We Thought we'd spend a little time talking about "rescues", and hopefully in the process we'll clear up some misconceptions about just what rescue dogs are all about. We're going to start off with a question and answer format.

Q. If the dog is in a shelter and the shelter is planning on putting the dog to sleep, doesn't that mean that there are problems with that dog?

A. Absolutely not! The dog could be there for any number of reasons such as:

• 1.The owner may have passed away, and the owners surviving relatives are not able to properly take care of the dog.
  
• 2. The dog may have gotten loose and either the owner has not located the dog (sometimes, people don't realize just how far a dog can travel, and may not think of notifying shelters in nearby communities), or the owner may feel that the dog left so the dog deserves whatever happens to it, of course you must realize that some people are not going to blame themselves if their dog gets loose, even if they left the door or gate open, it's much easier to just blame the dog!
  
• 3. The owner might be moving, and the place the owner is moving into may not allow dogs.
  
• 4. The owner may not have understood the breed when (s)he adopted the dog, and didn't realize how active the dog would be.
  
• 5. The dog may have been stolen hundreds of miles away, and if not tattooed or micro-chipped, there would be no way to find the owner.
  
• 6. And of course there are always those people who find puppies so cute and adorable, they don't seem to realize the puppies do grow into adult dogs someday.

Q. Wouldn't it be easier to just get a puppy and start training it?

A. Unfortunately that's one of the reasons there are so many rescue situations in the 1st place. Everybody wants a puppy, so then the irresponsible breeders and backyard breeders start pumping out more and more puppies. The fact is, unlike puppies, a large number of dogs that are in a rescue situation already have some socialization skills and even some training, it's not unusual that a number of these dogs have been housebroken. Another thing about the dogs in need of rescue is that they are intelligent enough to realize that you're taking them out of a bad environment and placing them in a family environment, so they'll probably give you even more love than a puppy would!!

The following poem, we thought, would be very fitting for a rescue page. We're using it with the permission of the author and ask that you please don't copy it for use unless you also receive the authors permission!

A DOG PRAYER

by PAM GREMILLION

I SAID A LITTLE PRAYER TODAY
TO THE MASTER UP ON HIGH
I TOLD HIM THAT I NEED A HOME
HE LISTENED AS I CRIED

THEY LOVED ME WHEN I WAS A PUP
BUT NOW I`M OLD AND GRAY
NO ONE CARES ABOUT ME NOW
I`M LOST AND SO AFRAID

COULD YOU SEND SOMEONE
WHO WOULD LOVE ME FOR AWHILE
AT LEAST UNTIL YOU CALL ME HOME
TO THE OTHER SIDE

IT WON`T BE LONG, YOU KNOW IT`S TRUE
UNTIL I SEE YOU UP ABOVE
BUT WHILE I`M ON THIS EARTH, DEAR LORD
I STILL NEED TO BE LOVED.....

When Shadow joined my family, he was 6 months old, and when Billie joined us she was 3 years old, now neither Billie or Shadow were rescues, they came directly from a good home with their breeder, however they did come into a strange environment away from the only family they had known, and they fit in beautifully from the start! Their socialization skills were impeccable (for huskies, that is), the training they had received prior to joining my family helped immensely to create that perfect start, we were pretty much able to communicate with them immediately, and likewise they were able to tell us things, such as the need to go out and relieve themselves.The point I'm trying to get across here is that an older dog can be a far less trying experience then an 8 week old puppy (and yes, if you do get a puppy, they should be a minimum of 8 weeks old, they need time to learn from their mother). I can honestly say that because of this experience with older dogs, the next addition to this family will be a rescue!

If you're interested in any breed including the Siberian Husky, click on this graphic and you'll find a listing of rescue sites covering most breeds:

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