health, but discovered that he had hip
dysplaysia. Rather than giving up, she put him on an exercise
program and took him to a vet for 'gold' injections. The dog
is now three years old and doing fine, - she now has a 'golden'
Gordon."
The retriever breeds get their share of attention too with rescue
programs. The Yankee Golden Retriever Rescue organization, with
more than 2,400 members and supporters in 49 states and eight
countries, has come up with an innovative program aimed at preventing
suffering by stray Goldens. Because injured dogs by law can only
receive minimal veterinary treatment unless more is approved
by the owner, many stray dogs will suffer when they need more
extensive medical attention. In 1994, Yankee Golden Retriever
Rescue began a program to underwrite payment for emergency medical
treatment of any Golden in a New England shelter or pound. If
owners are reunited with their dogs, they are asked to reimburse
the club for these medical costs - something a vast majority
of owners gladly do.
Dog rescue programs, administered by the breeding clubs in the
country, are growing and becoming more active every day. Hunting
dog rescue efforts, in particular, are getting more publicity
and support not only from hunters but from everyone interested
in owning hunting breeds.
Hunting dog rescue, as so many people in the various breeding
clubs agree, is a service designed mainly to benefit dogs by
relocating unwanted canines and by giving a new lease on life
to unclaimed strays. There are, however, some spin-off benefits
to dog owners as well. Dog breeders, both those of the backyard
and of the professional status, with excess puppies can directly
approach rescue program people to place unwanted pups instead
of, in despera |
ally qualified to be a good, responsible
dog owner. Likewise, individual hunting dog owners who for whatever
reason are not satisfied with the development and performance
of a particular dog as a hunter can look to the rescue program
as a viable way to place an unwanted dog.
The hunting dog rescue program option thus can take some of the
burden off from animal shelters which are already overloaded
with unwanted mongrels, cats, and other extraneous pets. The
potential downside of all this, of course, is that rescue programs,
like dog pounds, become dumping grounds for dogs bought and bred
by impulsive, careless, often foolish people. Constantly being
preached to on the subject of responsibility and the need to
act more intelligently, they are the ones who seldom listen or
change their ways.
What are the odds of getting a fully-trained hunting dog out
of a rescue program? "Pretty slim," says Bill Mitchell,
the owner of the German wirehairs mentioned in the beginning
of this article. "What you will probably get," he adds,
"is a dog with 'potential' for becoming a good hunter. After
all, that aptitude is built right into this breed's genetic make
up To make hunters out of these dogs, however, is going to take
patience, time, training and plenty of experience in the field."
"On the downside," Mitchell warns, "you may get
a rescued adult dog with good breeding and an impressive pedigree
but with a bunch of bad habits and peculiar behavior traits.
It may take months, even years, to overcome some of these  |
roblems On the up-side, though, with an
adult dog you don't have to go through all the troubles of raising
a puppy and waiting for a trainable maturity to develop,"
Mitchell adds.
"Each one of the wirehairs I've gotten from the rescue program
has had some kind of problem," Mitchell admits. "The
only dog with any hunting experiences was gun-shy and crawled
under the truck at the first shot But, with time and experience,
that dog has become a good hunter. Now, when the gun goes off,
he pushes all the other dogs out of the way to get to the bird."
"Would I take another rescued wirehair? In a heart-beat,"
Mitchell promises. "Whenever I have room for another one,
I'll let the rescue people know. A hunting dog rescue program
is a good place to find an older pup or adult dog that has a
good 'promise' of becoming a productive hunter and a real hunting
buddy."
Anyone interested in discussing the German wirehair pointer rescue
program with Bill Mitchell can call him at 1-800-356-5281.
For a list of purebred dog rescue organizations according to
breed, contact:
Barbara Kolk, Chief Librarian, AKC Library, American Kennel Club,
51 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10010 phone: 212-696-8245
Or just go to the rescue links on the Bird Dog & Retriever
News website.
Jerry Thoms hails from Brookings, SD |
