nicole Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 I am so excited I could burst! This weekend I am piling into the car with two of my lady friends, and my two pups, and we are driving to Columbus, Ohio to meet this handsome fellow, Achilles: http://www.measlesanimalhaven.org/loveabull.htm (his story is heartbreaking). Assuming everyone gets along, he will be coming home to live with us! I lived in Columbus for a bit when I was 18/19, so I'm excited to go back. People keep treating me like it's CRAZY to drive 8 hours to meet a DOG, but we're picking out someone to join our family and live with us for the next decade plus... it seems like that time is a small investment. Plus, he is a dog who really deserves a good home (they all do, but you know). We have one and we're willing to share! Now we just have to see if my current pups are as willing as my husband and I are. Anyway, think of me this weekend while I'm on the road! I do not like driving, but he's worth it. (Is it just me, or are at least half of my posts about my dogs? Yeah, I thought so, too.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Have a great time! That sounds really awesome and I hope everything works out well for your family. You are really super cool, and I think you do a lot of neat stuff. We don't mind your dog posts Keep em coming. More family pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 That's VERY exciting! 8 hours really isn't that long, especially a road trip with friends and family (your doggies). I hope everyone gets along... I checked out Achilles ~ he will be a lucky fellow to be part of your loving family =) much blessings =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigress Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 His story made me cry I hope you all get along and he gets a wonderful new family to live with. I look forward to updates. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbwii Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Hey...I run a Doberman rescue and take it from me...people like you are our dream guardians!!!!...there ain't many people like you left!!! so well done...I hope it all goes well..... Talk about traveling.... a person came down from Houston the other day to adopt one of my guys....they said that out of all the rescues they had been to none of the dobies seems at peace like the one she adopted from me so sometimes it's worth shopping around for what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finbarrio Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 He is gorgeous. You're so lucky he picked you to be his family! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 His story just broke my heart! But I'm hoping it will have a happy ending! It's amazing how forgiving animals can be after enduring so much hatefulness from "humans." Give him a big hug and a kiss from me when you meet him! Hope the drive home will be with a new family member! And speaking of animal rescues: Bigbwii, do you still have the kitten you rescued? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSiren Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 He's such a cutie! Unbelievable what he lived through! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 OMG - I got tears in my eyes reading his story. There are no words (at least not suitable for this forum) that can express......How did those a$$!@#s get him ?! This'll sound silly, but for wanting to give this little guy a home and love - I am honored to "know" someone like you nicole. Please keep us updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicole Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 Thanks everyone! You all are so sweet. I know, his story is horrible. I can't believe that he's still alive, let alone in good physical shape after what he's been through. He's only 11 months, so he must have really been a baby when all of those horrible things happened to him. It also says that he's afraid of "big men," so if Achilles comes home with us, my husband's job is to arm himself with treats for when they meet. I am really getting excited. I even talked to my mom, who has been wary of me having 3 dogs again, and she seems excited about Achilles coming to live with us. I also got an email today from Achilles' foster mom/the head of his rescue that said: "Btw, your vet called me back himself and he just raved about you and your husband being just great pet owners, so Achilles would be lucky to have you for his guardians! " That just made me so happy, especially because our vet office is about 10 doctors and they somehow always remember us and remember our dogs. Even when we're in with one dog, they ask how the other is doing. When I've been in with my dogs recently, they've told me how sorry they were to hear about Cornholio's passing (I posted about this in June). They're just the best. Bigbwii, I think you're right! Also, GO YOU for doing a "bad breed" specific rescue! All of my dogs are pit bulls (mixes - all rescues) and Achilles will fall right into line there. It's sometimes hard to overcome a breed's bad stereotypes, but me and my babies are trying! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honey Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Bigbwii, I think you're right! Also, GO YOU for doing a "bad breed" specific rescue! All of my dogs are pit bulls (mixes - all rescues) and Achilles will fall right into line there. It's sometimes hard to overcome a breed's bad stereotypes, but me and my babies are trying! UGH, I get all flustered when people/media diss specific dog breeds. Like a child, if a dog is not abused, neglected, exploited... but raised properly in a loving environment, none of these bad breed stereotypes would be so rampant! Nicole, definitely keep us updated ~ all the best!!! http://static.flickr.com/88/247590652_71208207d3_m.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbwii Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Thanks....Nicole... Where I live we have a lot of idiots with pits and we even get a couple in our back yard...and they always seem to be either starving or dying of thirst....once I feed em and give em something ta drink were best friends...the pits I've met seem really sweet! As for Dobies they are just big kids at heart....I was attacked by two of them when I was a kid because I went into the same playing area as them and the owner was letting them run loose...I think that if owners don't breed/raise them right then it's a recipe for disaster! Anyway I'm sure you'll be taking your buddy home.....go for a good hike with him from me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicole Posted September 19, 2006 Author Share Posted September 19, 2006 UGH, I get all flustered when people/media diss specific dog breeds. Like a child, if a dog is not abused, neglected, exploited... but raised properly in a loving environment, none of these bad breed stereotypes would be so rampant! ME TOO. I live in I guess what could be considered a lower-middle class/working class area and I can't tell you how many people have asked if I'm going to breed my (RESCUE!) dogs, or if I'm going to "make them mean", etc etc. It's disheartening, but I try to take those opportunities to educate people at least a little bit about responsible breeding, etc. I mean, I love my dogs a LOT, but you can get probably 100 dogs who look just like them at shelters in the city of Philadelphia and most of them are doomed! Breeding more is just crazy. Early spring around here is like "pit bull season" where everyone's out walking their shiny new backyard bred pittie pups that I never see again after summer is over. I will definitely post pictures when I return. One of my friends who is coming is a photographer, so I'm going to ask her to bring her camera! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 It also says that he's afraid of "big men," so if Achilles comes home with us, my husband's job is to arm himself with treats for when they meet. He can also try to be as 'small' as possible, maybe sitting (even on the floor) instead of standing, when they meet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigress Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 Pitbulls are unfortunately one of the banned breeds over here because of the ridiculous dangerous dogs act I have a staffordshire bull terrier, they too have a bad press and are used by all the wrong types as a status symbol and are one of the highest number of breeds who end up abused and in rescue. It breaks my heart because they too, like the pitbull and any other breed of dog, if raised correctly have a wonderful temperament. I wouldn't trade mine for the world. She really is the sunshine in my universe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I definately don't like the idea of banning breeds but at the same time if all breeding was illegalized immediately...people who wanted dogs would have to adopt which would be great...this would also leave less animals to be treated inhumanely if we stopped breeding them altogether. But this is the real world and nothing like that will ever happen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicole Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 I definately don't like the idea of banning breeds but at the same time if all breeding was illegalized immediately...people who wanted dogs would have to adopt which would be great...this would also leave less animals to be treated inhumanely if we stopped breeding them altogether. But this is the real world and nothing like that will ever happen The problem is actually irresponsible breeding. I think there should definitely be licesnses to breed dogs. There are too many as it is and I can at least sort of appreciate the cause of keeping the integrity of different breeds through testing, conformation, etc and breeding SOLID examples of the breed, not just any unaltered dog you happen to have chained up in your backyard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 The thing is...every single dog bred on purpose represents a dog that will be euthanized...if no breeds exhisted people wouldn't be so picky and they'd go to the shelter and pick by personality. Integrity of breeds is kinda a cruel term too me...much like integrity of race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pelicanAndrew Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Hey...I run a Doberman rescue and take it from me...people like you are our dream guardians!!!!...there ain't many people like you left!!! so well done...I hope it all goes well..... Talk about traveling.... a person came down from Houston the other day to adopt one of my guys....they said that out of all the rescues they had been to none of the dobies seems at peace like the one she adopted from me so sometimes it's worth shopping around for what you want. Oh wo that's cool Bigbwii, I love Doberman's!! My teacher trains them as working dogs and i really want to take care of one when i get my own place. Right now one of my classes trains dogs at an animal shelter. It's really cool. I love my dog, old golden retriever, but at the same time i hope someone picks him up and gives him a home. There are lots of pitbulls there due to the fact that Decatur is a poor area and lots of dog fights take place because of that. They actually broke up a HUGE dog fighting ring a few weeks ago and saved some of the puppies. We're training them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xChrisZx Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I think it is absolutely amazing that people are proud to have the "bad" breeds. Whenever I talk to people about dogs and I mention mine they get a little scared. My baby is a Lab, Chow, Rott, Pitbull mix and she is the sweetest dog I could ever ask for. Eventually when the wife and I are a little bit more finacially stable I would like to get a pitbull just so I can raise it to be the biggest, sweetest dog ever. When Diamond was a puppy before we brought her home...http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/xChrisZx/Puppy/PB230019.jpg Diamond a couple of months ago...http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y194/xChrisZx/DIAMOND001.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbwii Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 The thing is...every single dog bred on purpose represents a dog that will be euthanized...if no breeds exhisted people wouldn't be so picky and they'd go to the shelter and pick by personality. Integrity of breeds is kinda a cruel term too me...much like integrity of race I can see where your coming from but it's not entirely the case.... I'll use myself as an example...I've always been a working breed man and there's also not a lot of dogs that fit my personality..Dobies/Malamutes are the only ones to fit me perfect...but finding them in the shelters can be a hard task....and the ones you may find either do not represent the breed well due to backyard breeding or are not very emotionally stable due to stress....I have to rehab a lot of dogs from shelters because they get so stressed/sick in there.... So that's one reason why people will breed there own dog.... The reason why a lot of dogs end up in the shelter is because of bad gaurdianship....some people see dogs as disposable and some just fall on hard times. But yes I do agree with you guys in part and there are back yard breeders that only want the money and there are bad gaurdians and unfortunatly there are also a huge amount of dogs in shelters that we can't keep up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathryn Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 My baby is a Lab, Chow, Rott, Pitbull mix and she is the sweetest dog I could ever ask for. So, one with a good rep.One with a mixed rep.And two with bad reps! She is adorable! I agree that the problem isn't the dogs, it's the people who raise them to be mean. Any dog can go either way, perhaps some more easily than others. I know that some cities have an automatic euthanize policy for pit bulls. I think it's the 'owners' who should be euthanized in most cases. At our shelter, there have been pits or other bad-rep breeds that come in from time to time. Usually, there's a scumbag or two wanting to adopt them, but they quickly lose interest when the shelter says the dogs have to be spayed/neutered before adoption. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crash Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Diamond is adorable ! I agree the problem is definitely the people/ guardians that teach dogs to be aggressive and hostile. It's just like people, if someone has a pre-disposition to be violent and is not taught that being violent is wrong and they have to be violent to survive -- guess what's going to happen ? Having said that, I still wish I could adopt all the animals in all the shelters and give them a safe and happy home, regardless of their breed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigbwii Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Here's our latest rescue... http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/Ava120-2.jpg Here's my big fella!http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a84/Bigbwii/ava550712fl.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Back yard breeders are definately in it for the money but so are the "good" breeders"...maybe thats not all they care about but they are still profitting off of animals. And these are animals being raised to live for our gain...surely we should take care of all we can but I don't think any more animals should be created for us to be entertained...its not their job to live for us which is what they are doing if you pay for a dog...as for finding breeds I saw tons of pinchers at the SPCA in philly when I worked there...lots of akitas and pretty much whatever you could think of other than Pits since unfortunately the city doesn't allow adoption of pits. I even saw two sharpees which was a suprise...most other breeds come in pretty regularly though...never ever a shortage. I think it all depends on your area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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