Fergus!

Fergus (formerly known as Bob)

A little over a year ago, our lives changed forever as we welcomed a cyclone of red and white fur and freckles into our home.

Fergus (formerly known as Bob), came to live with us on May 25, 2011. I don't know much about his past. Just that he was given over to the Humane Society in Kingston, Ontario, by a couple going through a divorce, when he was 9 months old. And that he had PILES and PILES of energy!

Which is why ARPH wanted to place him with my family. I am sure that I mentioned at least a hundred times during my telephone interview that I am an extremely active person and that I wanted an active dog to keep me company on my athletic adventures. As a year-round outdoor runner, I was looking forward to someone sharing the dark, snowy streets of winter with me, not only to keep me company but to keep me safe as well!

And then along came Fergus.

It has not always been easy. Adjusting to a dog with so much pent up and unreleased energy was a very difficult thing. During those first couple of months, my husband and I must have looked at each other a dozen times with a "What the heck did we get ourselves into?!?" look on our faces. But we made a commitment to this dog, and there was no way that he was going to end up back in rescue on our watch!

And so, we armed ourselves with patience, a fabulous dog trainer, and hours and hours of energy-draining activity. (Seriously, hours and hours and hours of bike-riding, swimming, running, walking, playing fetch, hiking, snow shoeing... You name the activity and we've tried it in our bid to tire him out!!!) The result is a fabulous furry companion, who takes us on many an adventure, and who leaves us laughing hysterically at his antics along the way.  You can even follow these antics on my blog: Herd in the 'Hood, at http://herdinthehood.blogspot.ca/

I think a lot about where Fergus came form and how far he has come, and I am so thankful for ARPH. Because of his high energy levels, I know that Fergus is the kind of dog that would have gone form shelter to home to shelter to home to shelter to home, until he would have been deemed unadoptable. If it weren't for ARPH pulling him out of the shelter and taking the time to match him with the right family... well, I don't really want to think about what would have happened to him. Suffice it to say that I am really glad that, through this organization, he got a second shot at life. And my husband and I have an even more perfect family now that he is a part of it.

We love you, Fergus!

Jenny

We rescue Jenny 5 years ago now and she is doing very well. We have 100 acres in Canada that she gets to run on with our other dog Sadie a Golden Retriever. Jenny also enjoys winter time in Florida. She likes to lay by the pool and chase squirrells. We spend a couple of months in Florida, and she has adapted to it very well.

  Jenny was also selected last year to be on the Aussie calendar for 2012. She also made the booklet of a musical CD Livin' the Life, that was released in Canada, USA, Caribbean and Europe. She is having a great year and is happy and healthy.

Cheers

Brian and Annie

Toby!

 TOBY

Just realized I haven't given much of an update since I've adopted Toby. Its been about 3 months now and I am incredibly happy with my LBD (Little Brown Doggy, a name given by his foster parents John and Gisele:)) I'm a dog walker so Toby is out with me for up to 8 hours sometimes and he has no problem at all keeping up lol. In fact he's amazing at tiring out my client dogs. He's very social but a bit rough at play time, something we're working on, he's getting better every day. 

 

 

 

 

He has more energy then any dog I walk but I'm finding ways of burning him out. We recently started roller blading, Toby looks his happiest when he's running. The next big thing we are going to give a try is Dock Diving, theres no doubt in my mind he will be amazing at it. Toby is incredibly smart, he learns at a very fast pace and is always looking to please me. Thank you so much ARPH! I couldn't have found a better friend if I tried :) ~Donovan and Toby~

Newton

Maddie our Austrailian cattle dog lost her best friend Rigel (Aussie/border collie cross) in the fall of 2010.  She was heartbroken after 8 years of Rigel being her best friend.  We swore we would not rush into anything and then I came across the ARPH in Ontario.  I fell in love with Newton instantly.  I only hoped that Maddie would feel the same way.  We drove 3 1/2 hours to meet Newton and Maddie instantly feel in love as well.  They are inseparable and love to play cattle dog games.  Maddie has even taught Newt to herd the local cows. 

Cindy and Rick

Lilly!

This is Lilly, she was rescued from a puppy mill in Ohio.  She was 10 months old when I met her at her foster mom, Nina's house.  As soon as I saw those beautiful eyes I knew she was for me.  I soon found out she was a bottomless pit.  Stealing off counters and plates when she thought no one was looking.  As I got to know Lilly better I started to notice she was very nervous of strange dogs and began to act aggressively towards them.

    




Luckily with the help of a couple of private lessons and continued group lessons at Mccann's dog school we have learned how to deal with her issues but it is something we work on everyday.  I am pleased to say that today Lilly is the most lovable and well behaved dog (no more stealing)!  She knows all her commands and lots of fun tricks.  She has completed grade 4 and will be moving on to agility next.  She is a bundle of energy.  I believe that the name Bounce would have suited her better!  We love going on long walks and swims with her doggie friends.  Her two loves are water and tennis balls. She has tons of fun diving into the pond. And she keeps herself busy by rolling her ball off a couch or down stairs than chasing it and starting it all over again.  Lilly lives with two kitties and a 12 year old weimaraner that she loves and totally respects.  I love coming home to that happy face and wiggly bum.  Lilly has been more fun than I could have ever imagined.  She is the aussie I was waiting for.

Amanda

Maggie

 

                                    

This is Maggie with my son Ben. We adopted Maggie back in November 2010 when she was 4 1/2 months old.

She's very smart and listens most of the time (I do need to spend more quality time training her). She and Ben get into all kinds of trouble together, but it's mostly Ben's fault. ;)

She drives our 16 year old cat a bit crazy at times. The cat is not so much into playing with her and Maggie thinks she is the boss of him, but really, I think the cat is the boss of her. heehee

She doesn't like it when people move around really fast and do 'dangerous' things, so sledding this time of year is a bit of a gong show if she's outside. She 'watches' from the window instead, barking her head off. The trainer said the only thing we can really do is offer her something better.... But really...... what could possibly be better to her than her boy racing down the hill in the front yard on a piece of plastic, screaming his head off at speeds that boys shouldn't be going (according to her)?? It's dangerous, don't you know. She has to protect him from such things.

At the bus stop, she doesn't like it when the kids get too rowdy and is a good excuse to get them to settle down. ;) She sometimes knocks the little ones over when she wags, not just her tail, but her entire back end because she's so excited to see them.

Her favourite things are tummy rubs, playing 'Find Ben' inside and outside (she's really good at tracking him down which we figure will come in handy should he ever get lost while we're camping) and running around the yard. She loves when she runs into some of her doggie friends from the neighborhood, regardless of whether they are her same size or just the size of her head. She loves fetching and running with sticks in the winter and balls in the summer. She's also a very good soccer goalie.

And that is Maggie. :)

Rumor-has-it!

This is not a story about a adopted dogs success, this is not a story of a poor neglected dog, it is not a story about bad beginnings. No, not at all. This is a story about my own success, my own achievements, my own happiness. Why then post here? Why write at all? Well the answer is a short one.....RUMOR.

We use the terminology "I adopted" a dog, well in this case only in a literal sense, Rumor really adopted me. I already had an almost two year old Aussie, one when I got her thought I am NEVER getting a puppy again! She was crazy, hyper, eater of everything loved (glasses, phones,books...). BUT around one and half the itch hit and I really thought Syd was not meant to be an "only" dog, she needed a buddy. With Syd I started many new things I had only heard about, we did obedience and agility and walks at the dog park. So with a new dog I wanted to do all of these things with us. I knew I wanted to "rescue" a dog, I wanted to rescue a dog when I got Syd but unfortunately was turned down (by another organization) because I didn't have a fenced in yard. My mother actually was the one who had heard about ARPH and put me onto them. I filled out an application and waited. I was SURE I wanted a male dog around one-didn't I? Well after a bit of a wait I was sent a picture of a dog..see below. REALLY- this dog needs a home? This dog needs me? well I guess I could meet her.

The rest as they say is history, I made arrangements to go and meet the foster family and the puppy. I fell in love from the first second this little red/brown lump tripped into my lap. Not only did I fall in love with her, I fell I love with her foster family and very please to say I consider them some of my closest friends and we continued our rescue adventure together.

More about Rumor; well Syd fell in love too, she adopted her as her own and (hind sight) loves her a little to much. The puppy started agility at 16 weeks and gave me an opportunity to really LEARN about dogs and the way they learn and all new ways that help a dog develop. Rumor at the beginning was a quick learner but really not all that enthusiastic. I am not sure exactly when that changed, but it did! Oh My! she is enthusiastic now! She loves agility, she is fast, she is crazy, a wild scream that there is no doubt who has just entered the ring, assuming that she can sit at the start line (work in progress) she quivers with excitement. She has offered me something that no other dog could have, although sometimes I get frustrated, she is destined to be one amazing agility dog. One that has taken me on a learning journey; present problem-search for solution-execute-and start all over again. Because of Rumors drive to work she has given us the opportunity to go to amazing clinics and workshops, we are are searching for the next thing to learn. We learned to DockDive together, we have learned to Skijor together, we have learned tricks together, we have learned patience (well I have-sort of) together. Our next adventure is a Disc seminar in February. So at two years old (heading towards her third birthday) Rumor has ADC (Agility Dog of Canada), SGDC (Starters Game Dog of Canada), and a novice DockDog title.

You would think this is a hard dog to live with? Nope, she is what has been coined an Anti-Aussie in the house, she just finds a place to curl up and goes to sleep, she cuddles and her nub wags in excitement to meet you. Very easy dog to live with (good thing as her sister is still crazy, hyper, eater of everything loved). She is not without her problems, she requires care around new dogs and easily aroused in what she thinks is exciting places, this isn't because she is a rescue this is because she is who she is. And although a challenge has afforded me an opportunity to learn.

At the beginning I started off in saying this is about my success, and reading you must wonder what I was talking about? Through the adoption of Rumor I have been given a connection to rescue and a very short time after her adoption I began fostering for ARPH. I have met through the rescue amazing people, people that I can only attempt to model myself by. People that are trainers, that are rescuers, people that are incredibly dedicated to the care and wellness of animals. I have been given the opportunity to truly become involved, I have made connections with people through our animals. I have learned and am still learning, these animals no matter what their beginnings are some of the best teachers there are. The animals have taught me patience, gentleness and sometimes forgiveness. If this small soul can give humanity another chance, can I not learn to forgive people as well?

I have learned that rescue is a amazing community of people that from all walks of life can be united under one cause. Everyone no matter how small, or big the contribution lends to the community and creates an environment on inclusion. This is my success, I have contributed, I feel that I am part of something bigger then myself, and I have the opportunity to meet people that I never would have before. For this I am Thankful that Rumor came into my life. I truly am the lucky one and she has rescued me.

A Cinder-ella Story

 

A Cinder-ella Story

It is only fitting that this success story is posted today as it is a special day for me , exactly one year ago yesterday marked a very special and exciting moment in my life, a dog that I had been fostering for many months under her own steam off leash approached another person! Why my excitement? Why is this a big deal?

Well some background, Cinders came to us from a hoarding situation, she with others were brought into rescue and although each dog had its challenges and it’s difficulties to overcome Cinders was a dog that just could not trust people. She quickly loved her foster Mom’s but even when they would meet again she had a hard time engaging them unless she was left alone with them.  She would bark at anyone new in her space or hide from them. We all did what we could; we loved her as she wanted to be loved. We had to accept that she was a dog that needed time to adjust to everything, potty training, eating alone, taking food from hands. She went to all kinds of events and training classes to help with socialization, she was walked in public places and training in home. Through the efforts of many amazing volunteers she was worked with either through their help in fostering or socialization and training.

So when Cinders decided at an Aussie event that she would go up to someone that although she had met many times before had never been able to overcome her fear and sit next to her there were cheers for joy and promises of Champagne! As a rescuer this really was one of most momentous events, one that brought tears of joy to my eyes. This little animal that once feared humans with good reason has decided that she truly could overcome her fear of the unknown. Although this was one small step, one that followed many small steps before this will be a moment in time I will always remember.

The Happily ever After?

Shortly after this day a wonderful adopting family decided that they wanted to take this lovely little girl into their home, issues and all. I could not have hand selected a better home for Cinders. Here with their permission here is their most recent update and picture;

Just thought we'd send along some Xmas wishes to you and yours from Cinders. She is doing really well! She is up to 38lbs. and is very trustworthy in the house, no accidents since about early May. We don't crate her for work but we leave her in our bedroom (she loves the bed!) with the door closed (the room is dog-proofed) and she is excellent!

For short durations, she has the run of the house and generally greets us at the door with excited squirms and wiggles--no jumping! It's hard to believe that it has been almost 1 yr. since we started the process.

We have absolutely no regrets! She is a perfect little lady, with some social issues (still very timid but......not terrified as before, and still requires coaxing but...she'll stay in the room now with company and doesn't get too excited if someone approaches, she just lays there calmly although a little uncomfortably but much much better). Christine says she's (Cinders) a bit of a diva (actually she says "sex pot") and she sure is beautiful.

Thanks again and have a Happy New Year as well

Dan & Christine & Cinders (of course)