A friend of mine, Aimee Leigh Reichert, has the most
beautiful and sweet rescue dog! His name is Timber, and he seems to be a hell
of a guy. Aimee took him in when he was just 8 weeks old and suffering from pneumonia.
He survived, and now he’s a very happy 1 year old!
Unfortunately, they just found out that he has cruciate
ligament tearing in both hind legs and he needs surgery to repair it. The cost
is of course high, but Timber is only 1 year old. This surgery is the
difference between a long happy life of running and a very painful existence filled
with disability.
Despite the expense, they’re dedicated to helping Timber. If
you’re interested in Timber and his story you can read about it here:
They’ve set up a CrowdRise fund where you can donate. Even
the tiniest bit helps!
This story hit me hard for a few reasons:
1 1) Anyone who rescues unwanted dogs is an angel.
Rescue dogs almost always require extra care (which of course means more
money). This might be special medical treatment, training, or just personality
quirks that require extra love and understanding. People willingly take on
these dogs even knowing extra care will be needed.
Three of my last 4 dogs have been rescues, and I greatly admire everyone who takes in rescues.
Three of my last 4 dogs have been rescues, and I greatly admire everyone who takes in rescues.
2) Aimee not only took in a rescue dog, but she
took in a rescue pitbull!
I love pitbulls. They are fantastic dogs. True they can pack
a serious amount of force into a bite, but their strength doesn’t make them a
bad dog. BAD OWNERS turn pitbulls into a danger. (I can get on a rant about bad
dog owners, but I’ll save this for another time!)
Instead, I want to tell you about my first rescue dog,
Isabel, who was also a pitbull. She remains the sweetest of the dogs I’ve been
lucky enough to adopt.
Here’s my rescue story:
I found Isabel online by searching the MSPCA for available rescues. She had a great
write-up: she was the staff’s favorite, always happy, always wanting to chase
down tennis balls.
So, I drove into Boston to meet her. When I got to the
shelter she was nowhere to be found! The lady at the desk and I searched all
the pens, and I was heartbroken to think she might have been adopted already. I
saw another beautiful pitbull while I was there, but I just didn’t connect with
that guy. As I was getting ready to leave, a staffer brought Isabel in from
outside – they’d been playing fetch with her in the back yard the whole time!
As soon as I meet her I knew she was the dog for me, and I
adopted her on the spot.
Isabel was about 2 ½ years old when I adopted her. Her teeth
had all been filed down by whoever owned her before she was abandoned. At the
shelter, she kept tennis balls with her at all times. (In fact, she could fit 3
tennis balls in her mouth at a time, and regularly did that :) )The staff speculated
that she’d had a litter that had been taken away from her immediately, so
Isabel tried to keep replacement “pups” with her at all times.
When she came home, she was afraid of men and hand-shy. If
you were standing and reached out, intending to pet her, she flinched back
because she thought you meant to strike her. So, she’d probably been abused by
a man.
When I got her home she stayed with me EVERYWHERE. But she
soon learned that I wasn’t going to abandon her, that we weren’t going to hit
her, and that men were not to be feared. Once she figured that out, she was as
happy and confident as could be :)
Why this story if we’re talking about Timber?
Because of the injury. Isabel LOVED to run and fetch. It was
her favorite thing of all time. We started buying her kongs (b/c they’re nearly
indestructible and she liked to chew). Isabel was happiest running after a
kong. We’d stand at one end of the yard and throw it the entire distance. She’d
sprint after it, bring it back, and do that over and over and over. It was
pretty much her favorite thing about life.
Isabel waiting for me to throw the kong for her
If she was on the deck when I pulled up in the driveway, as
soon as I turned the engine off and opened the car door, she was there with a
kong. She could have that thing in my lap before I could get out of the car!
I think she actually came to love men because she realized
they could throw the kong farther and get her more running distance. :)
When I think about Isabel, that’s what I remember most about
her, how much she loved to run. That’s what breaks my heart about Timber’s
injuries. Pitbulls need to run. They have so much energy! And it just makes
them happy.
I’m donating to Timber’s fund, and I hope you will consider
giving a little bit as well. There are so many sad stories about pitbulls, I
really want this one to have a happy ending! Every single cent makes a
difference!
Here’s the link again if you’d like to help Timber keep on running!
