DDB Valentine's Day Campaign - a List of Purebred Dogs Fighting to Survive Maine's Winter

Every Valentine's week, Dogs Deserve Better holds its "Have a Heart for Chained Dogs" campaign. For this outreach effort, concerned citizens and Dogs Deserve Better Area reps and volunteers submit addresses of chained and penned dogs accross the United States and beyond to DDB headquarters.

Groups of school children, scout troops, and other volunteers create personal handmade valentines to be sent to each chained/penned dog reported, in the hopes of getting a response from and opportunity to educate the "caretakers" of these forgotten pups.

It is an exciting program - In 2009 over 12,000 chained and penned dogs received valentines. This year our goal is to reach 15,000 "outside" dogs. Hopefully some of them will be brought inside the home as a result of our efforts.

As I am putting together my list of chained/penned dog addresses to submit to DDB - I notice a pattern. EVERY dog on my list is a purebred. I am not sure what that means - if anything...but it surprises me just the same.

My Valentine's list of chained/penned dogs in Maine includes

-- 1 Newfoundland - chained

-- 1 Golden Retriever - chained

-- 3 German Shepherds - 1 chained, 2 penned

-- 1 Beagle - chained

-- 1 Rottweiller - penned

I am also working on a case that involves a male Boxer that was until a week ago living outside in a fenced area 24/7 - but I cannot submit him for a valentine - as he is no longer an "outside" dog - but is now living inside an unheated garage with two other Boxers...very sad and frustrating. I am not sure which way of life makes me more upset.

The woman who owns the Boxer dogs is a breeder - who on her very cheery website advertises home raised pups in a family setting.

As she is making money off these dogs - there is very little chance of her releasing/re-homing her Boxers, or persuading her to allow her dogs to actually live as part of her family. GRRR. This type of case is the worst.

The only reason I can think of for so many of the dogs on my list being purebred is that perhaps it links back to the "sale" process of breeders.

Although reputable breeders screen the families interested in purchasing their puppies as thoroughly as reputable rescue groups do - requiring an application, vet/personal references, home visit and an adoption contract outlining the expectations moving forward (vet care, living inside the home, obedience training, humane treatment) - many breeders do not spend much time or effort screening prospective homes.

This lack of screening leads to families who are uneducated regarding the commitment that raising a puppy or even an adult dog requires, being allowed to bring a dog home. Once the puppy starts chewing on furniture or peeing in the house or the children lose interest - he/she lands outside on a chain for life because it is too much work for the family to care for the puppy.

I was actually contacted by a Mastiff breeder over the summer - who was requesting that I take in an adult Mastiff that was living on a chain. The dog had become aggressive towards the children in the family due to lack of training, socialization and inclusion.

The Mastiff had come from the breeder as a puppy - but she apparently did a poor job of screening the family prior to purchase and did not follow up with the family after purchase to ensure that the puppy was being taken care of properly.

She eventually received a call from the family demanding that she take this now aggressive, adult dog back or they would euthanize the dog. As the breeder had children of her own - she was unwilling to bring the dog back into her household. Thus she reached out to rescue.

This was a horrible situation that could have easily been avoided by a little screening and follow-up. I was saddened that I was not in a position to help this dog - I can only hope that this particular breeder has now implemented a more thorough evaluation process for her prospective buyers.

Do not get me wrong - there are MANY mixed breed dogs sitting out in the cold in Maine right now - they just do not happen to be on my current radar - they have not been reported to me yet. Some of these dogs come from shelters and rescue groups that also made mistakes with the screening and follow-up process - others come from accidental litters, were purchased out of Uncle Henry's or from "free-to-good-home" advertisements. Poor screening, follow-up and lack of humane education is to blame in most cases where a dog end up on a chain in someone's yard.

It is all bad - I just hope that this year's Valentine's Day campaign can bring a few of these unfortunate dogs a better life.

There is still time to send a chained or penned dog a valentine - if you know of one that needs help, please submit it to Dogs Deserve Better by visiting

http://www.dogsdeservebetter.org/Valentines2010.html

You can stay anonymous - and who knows - you might save a dog in the process:)

Getting Back in Gear

I have been neglecting this blog for quite sometime - without any good reason accept that I really have not been motivated to write.

A few months ago I promised myself that I would get back to maintaining this site. This promise was made after I received an adoption inquiry from a woman in Hong Kong who was interested in a little Doxie that we had in rescue at the time.

Of course I would never consider sending a little dog across the world when a great adoptive home was waiting somewhere close by - but the inquiry made me curious. Why was this seemingly qualified adopter searching for a dog all the way in Maine? Are there no dogs or dog rescue organizations in Hong Kong?

These thoughts led to a quick Internet investigation.

As it turns out Hong Kong has a terrible overpopulation problem due to a large number of pet stores and puppy mills. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) is in charge of strays - which are numerous - as residents tend not to voluntarily spay and neuter - and many, many dogs are just discarded on the streets when people tire of them. The AFCD does not allow private adoptions from its kennel - and most of the dogs are simply held for a reclaim period and then euthanized.

Only a licensed/approved rescue organization is allowed to pull dogs from AFCD of which there are few.

My search then led to Hong Kong Dog Rescue - an incredible rescue organization run by a woman named Sally Andersen. She created this rescue specifically to help save dogs from AFDC.

While browsing through the HKDR website I was overwhelmed by the number of purebred dogs available as well as the number of adorable mutts. It is clear that this rescue is in over its head with numbers of dogs that need help - but have created a strong support system for themselves in the community.

I referred the Hong Kong resident who inquired about our Doxie to HKDR. I was amazed that when she replied that she did not know this rescue existed, as it is obvious that Sally, the founder, spends every a great deal of time trying to make the public aware of her kennel and the plight of the Hong Kong strays. Hopefully my referral helped one dog find a home - as the adopter seemed genuine and thoughtful.

As part of my investigation into the life of dogs in Hong Kong, I started to read Sally's Blog (http://hkdr.wordpress.com/) - all about her daily stuggles and victories working to save these dogs. I am now addicted to her Blog, which somehow she manages to maintain daily. All I can figure after reading all of her blog entries is that Sally must never sleep!

Anyway - this long story ends with my realization that I need to make more of an effort to maintain my own blog and to share the victories and heartbreaks that occur in my own daily efforts to save dogs.

Thank you Sally for waking me up!