Rescue dogs come with baggage

[todd allen]

A poem by Evelyn Colbath comes with every adoption
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/woman-shares-poem-adopted-dog

Baggage (The Meaning of Rescue)

By Evelyn Colbath(c)1995 Baggage All rights reserved

Now that I'm home, bathed, settled and fed,
All nicely tucked in my warm new bed,
I'd like to open my baggage,
Lest I forget,
There is so much to carry,
So much to regret.

Hmmm...Yes, there it is, right on the top,
Let's unpack Loneliness, Heartache and Loss,
And there by my perch hides Fear and Shame.
As I look on these things I tried so hard to leave,
I still have to unpack my baggage called Pain.
I loved them, the others, the ones who left me,
But I wasn't good enough - for they didn't want me.

Will you add to my baggage?
Will you help me unpack?
Or will you just look at my things,
And take me right back?
Do you have the time to help me unpack?
To put away my baggage, to never repack?
I pray that you do - I'm so tired you see,
But I do come with baggage,
Will you still want me?

By Evelyn Colbath(c)1995 Baggage All rights reserved

[Garry L Gordon]

We were owned by a rescued Gordon for some wonderful years. One of the sweetest dogs I’ve ever known. She wagged her tail on point, but I came to see that as one of her many endearing traits.

[Daryl Corona]

I'm living with two rescue Labs. Couldn't pick two better roommates or two better hunting partners.:bowdown:

[Jeff Davison]

All three current dogs are rescue. The last a labradoodle puppy mill mom. Spent first three years locked in a kennel in a basement, making puppies. She wasn’t socialized, house broken or trained in any way. She was terrified of men. She was in three adoptive homes in three months before landing with us. The rescue never cashed our check. Six years later, she’s the greatest and would tear through a wall for my wife if she was in any kind of trouble.

[Garry L Gordon]

All three current dogs are rescue. The last a labradoodle puppy mill mom. Spent first three years locked in a kennel in a basement, making puppies. She wasn’t socialized, house broken or trained in any way. She was terrified of men. She was in three adoptive homes in three months before landing with us. The rescue never cashed our check. Six years later, she’s the greatest and would tear through a wall for my wife if she was in any kind of trouble.

Jeff, thanks for the happy ending...

[todd allen]

For me, this is about our little rescue dog, Riley. She came to us via a friend of a friend referral.
A young couple bought her at a pet store, (of all places) knowing absolutely zero about owning a high powered German bird dog. She evidently drove them crazy with her unhinged behavior.
She was very quiet and withdrawn on the hour drive home. Apparently totally traumatized by the sudden loss of her previous family, and was one of the toughest training challenges I have ever had. And there's been quite a few.
Her previous home was a small house with about a 10' by 40' back yard, a couple of kids, and the mother expecting a baby in about a month.
I'm guessing her exercise came from rough-housing through-out the home. She was totally out of control! She lives in the country now, and runs and plays with her adopted sisters every day.
Riley was a little stand-offish, at our initial meeting. She suffered from extreme separation anxiety, and was very destructive when left alone.
I noticed she was object shy, so I suspect there may have been a little bit of abuse from her previous owners. Off leash, she tended to want to run away.
After a pretty rough 6 months or so, we started seeing progress. Training was strict, but absolutely limited to e-collar, verbal commands, and verbal punishment. No physical (hitting) ever! The most extreme punishment was picking her up by the scruff, and dropping her. That, and verbal is all!
Trained her on pigeons, and slowly introduced guns. Starting with .22 RF snake shot out of a rifle.
Then the .410, where we actually shot birds, worked up pretty quickly to the 12 ga. No sign of gun shyness, which was my biggest fear. She is a fairly reliable retriever, with a very strong prey drive. At 45 lbs, she is a very compact, and highly athletic pup. After a tough year of intensive training, she has become a push-button dog, and maybe one of my all time favorites.
Finally, at the end of the quail season, I managed to shoot one Gambel's quail for her. She's hooked, and is constantly on the lookout for more!
Here's a few pics:

98848

98849

98850

98851

98852

[Garry L Gordon]

For me, this is about our little rescue dog, Riley. She came to us via a friend of a friend referral.
A young couple bought her at a pet store, (of all places) knowing absolutely zero about owning a high powered German bird dog. She evidently drove them crazy with her unhinged behavior.
She was very quiet and withdrawn on the hour drive home. Apparently totally traumatized by the sudden loss of her previous family, and was one of the toughest training challenges I have ever had. And there's been quite a few.
Her previous home was a small house with about a 10' by 40' back yard, a couple of kids, and the mother expecting a baby in about a month.
I'm guessing her exercise came from rough-housing through-out the home. She was totally out of control! She lives in the country now, and runs and plays with her adopted sisters every day.
Riley was a little stand-offish, at our initial meeting. She suffered from extreme separation anxiety, and was very destructive when left alone.
I noticed she was object shy, so I suspect there may have been a little bit of abuse from her previous owners. Off leash, she tended to want to run away.
After a pretty rough 6 months or so, we started seeing progress. Training was strict, but absolutely limited to e-collar, verbal commands, and verbal punishment. No physical (hitting) ever! The most extreme punishment was picking her up by the scruff, and dropping her. That, and verbal is all!
Trained her on pigeons, and slowly introduced guns. Starting with .22 RF snake shot out of a rifle.
Then the .410, where we actually shot birds, worked up pretty quickly to the 12 ga. No sign of gun shyness, which was my biggest fear. She is a fairly reliable retriever, with a very strong prey drive. At 45 lbs, she is a very compact, and highly athletic pup. After a tough year of intensive training, she has become a push-button dog, and maybe one of my all time favorites.
Finally, at the end of the quail season, I managed to shoot one Gambel's quail for her. She's hooked, and is constantly on the lookout for more!
Here's a few pics:

98848

98849

98850

98851

98852

Todd, your dog has gone to heaven on earth.

[todd allen]

I feel like I have been blessed by her coming into our lives, and cannot imagine not having her.

[Dave Tatman]

Great work, Todd. You are helping that pup achieve what God put her on earth to do....

Dave

[Ed Norman]

We rescued a 69 pound brittany in 2017, our dog is nothing short of a miracle, he is a great bird dog, a great companion, he had no hunting experience when we got him, he was 2.5 years old. I swear he knew he got a 2nd chance and he has certainly made the best of it. My sweet wife runs that dog every morning (if I cannot) that dog made our marriage stronger, she feels safer with a bigger dog around, win, win, win, for everybody!!

[Ed Norman]

this is cash a week and a half after we got him, he was down to about 65 pounds in this picture.

[Ed Norman]

this is cash the next spring after we got him, he weighed about 47 pounds.