Berkley & Merlin & Jeff

[wallacethegreat]

So, two wonderful rescue stories in less than two weeks, thanks to Jeff and crazy people like me and Christine who are willing to fly them over the miles at great expense just to save them. For whatever "issues" some of you may have about Jeff, I don't see some of you who complain about him stepping up to the plate to do what HE'S done for these two Chows and their new families. It is an extremely labor-intensive and expensive task to do what Jeff does on his end. Two Chows literally owe their lives to his selfless involvement.
There are, however, plenty of us here on this forum who DO actively work in rescue and see the worst of it. Many of us do transport, provide foster homes, at the cost of stressing out our OWN dogs in the process. I do believe in karma for all of us who save these critters no matter what it costs us.
These two guys, Berkley and Merlin, have been saved by the grace of the Creator and the human beings who tenaciously worked those situations to a successful conclusion.
It doesn't get any better than this for throwaway Chows.
Laura Mac, Berkley's new mama and to Oliver Wallace who smiles from above because Berkley is now here, safe and loved

[sit_by_the_beach]

Good post.

[CoraP.]

I agree, Laura. Like John Denver once said," If everybody does a little, whatever they can ,"we can change things for these dogs.

[MickChick]

I couldn't agree more with what you've posted, Laura. My hat goes off to all of you. 4 of the 5 dogs I have had as an adult have been rescues - one was from an established breeder, but that was back in ... 1975 ... If I had known then what I know now about abandoned puppies and dogs, I wouldn't have bought him, though he was one of the loves of my life after I got him.

I"m learning so much from reading this board. I'm not doing nearly as much as a lot of you are, but I am doing what little I can, and I am so happy that I found Brandy on Petfinder and that Second Chance Rescue had had her pulled from the Broward County, FL., shelter, and kept her for the 7 months it took me to find her and get her! Now I preach rescue, rescue, rescue to everyone I know who is even thinking about getting a dog. I'm happy to say that two of my friends have rescued boxers, my brother has a chow mix from the shelter in Chicago, and one of my other friends has a miniature schnauzer rescue and fosters other miniature schnauzers. I can't take the credit for that - they all did it on their own - but I'm glad that I'm surrounded by people that care! I'm trying to educate more and more about chows and how quickly they are put down. I had never run into the prejudice against chows and had absolutely no idea!

Cecelia

[Laura]

Jeff puts his money and his time and his own effort where his mouth is. You can't ask for more then that! It isn't always just about the adopters...it's about the people who put the word out, pull the dog, vet the dog, foster, arrange transport...there are alot of things that go into this and often times it takes two or four or eight to pull it all together. It's a team effort. Jeff, Katie, and Laura

[wallacethegreat]

My post was for EVERYONE who's ever rescued a dog of ANY breed, and in particular our poor little Chows. It amazes me how little people really know about them and how bad their reputation has become. I mean, they're not pit bulls! (Although pits have probably the WORST reputation and most are real sweeties!)
What I find most horrifying is that the purebred Chows are usually euthanized within 36 hours of arrival at a shelter. The mixes have a better chance!
All of these wonderful, incredibly loving creatures going to the killing room through no fault of their own, but rather crappy owners who just don't care or who don't consider their Chow a member of the family worthy of even the slightest sacrifice.
I see Chows dumped because of the foreclosure issue; I see Chows dumped because some woman gets pregnant (I have a silent rage about those people. Did they not anticipate getting pregnant? The Chow was only a surrogate baby until the real thing happened, then was tossed out? Thanks for the loyalty. The one who posted last week or whenever who already had a 6-year old kid, and was 4-5 months pregnant when she and her husband bought a Chow pup anyway...only to say she wanted to "get rid of him" as soon as possible...she couldn't stand the hair!!!!. I see them hauled off to the kill-shelters because they (and I LOVE this one) just need more attention than the owner can give. Holy crap. These are the kind of people who do not deserve to have ANY animals...I don't care if it's a gerbil...ever. And, there is a place in hell for all of them.
After being in TV news for 35 years, I have moved 21 times. I have always had dogs and wouldn't even consider LOOKING at a place that didn't allow them. I have never had to give up my dog(s) because I had to move. To many people, dogs just become an inconvenience. Can you imagine if people did that with their children?
It is these people we all end up cleaning up after.
The breeders need to stop flooding the marketplace with more Chows than the market can handle. We KNOW what happens to the throwaways. Most of us have at least ONE. We also know that not every Chow is headed for Westminster, regardless of what the breeders say. Sorry, Red Dragon...planning on TWO litters this year?
If everybody who really wanted a Chow took one from a shelter or rescue, we'd actually make a serious dent in the problem of homeless, unwanted Chows. But as long as breeders continue to think they have something superior to offer and have a good sales pitch, we'll have to keep a vigilant watch on the shelters' websites and try to pull every single one that no one else wants.
I applaud ANYBODY who takes in a rescued dog, or cat. If it weren't for all of us, there are a good many more Chows who would lie on the killing floor.
Here's to all of you who have given a misunderstood Chow, or ANY unwanted dog, a home! You are golden!
Laura Mac, Berkley's mama and to Oliver Wallace, the free cardboard box Chow pup

[chris]

Damn... where is Auddy when you need her? There are to many L O N G words in this post.. pls convert.

[Jeff&Peks]

Damn... where is Auddy when you need her? There are to many L O N G words in this post.. pls convert.

Maybe Auddymay is off looking up the word "the" for you.

[chris]

I concur, but she already looked that one up for me.

[wallacethegreat]

Long words? Bless your heart...

[fillyok]

I can translate this last post for you Chris. "Bless your heart" is Southern talk for "you're not too smart, are you".

[Jeff&Peks]

I can translate this last post for you Chris. "Bless your heart" is Southern talk for "you're not too smart, are you".

On the West Coast "Bless your heart" is translated "Its Ok you must be blonde"

[chris]

OMG.. Im laughing so hard....