IMO, people who abandon/abuse dogs this way should be first shot and then p*ssed on. Try putting an add in the local newspaper offering a free one year old cocker spaniel to a good home. A one year old purebred should have no trouble getting a response. If you lived a little closer I'd take him/her. Would make a great companion for our black lab and two cats.

"IMO, people who abandon/abuse dogs this way should be first shot and then p*ssed on."

damn straight!

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

well, looks like the wife has decided we keep him...
so he won't be abandoned anymore...

can't understand what people do with animals either...this one looks so sad....hopefully, it will improve...

you guys are great! with a lot of TLC and a lot patience the dog should be slowly, gradually back to normal. Just don't be surprised if it displays some unusual behavior for a while until it gets used to you both. Good Luck and congrats on the new family member.

done, officially named Schatz (like honey in german)...

wanted to call him Ozzie as the ears of a cocker look like Ozzie Osbourne's hair, but my wife said, he may become an unintelligible psycho because of his name!

"he may become an unintelligible psycho because of his name! "

too late it's a cocker spanial. good for you guys though. makes my bitter heart just hateful instead.

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customerjon @gmail.com is where information happens.

Uhm, "Schatz" would be "darling". "Honey" translates as "Honig".

;-) SCNR ;-)

Frank

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I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time like tears in rain.

My wife and I adopted a dog that was found abandoned up one of the canyons by our house a couple years ago. At the time, he was about 10 months old, very skinny, and very unhappy. Jones is a golden retriever/yellow lab mix. For the first 6 months we had him he wouldn't even run at the park; At home he just laid in the corner.

Now, Jones is the happiest, most loving dog I've ever owned. I can't imagine how anyone would abandon him, but in at least he found a good home and it allowed him to enter our lives.

Congratulations on your new friend. A few weeks of consistency and routine and I'm sure your new friend will be a normal, happy dog.

I've had experience with 2 abondoned/beaten dogs. Both of the dogs just needed a lot of love and patience. The border collie took the longest time. He needed lots of attention, then after a year or two he got good results from going to the park. At first we'd go to the park and not talk to anyone or stop for anything. Slowly we worked up to meeting other dogs and then letting kids pet him. He's doing great now.

The doberman was very different. She needed lots of love and affection, but she misbehaved about like a 3 year old kid would do. I finally figured it out, she wanted to be part of our "pack" but she couldn't tell who was the alpha dog. We 'talked' it over and I convinced her that I was going to be the boss, not her and she seemed really happy and content.

BTW, I convinced her by putting my hand on the top of her head and gently but firmly pushing it down and when she did something wrong I gently shook her by the scruff of the neck. It was like flipping a light switch, she went from unhappy and a little nervous to happy, calm and content. Don't ever hit a dog that has been beaten before.

I think you are too easy on them. You must be a bleeding-heart liberal ;)

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Animal!!!

We scored a rescue dog from the local animal shelter. He had been locked in a bathroom and beaten for his whole life (6 months) before we got him. From the day we got him he has been the best natured and funniest dog(English setter) I've ever met. Good luck with the new addition.

One warning though, make sure you garden area is pretty secure. The day Sam arrived at our place, he jumped over a low wall into next door's garden (30ft drop) and then joined them in their pool for a refreshing dip.

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"Language most shows a man: Speak, that I may see thee. It springs out of the most retired and inmost parts of us, and is the image of the parents of it, the mind. No glass so mirrors a man's form or likeness so true as his speech." - Ben Jonson, Timber, or Discoveries made upon Men and Matter.

I think Julie-Anne (Slowman's better half?) has a site about rescued dogs. It was a good source of information for my wife and I when we were adopting a rescued greyhound. We got a very young one - crummy racer because he's a bit small for a grey.

After two weeks with him, I'll never buy a puppy. So easy to train and deal with a slightly older (2-year-old) dog.

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We got a rescue beagle earlier in the year. He was used as a research dog at a facility in Davis, CA - spent most of his life in a box with very little interaction with other animals. The dog was very un-dog like. He had no idea what a treat was, had never been on grass before and didn't know what to make of it, and he would not lick you. He was basically the polar opposite of our other beagle.

Well, we have had Baxter for about six months and it is amazing how normal he has become. He loves treats, learned some tricks, plays like a dog, licks like a dog and is really as nice a dog as I have ever known.

My black lab and two cats are all animals rescued from the pound. Very surprised that somebody would spend good money for a purebred lab and then just drop him off at the pound at one year old. One of our cats has only one eye. My wife chose her because she knew nobody else would. All three of them get along great.

I have an English Springer Spanial that my wife got from the wife of an Orlando Police Officer. They divorced and she was looking for a good home for the dog and herself! The cop beat her and the dog. He's probably out of prison now....

Anway, Oliver is now 10 years old and slowly fading. They are very nice dogs. He's been a great friend....

-Robert

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"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." ~Anne Frank

putting back an old thread up...

thanks to all those who gave advice...we have a really great dog now! Hardly ever barks (never at home, only when walking him) never begs for food, just wants to play all the time.

Now, the problem is we can't go anywhere because my wife doesn't want to leave him to friends (who have animals too) for a few days!

but it's really cool...

...abandoned/neglected/abused dogs. I've had great experiences along these lines in the past, having adopted two "retired" racing greyhounds and, most recently, an abandoned Rhodesian Ridgeback.

As most of the Slowtwitchers spend at least some time on the trail, if you are considering a dog, take some time to check out the local chapter of the breed's "Rescue" organization. Most breeds have them, and the larger and more headstrong the breed, the more dogs available for adoption. Not to discount the pound by any means, but do check out the rescue organizations.

For what it is worth, the Ridgeback is an endurance athlete's dream companion for the trail. Not only is the dog athletically capable, it is physically imposing (and protective) enough that my wife feels comfortable running with her in the backcountry.

If anyone has questions about adopting Greys or Ridgebacks, feel free to ping me at kseverson@darwinianmethod.com.

I'm a cat person. I like animals that are more instinctual and slightly less "trainable". They are smaller, quieter and more self sufficient. Although mine are spoiled beyond belief. I put towels in the dryer in the morning for them to lay on while I'm in the shower and feed them whatever they want. We eat off the same dishes at the same time, we sleep in the same bed. One of them is pretty stupid (Socks, a former Marine cat from Camp Pendalton) and Cleo, a prissy little girl who loves to fight and wrestle and absolutely must have her own way, including having her hair done every day (brushed), she is quite amazingly intelligent. They are the best companions. I am continually amazed by Cleo's ability to learn. It far exceeds most humans. Socks is just kind of there.

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

It's sad about the dogs but I see many throw away children. They have many problems, sometimes I guess it's easier to love a dog.I don't have the answer . Just wish I did.

Don't get me started on this denewone.............

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Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com

Francois,

Well, Congrats on saving a life. It's a big deal, an a real commitment on your part. I'm sure you will soon find that dog is more of a friend than pet. My 3 dogs are one of the most rewarding parts of my life.

My wife and I are the proud parents of three Dalmatians!!! Yea, life is a circus in the Smith house, but I wouldn't want it any other way. We got Bentley the old fashioned why... Pet Shop... way before we read any books, or understood what "puppy mills" were. Next came Ashley, our 1st rescue. My wife is involved with our local kennel that supports New Beginnings, an in-house rescue group. Seems a car pulled up in a trailer park, not too far away, threw a ball out of the car, and Ashley followed... the car drove away. A witness picked her up and brought her to the rescue. The rest is history except that Ashley is bilaterally deaf. The answer was simple. Normal obedience training, but using a laser pointer (to get her attention) and American sign language instead of verbal commands... works like a Champ. She is a great little dog, and Daddy's little girl. She's very loving, but to this day will not fetch a ball or any other toy.

So how does this tie into triathlon? Simple. Cody! Dalmatian #3! Upon finishing my 1st Escape from Alcatraz I called home to announce that I didn't drown. That's when Kim told me about how they found this little Dalmatian dog chained to a tree, and living in a hollowed out dryer. No water or food, and living in his own filth. Cody was rescued, but he was a mess. You could see all his ribs and pelvis, being about a year old his baby teeth had fallen out, few had grown in due to lack of nutrition. Add to that he was beaten. Today, he is a healthy, happy and super energetic little dog. He's the best, and the house "clown" always making us laugh.

I wouldn't trade those three dogs for a winning LOTTO ticket!

I have two rescues and I can't imagine my life without them. Sammie was found in a Sam's Club parking lot, and Kelley was an abuse case. They're both well adjusted and happy. Kelley is my running buddy, and they would both quite literally kill to protect my 2 year old daughter. We had the dogs before we had the baby, so they've kind of adopted her.

Pure breds are great if you're looking for a show dog, but nothing in the world compares to a rescue.

"I'm a cat person"

So is my wife. In fact since I posted last on this thread she decided two cats weren't enough so she just had to rescue another from the shelter. A beautiful snow white cat with bright green eyes. Another female,so that makes three, but right now they're all trying to sort out a pecking order to determine which one is Queen B. Little hissy fits all over the house from time to time. Claws fly and tuffs of fur on the rug. They'll sort it out eventually. Quite humerous actually that each one of them gets along much better with Samson, our male black lab than they do with each other. Must be a chic/guy thing. But then labs are so laid back, they'll get along with anybody.

With all these animals we've now got, my daughter refers to our house as "the zoo".

My God. I thought I spoiled my cats. My wife and I have 2 kittens and an elderly huskie/akita mix. We adore and spoil all of them, unabashedly. At least, we thought we did. I hope our guys never find out about you, Tom. They may decide to make their home with you instead. =P

As a partial aside, my dad had a humorous opinion about the differences in worldview between dogs and cats.

Dog world view - They shelter me, feed me, play with me, and praise me. They must be gods.

Cat world view - They shelter me, feed me, play with me, and praise me. I must be god.

My dad was an unabashed animal lover of all types. I guess I inherited that from him.