Fundraiser for the Doberman Rescue Alliance of Wisconsin

The Doberman Rescue Alliance of Wisconsin is having a T-shirt fundraiser!

They've set a goal of 50 shirts to sell, and there are 17 days left for them to fulfill that goal (17 shirts sold to date). They're pretty snazzy looking shirts, with a line drawing of a natural eared Doberman and a cropped Doberman (and I know black t-shirts are my favorite!), I've heard from somebody who has one that they are quite soft and cozy, and they are $20.

The DRAWI's mission statement is as follows (from their web site):

Our Mission - To utilize every opportunity to assist a Doberman in need, regardless of situation, age or health concerns; to ensure their health and happiness, and place them in loving forever homes; To assist and educate current Doberman owners, potential adopters and the general public on the Doberman Pinscher breed.

Doberman Rescue Alliance Wisconsin is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization that is run by volunteers. Donations and fundraisers are their bread and butter, and they've helped hundreds of Dobermans find homes. If you would prefer to directly donate instead of getting a t-shirt, information can be found here on their web site.

Available Dobermans at Doberman Rescue Unlimited

This is Cooper:

(picture from DRU.org available dogs site)

He's a red and rust boy with natural ears AND tail! He's two years old, very food motivated, and has been good with cats and dogs when he met them at Doberman Rescue Unlimited. He likes car rides, and chewing on his bed (so he's got a Kuranda).

Isn't he handsome? He looks kind of like a joker, I think.

Here's a link to the DRU adoption procedure. You can find the application there as well (they want you to print it out and mail it), in addition to some information about the Doberman breed to make sure you've got a little introduction and know what you're getting into!

This lovely matriarch is Freda

She is 7 years old, black and rust, with cropped ears and tail. Freda lived with three other dogs for many years, though I guess she didn't get along with one of the females, so that's something to consider if you have a multi dog household. She loves stuffed toys, and will carry them like a baby and gather them up to nest with (which sounds like a nice change from a certain somebody I know.) Freda finds herself at DRU because her owner had a terminal illness, and I do hope this senior lady goes home with somebody soon.

Duchess, Internet sensation, is no longer with her owners

A Doberman puppy in Ft. Lauderdale may be ending her day today in a far better situation than she started. Though she was returned to her owners, with animal control saying they saw no signs of abuse, the owners were subsequently arrested on non animal abuse charges and the puppies (Duchess and a dog whose name I have not seen) were taken into custody as well.

(picture linked from Examiner.com article)

Duchess was apparently been chained out back of her family's house for hours, barking, and the neighbors report that they did not see food and water out for her. She also had no shelter, and a neighbor is quoted as having seen the puppy try to dig a hole and crawl under a porch for shelter. For reference, it's been 90 in Ft. Lauderdale. When people approached the owners and said things to the effect of "hey, can we take your dog to the vet? Hey, she needs water and food", the owner said "It's just a dog" and told them to get off his property. (We already know how I feel about "just a dog" statements)

Police had visited the home once already, and took Duchess who animal control, who determined that she was in good health and released her to the owners. I'm not a medical professional, but when I saw the picture I linked above, I thought it was of a dead puppy. Not one who had a "tub of high quality food" inside for her. I don't know how you can look at that little girl and say there are "no signs of abuse", though apparently when a vet did see her, she wasn't gaining weight because she had hookworm (according to the NBC 6 video). They were displaying vaccination records, maybe somebody should've said "hey, we shouldn't see a dog's ribs, spine, and hips" and done a fecal.  Also according to the video, straight from the owner's mouth, though a house dog Duchess was chained out back because she had a "discipline problem with barking". She's 8 weeks old, for God's sake. She's a baby. Puppies bark; do you put a baby outside for crying?

(pictures from Dogster article)

No dog deserves to be chained outside. There's a high correlation between dogs who are chained/tied up outside and bites, in fact. Obviously, this hits me hard, because I know Elka doesn't want to be outside without us. I tried to get her to go outside and potty without me once during the winter; she'll stand in the middle of the yard and bark at the house. Dobermans want to be with their people. I'd risk making the assumption that most dogs do.

Duchess does look like a sweetie (though somebody needs to clean hear ears up; they were cropped, and clearly have gluey stuff from tape all over them in the NBC 6 video.) I hope she has a good and happy life, and those nasty hookworms are taken care of.