Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Yordi

One day last January, I saw a picture of a little dog on Petfinder named Yordi. He was a adorable Yorkie mix in a kill shelter in rural Arkansas. He had three days to live. The shelter had labeled him as "not friendly to children" and "not housebroken".  I realized when I looked at his picture that this little guy had nothing - no friends, no freedom, and, with those labels, no hope. If I didn't help him, no one would and he would be killed.


I called the shelter and they agreed to give Yordi another week in exchange for a donation. We sent dozens of emails to various rescues offering to make a donation if they would take him. Finally, a wonderful group, the New Beginnings Shih Tzu Rescue http://www.nbstr.org/
agreed to help. They pulled him from the shelter, got him checked out medically and neutered him.

A very patient and loving woman took him into her house and fostered him along with 5 other dogs for six months. This picture is Yordi in his foster home. 













Finally, they found a family to adopt him! 

This picture of Yordi  is the end goal of rescue - save them from the kill shelter, foster them temporarily and then find them a good home for the rest of their lives! 

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Stoner

Stoner is shy, sweet ghost in our neighborhood.  He is an Akbash dog, a type of Great Pyrenees with short hair.  He is very large, about 110 pounds and 30 inches at the shoulder.  He has been a stray dog for at least 6 years.  We and lots of our neighbors feed him, but he won't let anyone touch him.  Animal control has tried to catch him, but without success.
Stoner lives in an area between two neighborhoods, which are separated by some woods and a couple of holes of a golf course.  He is very shy, but also not aggressive with people or dogs.  We have a lot of coyotes in our area and he occasionally has some wounds that indicate he has had some fights with them.

We have tried for years to adopt him, but he is very shy.  He will eat out of your hand - but you can't touch him.

Akbash dogs are very independent and bred to live outdoors as livestock guardians.  So Stoner is OK outside, but we all worry about him.  Anyway, he survives and has life his own way.  He is lucky to have many people concerned about him who are eager to feed him.

Stoner is the inspiration for the Doomed Dogs Rescue Club - we can't adopt him, but we can help some of the dogs in kill shelters that will be killed unless someone intervenes and finds them homes.


Stoner has his own Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=141787122285