Tales of Aussie Rescue in Illinois

Meet Holland, she is a 1 and a half year old black bi female Australian Shepherd, she is full of energy and spunk, but sadly she got into a fight with another Aussie in her home, and she took the brunt of the fight. 2 girls that wanted to be boss, and the boss was [...]

Epoc, know as Shadow is a striking blue merle Australian Shepherd who came to us with her brother. She was adopted by a great family, she will need surgery and we would like to help off set those costs. If you can find it in your heart to donate a few dollars for her hip [...]

This boy is coming in this weekend, but will be heading to the East Coast as we are without foster home space (please consider signing up to be a volunteer for New Spirit as a volunteer) and as such must grab a plane ride (we hope with PilotnPaws)

I was sent an adoption application the other day for one of our latest additions to the ARPH family, Sadie, she is a little 8 week old blue merle puppy, she is deaf, and her family wanted someone to take her, so we did, she will be a great addition to the family that adopts her, she will be lucky, and she will more then likely live till she heads to rainbow bridge with the same family.

But there is another dog that may not, her name is Gemma, she was a private referral that I personally went and met, she wasn’t an Aussie, not even close enough to say she was “Aussie Enough” so I couldn’t take her into our program. She was a mix, with CattleDog and probably some Red Tri Aussie in there for good measure. She is/was a very happy little girl, energetic, and to me was ready to deliver all the love 10 families could handle. I said I could place this girls as a private referral, and hope that someone would see her and fall for her.

Someone did, today, and I thought we had a possible match, only to find out that her family couldn’t keep her any longer, she was too much dog, and this in no way reflects on the family that had her, things just happen. Sadly only 4 days before I got the call of a family interested in Gemma, her current family had to take her to the shelter and surrender her there. I hope that Gemma gets adopted, but chances for most dogs in a shelter are poor to almost not going to happen.

In the email from the family wanting Sadie, they had a poem in their signature, and I thought it was so fitting to how dogs think, and I am sure how Gemma thinks.

‘People are born so that they can learn how to live a good Life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay as long.‘
So live like a dog:
Live simply; Love generously; Care deeply; Speak kindly.
Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:
When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.
Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
Take naps.
Stretch before rising.
Run, romp, and play daily.
Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass..
On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.
When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.
Be loyal.
Never pretend to be something you’re not.
If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.
ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY
author unknown

Well today is Hagar’s birthday. Since I didn’t know when he was actually born, I decided it was the day he was rescued from the shelter I pulled him from. Hagar’s story is a tough one, and I have told it before, but will do it again.

Hagar was running wild in Woodford County Illinois for a while when one day he ran across a busy highway and was hit by a car, a county officer saw him get hit, and saw him keep running across an open field. Animal control tried to find him for a week and finally caught him and brought him in. He was supposed to be treated with pain medicine for his injury. Sadly this didn’t happen and he spent 10 days in a dark, cold, concrete cell, with no human contact, no sunlight, and no other dogs to keep him company.

I went to evaluate him and was horrified by his conditions and the fact that he wasn’t treated for his injury. Hagar was paralyzed from his mid-back on, he couldn’t stand on his hind-end, only balance on his front paws. He also was not able to hold his bowels and was loaded with worms. It was a very scary 20 minute ride to my vet’s office, who wasn’t open for another hour, and I was frantically calling over and over, with Hagar crying the whole way.

When we arrived, he was still un-able to hold his bodily functions, and the concern was he was going to have major nerve damage. Once on the table we sedated him, and began the process to see what would be the end result, only to have him have a major seizure, something I had never seen before. I was scared with him, and worried I would be requesting he be put to sleep to ease his pain. My rep at the time said that they made little wheelchairs for dogs, and my vet felt he deserved a chance to recover. So it was decided to dope him up, keep him immobile for 2 weeks to allow the swelling to recede, he had a broken back, and was in a spot that was probably the worst place for a dog to suffer a broken back.

I took him home, stopping at Petsmart to buy a special crate that allowed access to him from every angle. The next 2 weeks I came home at lunch and checked up on him, changed his bedding and gave him medicine and sat with him. I set goals for this little black tri:

• He had to eat, and drink
• He had to hold his bowels and bladder
• He had to sit up, he had to stand
• He had to crawl
• He had to walk
• He had to run
• He had to bark
• …And he had to wiggle his butt like any good and happy Aussie would do

Then I would consider him healed, and ready for a foster home in Chicago, only he never made it that far, I failed, and I failed big time, he wasn’t going to go anywhere, he had met and exceeded every goal, and became part of my pack, and now a year later, Hagar’s having a birthday, he is not only getting pizza, along with him brother’s Cruise and Mocha, he is now officially my Aussie, I adopted Hagar today, 1 year after that fateful day in February of 2009.

Welcome home Hagar!

Are you looking to adopt? Want to know when we post the latest Aussies in Illinois? Maybe your just nosey? Or maybe you are addicted to text messages and want more text messages.

What ever your reason, or excuse, Tales of Aussie Rescue is ready to meet those demons head on, and of course be the enabler of your Aussie wants. Signup for our text alerts in the box on the right side of our website, enter your phone number and the carrier you use (US only) and when we have a new Aussie coming on board, we will push a text alert out to you, with the name, age, type, and a link to a picture.

What better way to know what is happening in Aussie Rescue. While you are at it, sign-up for our monthly newsletter, filled with tips on training your Aussie, where the next cool event is. Who is volunteering and why, what is it like being a foster mom, dad or family. What Aussie is our pick that month?

As you can see we are looking to keep you connected to what is Aussie.

We think we have a design we like, say hello to Hagar, Mocha, Duke, Walter and Cookie, all pals of Tales of an Aussie Rescue in Illinois.

For those on a mobile phone, we have a mobile version, which we will be enhancing as well, m.aussierescueil.com

ARPH # 11737 Bandit

Say hi to Bandit, he was an Aussie I personally picked up in Warren County with another Aussie, both were very feral and afraid and our foster mom Kelly has worked with Bandit to get him ready for a home.

Visit the Aussie for Available for Adoption, then select the Illinois Aussies.

Meet Livy, she needs a home, and fast or her time will be up, please consider her if you are in the St Louis area.

Livy is a 5 year old spayed female up to date on her shots and heartworm negative. She is on the small side at about 30 pounds and has fit right in at her foster home and loves people and attention. Livy is fully house trained, does fine in the fenced in yard as well as on a leash. She listens very well and knows basic commands such as sit, shake, lay down, and speak. She has a lot of energy and loves playing ball and will bring it back over and over and even knows how to throw the ball with her mouth. Livy is very gentle and would do well in a family with older children. She has done well with the cats in her foster home but sometimes gets moody with the dog. She would do best in a home without other dogs or with a non-dominant dog.

Nick Ames, a new volunteer with Aussie Rescue has donated his time and talents to video taping our Aussies for adoption, he came to Lotto’s birthday bash to tape all the fun.

The little guy laying on the floor is Moose, a very cute blue merle, he is soon up for adoption.