For those with rescue dogs..

[CaliTerp07]

Yes! So often! Lucy was at the shelter twice, both because the families were military about to PCS to where they supposedly couldn't take dogs (possible, but....I think they probably found her too energetic). She was 3ish when we got her, and had obviously never been mistreated--she's a love bug to the nth degree--but she'd never really been taught much either. She yanked my arm off on a leash, didn't play with toys, and didn't know any commands. She was housebroken though.

I wish I knew what her mix was, what she was like around her former families, what she looked like as a puppy (awww little fluffy lucy puppy!), and why she does some of the goofy things she does (like sleep UNDER the bed instead of on top of it!)

If I somehow got contact info for her former family though, the first thing I would do is brag about what an awesome dog she is, and all that she's accomplished doing therapy work and agility and winning "Most Adorable Dog in Arlington"! Questions would come second

 

[smkie]

Monday was a Hurricane Katrina rescue from New Orleans. Local shelters sent a convoy and brought back more than 200 dogs. There were crates EVERYWHERE! Monday was still with her two sisters; she was used to being handled and had no issues, so I think she must have been well treated.

Katie spent almost a year crated on a back patio, rarely let out and often yelled at by the young men who lived in the house. She spent almost a year with her foster mom. She is still none too fond of college-age men, but she's not hand-shy or aggressive in any way. Katie is a Zen dog: calm, tolerant, balanced. Oh, yes, and beautiful.

That is a beautiful description of Katie. I am sorry for all the sadness our dogs have experienced. To come out of it a zen dog is a big reflection on the people in their lives. Good for you and her foster mom.

 

[Bailey08]

I got Bailey when he was still a baby (about 2 months, maybe a bit younger), so I don't really have any questions related to his behavior. I would love to know his "real" birthday, as silly as that is (his second is coming up soon, so it's on my mind!). I'd love to know where he came from and what happened to his mama -- it was just him and his littermates in the rescue; because of limited resources, the rescue would sometimes only pull the puppies and not the mom from animal control/kill shelters. I'm dying to know what the heck he is, so seeing his parents and his grown sibs would be great.

And, since I cannot yet clone him (boo!), I want to know where his littermates are. If they're anything like him, I'd love to have one of them!

 

[Laurelin]

Rose isn't a rescue but I do wonder what happened in the hole in her history. I want to know how she left her breeder's a happy, outgoing puppy and came back a scared and fearful dog who tried to bite anyone that came near her.

 

[Paige]

I know Bandits history and often wish I didnt. He came from a breeder in Merrit, BC. Went to live with my mothers boyfriend at the time. He left him in the yard when going on vacation with no one to take care of him (and took his other two dogs *sighs*). He was five and a half months old then and very aggressive. He is no longer that angry little puppy. I have the daughter of that man on facebook and it really irks me that all their current horses, dogs and cats are all taken care of so well but my poor Bandit was left in a yard to die.

 

[mi_bella]

Bella was three months old when I got her and she was born there. She was really quite and calm when she first came home. She would just lay wherever I left her or cuddle into a corner and sleep.
She's almost six months now and completely different. She's probably our most playful dog, in fact, and least people dependent. She's very social and loves attention from strangers which was a pleasant surprise.

I do wonder about her mom, though. I wish I had asked more questions about her. She was put to sleep because no one adopted her.

 

[bubbatd]

I'd give my eye teeth to know about Ollie ~ all I know that he was fostered as a stray and his first adoption didn't work out , I'd love to know which parent was a Golden and what the other was . ( I still think Chessie ) . Somewhere along the way he was abused as when I first got him and would reach out quickly to pat his curly head , he would flinch . I'd love to contact a dog psychic .

 

[Blue_Dog]

I know where Sam comes from to a point. I wish I had been able to see his parents, know what conditions he spent his first couple of months and what breed his parents were, but more than anything I wish I knew what happened to his sister. Even my Mom wishes that we had had the money at the time to take both even if it meant re-homing one of them to a good forever home ourselves.

Sam has a burn mark on his leg. He used to be terrified of women, water, newspapers and closets. And when I say terrified I mean absolutely petrified to the point of near panic attack. He's fine now and he's a very smart pup I just wish with all my heart that I knew where is sister was and that she is ok.

 

[vanillasugar]

I would KILL for puppy pictures of Sierra. I bet she would have been pricelessly cute

Otherwise, I know the shelter she was "freed" from in Ohio (by the rescue here that I adopted her from). I e-mailed them with pictures to let them know she was okay and happy, and actually got a response saying that they remembered her, and that she was a stray so they had no further information they could pass along to me. That in itself was great to know!!

 

[bubbatd]

I also would love to know of Ollie's litter mates~~ sigh !

 

[jess2416]

Well, since Riley was dumped alongside a road with his littermates at around 7 weeks, I wonder what happened to his mother...

Same with Chloe (except she and hers were at 5 weeks)!!

I wonder about her mother and the father's temperaments and how they were!!

 

[StillandSilent]

Though I did know Argon briefly when he was about 6 weeks old, I don't really remember much about him, nor do I have any pictures of my bug-eyed mantis as a puppy. I do remeber thinking he was horrible looking and wondering who would want take him and look at those bulging eyes every day(yes karma, you are a bitch). Of course, now he is the most beatiful dog in the entire world to me, even if he does have an issue with peeing on his own front legs. He had 9 brothers and sisters, and I do wonder what they look like now, if they are more Whippety or more Bassetty or if any of them have epilepsy or enjoy "booty dancing.".

I do have pictures of puppy Grimm, as he was raised at the shelter since 7 weeks. He looked a lot more like a bullfrog then, with very little loose skin. Now he is my little Silly Putty dog, who can have the skin on his face pulled for four inches in either direction and be happy. He had two brothers and I wonder a bit about them. I also wonder what he might be like right now if he had been raised in a home rather then the shelter.

 

[GoingNowhere]

I know that Boo was dumped at a rural WV shelter with her sister (presumably littermates, though I honestly don't know for sure)... When her time was up, she was pulled by the shelter where we got her from. She sat at that shelter for a few weeks, but I have no idea how long she was at the WV shelter (probably also just a few weeks given the euth rates). I know nothing about her previous owner(s?) or her sister other than the fact that the woman who adopted her sister was kind enough to pay to have Boo professionally groomed while still at the shelter because she was apparently a matted mess.

I'm considering emailing the shelter and asking if they'd be willing to send a note to Boo's sister's adopter asking if she'd be willing to send us some pictures of Boo's sister. I hope it would help me piece together what Boo is. From what I've heard, her sister looked more collie-ish.

I think Boo had a decent home before she came to us. She was clearly under socialized, but she was housetrained and had great house/car manners from the minute we got her. She's been excellent. I wonder why they gave her up to begin with.

 

[Southpaw]

I used to wonder that about Molly but I feel pretty confident she lived a normal, happy life before we got her at 8 months. She was owned by an older man who had to up and leave across the country to be with a dying relative, and so Molly was brought to a shelter.

I also wonder it a lot about the dogs we have at school. Many of them I think, they've probably been neglected as far as attention goes... but certainly not abused, and likely only given up because of their behavior problems (which even an OUNCE of training could solve). The ones that were found as strays, or the ones that are emaciated, I certainly wonder how they ended up that way. And the ones that just seem like perfectly mellow, sweet dogs, I wonder how anyone could give them up.

 

[smkie]

I am really glad I read this thread. I love knowing more about all the dogs here. I didn't know how they were found and how old. I am always glad when I hear about how much they are loved.

 

[oakash]

We found Suzie out on the road and since she was in our neighborhood, we didn't recognize her. We took her to our yard and started searching for her owners. They never showed up.

We think that she either took off running, cause she used to like to do that, or her old owner died and she was dumped. She really likes old people. She goes so gentile, and polity goes up to them and just stands there, happy to be near them. She is a bombproof dog, must have been socialized like mad. Extremely polite too, sits before coming inside, asks to be let onto the couch... etc...

 

[Renee750il]

I've a fairly good idea of some of the things Filarotten's Cleo may have experienced or witnessed. She's incredibly protective of women, for one thing, and she reacts VERY strongly to a man's upraised hand

Bimmer reacted extremely strongly to trucks for a time, but I knew that the woman who had taken him from Carolyn the first time had kept him tied in the yard and men in a truck drove by often, throwing rocks at him and yelling at him. He got loose and found his way back to Carolyn's farm -- over 2 miles away -- at 5 months old.

Tallulah still looks expectant when she hears a Harley motorcycle I think she was very much loved by whoever had her. They probably spent a good deal of money to get her, too, as dogs like her go for a pretty high price tag around here. I've often wished I could let them know she's well loved and very happy and cared for.

 

[Sweet72947]

I've a fairly good idea of some of the things Filarotten's Cleo may have experienced or witnessed. She's incredibly protective of women, for one thing, and she reacts VERY strongly to a man's upraised hand

She reacted very strongly to MY upraised hand too, and I'm not a man! She really didn't like me moving my hands around in general, which was tough, since I tend to move my hands a bit when I talk.

As for the OP, I know Benji's history since there was a witness that told us she saw him get hit, but I do wonder what his parents looked like sometimes! I think the people that had him before hit him with hands and objects, because if you pick up a broom or a shovel or a rake or anything he still gets uncomfortable, but he doesn't skulk away with his tail between his legs like he used to, since he knows that at THIS house, we don't hit dogs!

 

[Renee750il]

Cleo was an experience, wasn't she, Cristy

 

[Toller_08]

I often wondered how Winston was raised, where he came from, and what he looked (and behaved) like as a puppy. I think he came from a wonderful family who put a lot of work into him, and then he somehow ended up in the wrong hands. He was extremely well socialized, knew a lot of different behaviours, and was one of the most loving, forgiving, sweetest dogs I've known. I know he had a good start in life somewhere... I just don't know where it went wrong and why. I can't imagine for a second why anyone would have given up a dog as wonderful and as easy as Winston. I think it must have been the only option for his owner, and I bet whoever had him was heartbroken at the thought of giving him up, but felt they had no other choice. I wish there were some way to know exactly why.