MICKEY
"God Bless America! This is what Rescue is all about".
Ellen, DFW
Mickey came to the Dallas-Fort Worth Cocker Spaniel Rescue when his owner learned that her tour of duty in Iraq would be long term. About 7 months old, he'd already gone from one friend to another for the first few months after his momma went to Iraq.
In May 2003, Mickey (formerly known as ("Ripley") was adopted by Janet McShane. Janet sent Mickey's picture to the 365 Dog-A-Day Calendar and he was selected for the 2005 edition! We asked Janet to share Mickey's story with us and this is her report:
"He is quite a character. When we first got him, he had a big rawhide bone that he HAD to have in bed with him and everywhere. When that finally was gone he became attached to his "Blue Ball". This is like a pacifier. He carries it from room to room and yes, it goes to bed with us also. during the night if it falls off, he jumps down, picks it up and sometimes sticks it under my arm to be sure it does not fall again. One night I was awakened by all this commotion under the bed. After looking around in the darkness, I got a flashlight and Mickey and I crawled and searched under the bed until we found the "Blue Ball". I knew he was not coming back to bed without it. Earlier this year we purchased a travel trailer and Mickey loves to go camping. Of course, it is with all the comforts of home. When we start getting ready and packing the camper, he gets nervous.
If we are inside the camper he is sitting in the backyard howling and carrying on. He would sit in the truck for hours if we would let him just to be sure he does not get left behind...and he doesn't!! I would occasionally give him a rawhide stick to chew and he would take this and walk around crying and trying to find a place to hide it, then find it again and start crying again. If I give him anything big to chew on, we go through the same thing. All treats have to be very small. There have been a couple of times after boarding him for the wee-end that he has come home and thrown up and he did this for a couple of days after we first got him. He does not like to be left. If I am not home at the normal time, he sits and looks out the front window until I get home...even though Daddy is sitting on the couch. I would love to be a foster home but I work long hours (we have a doggie door and Dennis gets home much earlier that I do). I also do not think that Mickey wants to share...he has fun with the grandkids but is jealous of my time with them. He is always trying to get between me and them. Yes, he has found a good home and he is VERY SPOILED!!!!
DFW Rescue, you are doing such a wonderful job.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart
Janet McShane"
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RESCUE - I'M YOURS! Success stories of adopted dogs.
Pretty Girl - Adopted April, 2010
I'm the new owner of the super sweet and adorable Pretty Girl. I picked her up yesterday from Sandy St. John and whisked her all the way down here to Miami. I have her eye medicine, but there wasn't much left and I didn't think it could wait until June for a refill so I got her an appointment with my vet for tomorrow morning. Sandy said to contact you regarding her medical records. I'm not quite sure what's going on with anything, but Sandy's got all of my info on file so if it gets to her first, I'm sure she'll forward them.
My dog Dixie is of course, being a total brat about Pretty Girl, but it's not too bad and I'm sure she'll settle down in a week or two. We're already discovering that Pretty Girl has a very silly side, and I can see that she's a total foodie. Too bad for her, Dixie's a supreme foodie (you know, the dogs who want food all the time, can be very crafty at finding ways to get your food, often employ methods like magic, telekinesis, distraction, etc) so we've been well trained in keeping food away from little brown noses. I'm hoping to get her interested in toys and laser pointers and squeaky balls when she settles down and Dixie stops being such a brat. We're also going to try to get her to lose some weight, and that'll also be addressed tomorrow at the vet even though Sandy assured me that just cutting out the treats should go a long way. It's only been a day, but she's already stolen our hearts and is fitting in very nicely. She's just the little snugglebear that we wanted.
Hershey
On March 10, 2010, Hershey slipped out of the back yard while movers were unloading their truck. Tom and Lynn were frantic. They got a flyer made with her photo. They went door to door for blocks in every direction looking for her, visited area shelters daily and put up a photo banner in front of their house. We emailed that flyer, posted it on Facebook and cocker spaniel forums and posted the flyer at our adoption events all spring. Despite these efforts, no sightings of Hershey were reported.
Ten months passed. On January 10, 2011, volunteers from Memphis Animal Services posted a photo of a chocolate and tan stray available for adoption, and I sent someone right away to pull "Cupcake" for us. My first thought when I saw her in person was that she reminded me of Hershey, but surely it couldn't be her. After a bath at her foster home, those tan paws turned white again.
I went digging through old emails to find that flyer while Cupcake's foster mom took some new photos. We both agreed this must be Hershey, and she seemed to respond to the name.
Tom and Lynn had moved again, this time to North Carolina. We tracked them down through a mutual friend that next morning, and within a few hours they were on their way to Memphis afraid to believe it could be her after so many months. But they'd decided they would adopt her anyway.
When we arrived at our meeting place, there was no question this was Hershey. She caught sight of her Tom and Lynn and wiggled non-stop pulling me towards them. They are all back home now in North Carolina where Hershey has returned to her full-time job of keeping her mom's lap warm.
Reuniting Hershey with her owners has been one of the most gratifying rescue experiences I've had. Where she'd been for the past 10 months remains a mystery.
I'm attaching the photo from the flyer, the photo from MAS and a photo of her after bathing and shave down. There's also a slide show that my sister put together for me here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzbm4DISB1A.
Stephanie
Maryann, Alex and I are delighted to have Bo (and Max too) join our family!
I had a buff Cocker when I was a child, and always wanted to have dog when I settled down and got a house – when that happened, we got 2 pups – Maxine and Penny – 2 female cockers. Max lasted 9 years, and Penny passed last November at the ripe old age of 14, in spite of being from a puppy-store. I couldn’t replace Penny right away, so we stayed dogless for a few months. I had just started looking for a breeder (rather than a puppy store – I was going to do it right this time), when I stumbled onto the American Spaniel Club Foundation’s website. I noticed the “rescue” button on the page, and decided “why not – take a look”. There was Bo – he was the right mix of sex (I wanted a male this time – I’ve always had females), the right age (not too young or too old), already trained, and, of course, cute as can be… worst of all, he looks quite a bit like our Penny. ;-)
Maryann fell in love with him at first sight, so we contacted Gail and started talking about it. Within a couple days, we committed to having Bo shipped from Utah to New Jersey (where we live), and about 2 long weeks later, we picked Bo up at the airport.
That was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made – he’s a wonderful dog. He’s very affectionate, and also better trained that I had expected. He can sit, down, stay, and even heel. He comes when you call him. He’s lying next to me as I write this – he won’t leave my side when I’m home. Maryann’s not so happy about that though – she can’t wait until I go to work because they hover around her when I’m not home. ;-)
BO - ADOPTED MARCH, 2011
We were so taken by Bo that when we heard of another cocker Rescue at one of our local organization (Rescue Ridge, Spring Lake, NJ), we had to take Max in too! Bo and Max immediately became best of friends, and within weeks are inseparable.
Thanks again for helping Gail save these wonderful dogs!
Regards,
Vince Fleming
