Monday, March 21, 2011

Happy Tales/Tails


Baron and me from a few years ago

Baron now, with his new sister, Crystal

Well, Baron has a happy tale even without a tail.  Baron is a GSD I got from the Culpeper shelter quite a while back.  He's been in his current home for four years now and I probably had him a year or more before I found him a home.  It shouldn't have taken that long to place Baron, he's a great dog.  He has a strong prey drive and we had to constantly be on the lookout for approaching small dogs at adoption events.  But it was what Baron didn't have that explains why he was with me for so long.  He didn't have a tail.  When I pulled him from the shelter his tail was injured, hairless, broken, and bleeding, and obviously causing him great distress.  The vet recommended removing it, and did so.  Baron always looked a bit unbalanced from front to rear because of it, (just aesthetically, not functionally) but he was just glad to be free of the pain and discomfort it had caused him. 

His new dad says:  "It's hard to believe it's been four years now since Baron came to live with us, time sure does fly, but things have been great. He really is a part of this family and I wouldn't have it any other way. Crystal and Baron really get along very well. They do everything together."



 These pics are of shy little Rowdy, now called Bernie.  The action pic is him being chased around the yard by his playmate, Murphy.  It's difficult to capture Bernie on camera because he usually shows up as just a blur. 


He's still never going to be overly socialable with strangers, but he's fine at home with Murphy, Tasha, and Sable (left). 

Tasha (right), is an old girl and is having some problems these days, including some seizures that were probably strokes, but she still mixes it up with the young boys when she feels like it. 







This is Sunny, now being called Sophie.  She is now testing her new owner's resolve and challenging the other dogs in the home.  She can learn to get along, but she wants to be top dog.  She's a smart, smart dog.  Let's hope she is smart enough to realize that she's got a good thing going and makes a little effort to fit in.












 


These last pics practically bring tears to my eyes.  This is Irene, now known as Serena, which I think is beautiful.  This is one of the whorder's dogs, the most shy and scared of the first five that we took in. She's the one that we had to literally dump out of a doghouse in order to get a leash on her for trips to the vet, dog wash, and adoption event.  This dog had lived her entire life in a shit-filled pen until a couple weeks ago.  Is decent dog care too much to ask for? too much to demand?  No, it isn't.  Anything less is simply unacceptable.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow. All the pictures and updates are very moving, especially Irene, now known as Serena. If they could say it, they would: thank you, Brent.

Anonymous said...

I met Irene at the Williamsburg event, and she was so shy, but not totally resistant to petting. Life has got to look a whole lot different to her now. She's gorgeous and looks more confident.