[Sue F]

CROSSPOSTING ONLY …. PLEASE CONTACT Kathy Cole at [email protected] for more info.

She a F/S, 5 year-old GSD. On August 9th 2007, she was updated on Bordetella, had a 3 year DHPP and a fecal. Also had a heartworm test that was negative. Is on flea, tick and heartworm preventative. Her 10 rabies quarantine is up tomorrow (Sunday) I know the owner would hold off as long as she could to try to place her in a good home. I don't know how long she could pay to board her. She should be the only dog and the new owner should use caution around other dogs. I think she would make a great ladies dog. Duchess has been around the owner and her 2 daughters since she was 10 weeks old. She seems to be protective of the owner (my thoughts only) I can fax you the history on her and I am sure the owner would talk to you about her. I would say the level of urgency is very high.

From what I understand, the owner's husband will not let her bring Duchess home. Owner would not take her to animal control. She has also been e-mailing friends and family to try to find her another home. I am not sure if the neighbor's have anything to do with that decision or not.

Here are a couple of photos of Duchess the GSD I e-mailed you about. I spoke to her owner about what happened. She said that Duchess was in her yard, they have an invisible fence. The next door neighbor's son let their dog out off leash and she ran into their yard. Duchess grabbed the smaller dog. The dog was taken to CVS and is recovering as far as the owner knows. Duchess did not bite the owner, the smaller dog did. She weights 75 pounds, is 5 years old. Up to date on all vaccines and is on flea and heartworm medicine. Loves children and has been with this family since she was 10 weeks old. She is black and tan. I have a copy of her medical history, if anyone is interested. She is at Grace Animal Hospital. They can call me at 704-616-4743. Thanks Sue with any help you can give Duchess. Kathy Cole

 

[Myamom]

Re: NC, Gastonia URGENT!!! Duchess

Poor girl...not her fault...this is why I hate those electric fences.....

 

[Karin]

Re: NC, Gastonia URGENT!!! Duchess

What a pretty girl. She looks so sweet. I hope she can find a home.

 

[Sue F]

Re: NC, Gastonia URGENT!!! Duchess

I just got an email that Duchess's family is on their way to the vet to have her PTS. They have not found Duchess a home yet, ,and the little dog died on Friday.

RIP sweet Duchess.....sorry you are paying for protecting your property as you were taught.

 

[moei]

Re: NC, Gastonia URGENT!!! Duchess

OH NO!!!!

I am sorry Duchess!

 

[Sue F]

Duchess is still alive!

Great news! Our begging for more time worked!!!

Sue, The owners are going to give her some more time. How much I won't know until I go to work tomorrow. I am going to guess at least 3-5 days. Will let you know if that changes.

Kathy

We need to find Duchess a home!!!!!

 

[Myamom]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Great!!

PLEASE cross post for her!!!!!!! She doesn't deserve to die!

 

[Sue F]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

I have crossposted to everyone I know...no responses.

 

[Myamom]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Shouldn't this be in urgent? She is on borrowed time...and will die in days.....

 

[ebrannan]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Good morning. First, let me say, Sue, your dedication to the breed is wonderful. However, I do worry that you will burn yourself out. The last three dogs you have posted to the board have been dogs with a kill history. Heck, it is hard enough if not impossible for a dog with a bite history to get into rescue ...
There are way too many unanswered questions about this dog, which need to be answered along with the cross-posting. You need to include as much info as possible ... if you don't have it, then try to get it. I would just hate to see the day when you are advocating for a GSD without a bite history and no one looks at your e-mails because of the past dogs you have been fighting so hard for. Here are some questions, which could be answered, along with your cross-posting.
1. Why is it better that this dog go to a home with women. You stated the dog had been with the family since she was 10-weeks old. Sure, most GSDs have a preferred family member, however, the dog should accept all family members as her own.
2. Did the dogs know each other? Did they have a history ... good or bad?
3. How did the neighbor's dog enter the property? Was it in a menacing manner or playful? It shouldn't be a death sentence just because a dog enters a GSD's property. I think it depends on the circumstances, and I think a GSD with strong nerves should be able to tell the difference.
4. And finally, again, this dog needs and should be evaluated by a professional. Just because the family opted to put her in boarding, doesn't mean that she can or should be saved.
We all love our breed. And with that love, sometimes the hard decisions have to be made. Heck, I bet if I counted the NC dogs on the board right now, WITHOUT a bite history, which aren't getting half the cross-posting, it would just break my heart.
Rescues have just so many resources, most animal sanctuaries are full to the brim and these are mainly animals with no bad past.
You have to stand back for a moment and say, "what if?" What if the child who let the his/her dog out without lead ended up in the middle of the fight. What if one of the little girls tried to stop her doggie from hurting the dog.
I truly don't feel letting the owner continue to have, what is mainly a false hope, is right. You already stated that she [the owner] was torn up about this.
Well, give her some solid advise to help her, help her dog. Tell her to find an evaluator. Find out more history. Find out who the dog's breeder was, if it wasn't a BYB and get a feel for his/her lines.
And finally, and I will probably be thrown over the coals for saying this ... but those on the board who say, "Oh poor dog, she doesn't deserve this ... thanks for continuing to try to save her, etc." I don't feel you are truly helping Sue learn more about rescue.
The bottom line is no dog deserves to die, including the neighbor's dog, which came onto the property. However, until the day comes when people stop treating their animals like yesterday's news; until the day comes when it is second nature for people to spay/neuter their pets; until the day comes when their are no more millers and BYBs breeding dogs, which should never have been bred and are breeding animals with weak nerves, then the rough decisions will continue to have to be made. The best we can do for the dog world and human world is educate, educate, educate and continue to help the dogs that can reasonably live with us in today's society. Face it, the invisible fence isn't going away anytime soon, nor are the owners, whether by accident or on purpose, who let their dog off lead, and the little fuzz buckets are here to stay also, as well they should be.
Just my four cents on a Tuesday morn.

 

[Sue F]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Liz...

I am not the contact person for this dog...merely trying to help another person crosspost and help the dog...

I appreciate your viewpoint....and I want you to know that I HAVE given the advocate the advice you gave.

When I was asked last night by the advocate if she should beg for more time...I told her it was no guarantee of hope for this dog, given the history..was more time always an outside chance? Sure...but was it any assurance of a chance for rescue...no.

If anyone wants to investigate this dog, the info is all there...the vet's office info, and the contact info for the advocate who is trying to help the family.

I hesitated in posting Duchess, but then I realized that if I didn't post it, I wasn't giving her ANY chance at all...and isn't it better to try and fail then not have tried on the dog's behalf at all???

If someone wants to not look at a dog I posted because I happened to have posted a few dogs with a bite history, then so be it....but that is pretty lame in my opinion....I have also helped several dogs with a wonderful temperment...and there are currently two great little puppies in NY that can attest to that...

I am trying to help post the local dogs in my area...some with a history, some without....

I certainly hope that the day that someone's dog here accidentally maims or hurts another dog protecting their own property (as we want them to) we don't turn our back on trying to help that owner because the little dog lost the fight, due to a size difference.

Trust me, if you don't think that I have not been raked over the coals already, I have. I have gotten the most mean spirited emails and letters because of Thor and Lucy.....and I have already backed off significantly because of it. So thank you for the education.

Sue

 

[LandosMom]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Liz,

You are not being fair to Sue or Duchess. Yes, there are alot of dogs in shelters without bite histories because they mostly *have no histories*. Sue has been posting dogs in trouble and laying out their histories as clearly as she is able. She does not own the dog but is just trying to find help for her.

LandosMom

 

[ebrannan]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Great, fair enough Sue. I'm glad that you explained to the dog's advocate that chances of rescue are very slim.
However, truthfully, I do NOT want my dog protecting my property. In fact, I have done everything possible to socialize my G, to make him not want to protect my property. I know, that if the time ever came (hopefully, it never will) he would defend any and all of us, including all his four-legged family. However, I continue to do everything in my power to make him accept any human and canine/feline, which comes into my home or on the property. IMO, this is the way it should be. I am always cautious, I never take the social skills of my GSDs for granted, and I also have my property physically fenced in.
This constant work is what allows me to be able to foster. It would be pretty tough if my GSD ever "maimed or hurt" one of my fosters, right?
And truthfully, two of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my life was walk away from a shelter GSD at different times, when they didn't pass evaluation. However, there are more things to consider than the dog. There are trusting people who turn to a rescue to get their next family member and they are trusting me to make the right decision. This circle of saving a life has to be made complete by considering the humans also.
These two dogs broke my heart, one was a fear biter and one attacked the kennel fencing every time someone walked by. She was okay out of the kennel, but how would that relate to every day life? Would she try to attack her owners because she was in a crate? Would she try to attack anything on the other side of the fence? She was also a dog, which constantly watched you through her peripheral vision when she was out of the kennel. I even asked for another volunteer to go and eval also. He walked away with the same decision, "no."
We were her last hope and she went to heaven the next day. I didn't try to cross-post her. I let the circle be complete with another dog being able to be rescued, one which had nothing but wags and wiggles. I owe the dogs and the humans that are counting on me to make the right and logical decision.
Sometimes it is heartbreaking.
and isn't it better to try and fail then not have tried on the dog's behalf at all??? Sometimes, no it isn't. Depending on the circumstances, I truly believe the other dog had just as much of a right to live as she does.
Okay, enough, we could go on all day. I'm sorry for the bothering e-mails you received, but I am glad to hear that you are learning more from some of the wonderful people on this board. Heck, there are so many things to learn in life ... I hope I never stop until the day comes when I too join the ones who left before me and went to the wonders of the bridge — both human and animals!

 

[Sue F]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

I appreciate what you are saying, however you have NOT evaluated Duchess, so to say it was inappropriate to post her is just not fair.

And I pleasantly disagree with you..I want my dogs to alert me and be concerned with anyone and anything on my property...then I will decide as Alpha if they are going to continue to be concerned...that is my job. A fence doesn't protect me from the bad guys, and neither do my dogs...but they do a darn nice job of letting me know if someone is coming on my property or in my house, and they should!

I do hate that the little dog died, but should another dog die for it? Not necessarily.

Duchess has shown no aggression with other dogs...she is doing great at the vet's office...so she is not a known fear biter, she is not causing issues....she had one problem, and due to a size difference, there was an unfortunate outcome.

That doesn't necessarily make her unadoptable.....if she was demonstrating consistent aggressive behavior, then I would agree...but in all three cases, the dogs were not found to be aggressive at all...it was a situational issue. That was NOT their faults.

I agree, some need not be saved, it is not safe for future owners....but some deserve a second chance.

And to think I wasn't even going to post Duchess...because I didn't want the hassle it might cause....guess I did it to myself.

 

[ebrannan]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Have a good morning Sue. No more posts from me. I never said, "inappropriate."
I'm glad you just posted the new info about her, perhaps that will help her.
I never said she was a fear biter. That was talking about an eval, which I had done in the past.
And, I wish no dog has to die for anything. I hope she can find a home where she will have an experienced owner, and this owner will be able to guarantee that the circumstance can never be repeated for another dog to lose his/her life.
And finally, I truly am sorry you felt I "hassled" you. That was not my intent.
Best wished for you and for Duchess' advocate, family and of course, her.

 

[skyizzy]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Thank-You Sue for everything you do. Duchess deserves a chance like any other dog.

 

[Myamom]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

I don't see where it said she must go to a woman only household. From what I'm reading it says...she would make a great ladies dog (posters opinion)...probably based on the attachment this dog must have for the woman. It does not say she doesn't like men, children, etc...and obviously she must be fine if she has lived with a man and children her whole life.

I hate these electric fences...especially when a dog is not supervised...it's setting them up for a tragedy. Anything can come into THEIR property. Quite honestly...I could not say this wouldn't happen with my own dogs (who are good with other dogs). A dog charging into their property can be perceived as a threat...

Sue, keep up the good work. I too could not at least try. I think everyone here knows...that if they are going to consider helping a dog...they will proceed to the next step...and get an eval. I don't think it's Sue's responsibility (who is only cross posting btw) to set that up before she posts the dog. Time is of the essence. Many dogs we have posted here have not been fully eval'd (or eval'd by someone we know and trust)...and thus if we are going to rescue them...we try to set up an eval as the next step. Sue took the first step..which was to get the word out there of this dog needing help. If anyone can consider helping...a more extensive eval can be arranged.

 

[Sue F]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Thanks MaryAnn....Kathy is more than open to doing what she can do to help the family with Duchess....I agree....she deserves consideration.

 

[CindyM]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

I personally would not believe a word out of a person's mouth after they turned their beloved family dog into a kill shelter.

I have personally experienced two seperate GSDs that had supposed bite histories and could not get either one to even look at me funny.

What frustrates me about this story is that it says the smaller dog was actually biting the human owner of Duchess - or am I reading that wrong - was the dog biting his own owner? I have a hard time believing that any dog, no matter how properly trained, would let another dog attack their owner, and stand by and do nothing.

That's not to say - of course - that many of these stories are true, and some of these dogs are not fit to live in the average family home. In any event I am glad there are people out there that will fight for the dogs who have absolutely no rights.

 

[Sue F]

Re: Duchess is still alive!

Duchess is not in a kill shelter...she is at the vet's office in boarding....just wanted to be sure to clarify that.


Yes, it is my understanding that the little dog bit Duchess's owner.