend herself.. I`m starting to wonder if there is any chow in her) and rest i would have dealt with day by day the best i could.
Hind sight is 20 20... this is just sad, it kills me that he wasn`t loved when he was put to sleep.. and previous owners, what a disgrace.. I`m just sad that it didn`t work out for him especially when they are so rare here

Its not your fault, shelters are shelters and the people working in them are a special breed all you can do is say you tried your best and move on to the next. Don't worry it gets eisier after a while. Your probably better of not seeing him.

Are you sure they put him down or maybe the owner turned up? I never believe the shelters anyway when they say a Chow has been adopted or the owners showed up so it dosn't matter.

I can only hope that the owners showed up.... But four days later I don`t know if they would... I mean if Gabbana ran away I would be at the shelter every hour or at least on their site because they update it several times a day (they are good about that at least) as would any other owner that had any concern for their family member. I will keep hoping that his owner showed up... for my sanity sake.

I hope there will never be a chow on any sites around here.. but if there is, I will be more prepared with a better (meaner or more persistent) plan to get them out. Well waiting for a chow to save again.

Thank you everyone for suggestions and opinions.

Olga

Princess wrote: I have not been able to find one rescue in this area.

Welcome back, Olga. Maybe PM member Roxana. She's from Alberta but near the Edmonton area. She had to get a rescue to vouch for her before the rescue here in California would approve and release Neelaa to her for adoption. Maybe she can provide you with a name of a rescue that can put a hold on the chow and request you be their representative to be there for the behavior tests.

great idea lou.

Yes this is sooooo sad. I've never understood the concept of..''hey, this dog/cat situation isn't working out, I'll just get rid of it..." My gosh, I know Leroy has feelings...geniune. One time he accidently took a crap in my truck, it was awful too. We were going camping, and I had just walked him. Looking back, I think he had an upset stomach. Anyways, while I was cleaning the back, I'll never forget the look of embarrasement and shame he had in his eyes while I cleaned it up. I felt soooooo bad for him that night.

My heart breaks for these dogs. If I were rich, I would have a chow chow hotel in every major city. With trainers who would help them become adoptable. Maybe a crash course for the new owners too lol

That is a good idea.. I should message Roxana!!!

I'm also going to work my google skills also to find rescues around here and call them up. Do they have to be specifically chow? Or preference for "dangeous dog breeds" or something like that?