Iris, with Last Hope Doberman Rescue in Texas

Iris is a four year old, natural-eared fawn Doberman with Last Hope Doberman Rescue in Texas. She was found as a stray in Amarillo, Texas. You have to wonder how she ended up like that, poor little girl! But she's safe now. And look at that face!

(image from Last Hope Doberman Rescue available dogs page)

Cheyenne, in Texas, looking for a home

This pretty girl is Cheyenne, though I guess her original name was "Soda", because she knows that one. Either name is kind of fun, isn't it?

(picture from Last Hope Doberman Rescue Facebook page)

Cheyenne is 3 1/2, and is currently in Texas with Doberman Rescue North Texas. She has natural ears and a docked tail. Cheyenne can be shy, but it sweet with people, and jogs well on a leash. She would do best in an only dog home. You can read more about her on the Doberman Rescue North Texas web site, under available Dobermans, or view her Petango page here.

(picture from Doberman Rescue North Texas)

If you are interested in adopting Cheyenne, or any of the available Dobermans through Doberman Rescue North Texas, you can view their online adoption application here, and view their adoption contract here. If you have any questions about Doberman Rescue North Texas, you can see a phone number and other information on their Contact Us page.

Canine Distemper outbreak in Texas Big Cat Sanctuary

In June, when I wrote about Canine Distemper affecting big cats, I didn't expect it to have United States implications.

(image from Wikimedia commons, not one of the tigers affected)

There's a wildlife refuge in North Texas, In-Sync Exotics Wildlife Rescue and Education Center, they've lost their 6th tiger to distemper; they think it may have been spread by raccoons clambering about the outdoor cages. According to the Washington Post article, there is a distemper vaccine for ferrets and for canines; "the canine one is unsafe for big cats, and there's no evidence of the ferret vaccine being effective in the cats."

The refuge is still open, evidently, and the virus poses no threat to humans. But what a tremendous shame, all of those beautiful animals. According to another article on the Dallas-Fort Worth CBS web site, 15 other cats are currently suffering from canine distemper. I hope that they're somehow able to pull through.

Red Female Doberman for Adoption in Texas

Look, guys, this is Ginger! She's a 4 year old red Doberman in Waco Texas.

She's spayed, heartworm negative, and fully vetted. Apparently her owners dumped her in a high kill facility when it turned out that she didn't get along with cats. I don't know where she's from originally (meaning what breeder, bloodlines, etc.) or how long those people had her, but her life is not in danger. She was pulled from the kill place, and is in foster care now, but obviously, she'd love to have a home to go to!

Ginger is in Texas under the purview of ADAPT rescue (it stands for "A Doberman Adoption Placement Team", according to the log on their site.)  Following that link, you can donate to the rescue directly, even if you're not interested in adopting Ginger. If you ARE interested in adopting Ginger (I guess you'd guess that the gist here is "no cats"), the information can be found on her Adopt a Pet web page.

Remember Abbey? She really needs a home pretty quick!

Remember Abbey?

Evidently, the poor little girl is losing her foster home. She needs to be adopted (or maybe another foster home?) like, yesterday. According to the Last Hope Dobermans Facebook page, she can be adopted in Texas or Oklahoma, and some parts of surrounding states as well.

Would you like to give this pretty girl a home? From Facebook: "She loves other dogs, loves to play, is learning her leash manners, is crate trained." Spread the word, help her get set for life. You can email DobeMomx2 AT yahoo DOT com for information, if you're looking to adopt her. 

She was anesthetized and pulled of the euthanization table once before, clearly she has good things in store for her!

Here is her Petfinder page as well, if you would prefer to go through that kind of a channel.

Abbey looking for a forever home!

On August 17, I posted about Abbey, a young female Doberman (mix?) who was sedated and on the euthanization table, but given a last minute second chance. I guess Last Hope Dobermans is the most perfect name for the Texas rescue organization!

That fragment of the Abbey story is a sad one, but the heroics of her pull from the table, and her transport to safety in Oklahoma for foster, is a lovely one. Her initial picture, the only view we had of her, was a sad one as well.

Click to see happy Abbey after the jump!

Jayde, a Dobergirl in need of Adoption or Foster in Texas

Jayde is in Texas. As the flyer says, she's currently in boarding, but foster or adoption is the goal! She has a beautiful crop (don't tell Elka!) and knows many commands. She sounds like a drivey girl, so definitely good for an experienced Doberman person, perhaps with an eye towards doing dog sports? If you're interested, or know somebody who can help, please don't hesitate to contact the email address on the flyer!

The Doberground Railroad

I've been posting a lot about the Dobermans from Conklin, NY, some of whom currently reside in the Broome County Humane Society. Trust me, I know. Have you seen the news? Sasha, of that group, has been adopted. She'll be going home on Saturday!

There's a certain magic that seems to happen when people see dogs in need, in person or online. So, I thought I'd tell you a little story about something that I witnessed on Doberman Talk on Wednesday.
Somebody posted a link to a Last Hope Doberman rescue in Texas' Facebook, and a small story.

This little girl is 6 months old. She was literally on the table to be euthanized when the shelter tech begged, and got, one more day for her. That's right; almost to the needle on 8/15, and the tech bought her time until the morning of 8/16.  Last Hope either didn't have the room, or didn't have the fosters, and so put out the plea.

I saw the thread on Doberman Talk at 4:21, on my dinner break. I, mind you, am in central New York, while Abbey girl is in Texas. Totally nothing I can do. I put her on my Facebook, and tweet the Last Hope Dobermans link, figuring I can get her out there, at the very least. Doberman Talk, though, did better.

At least one of the members is also a member of Adapt Rescue, also in Texas. Well, they're full too. But, another member, in Colorado, could foster her (approved by a rescue there) so long as somebody could pull her from the shelter, and get her there. This was established within two hours, people. Then legs of transport were figured out, with stops, and set. Then, there's a Texas local interested in her as well, and they're working on whether that adopter might be approved or not.

So, be it foster in Colorado or a new forever home in Texas, Abbey is saved. This is the power of the Internet.

Texas Justice? Man machetes his neighbor's dog.

I guess it's important to foster good relations with your neighbors. Or know whether your neighbors are horribly unbalanced people with machetes. I cannot imagine how both miserable and angry I would be if Elka slipped her leash, ran across the street, and was hacked with a large blade. Which is exactly what happened to a dog, Mijo, in Texas, or so his owner claims.

From: Justice for Mijo :

On May 10, 2012, my dog Mijo was killed by a minister in a public street using a machete. Mijo had gotten out of his leash to be with a female dog when one of my neighbors of a couple houses down crossed the street with a machete and struck him 4 times. 
He was struck 2 in the face, 1 splitting his nose in half, the other one on his mouth, and 2 on his thigh. Mijo limped his way back but could only make it to the front porch where he died.

When I found his body, I knew he was dead but I kept petting him asking him to wake up and please come home with me. I confronted the neighbor and he said he killed the dog with the machete. When asked why he did not respond.

The Sheriff was notified but didn't even look remotely interested in the report. I have called the office several times and they told me that they haven't even gotten an investigator to look over the case. I can't press charges until that is done.

2 news stations were contacted but told me that they cant do too much because it's still under investigation. Mijo did not deserve to die this way. I will try my best to get something done about this.

There is a petition on Change.org, because, as stated above, the police have not yet investigated into this. It would be nice if they would, to say the least. Frankly, I feel if a man is willing to casually kill his neighbor's dog, he probably isn't too balanced in other areas. Willingness to hurt animals is one of the three criteria that tend to crop up if somebody is a serial killer. However, there are people who look at a situation like this and think "well, it's just a dog". If nothing else, here is where "dog as property" may be a useful tool. This man's neighbor destroyed his property and should have to make up for it in some significant way. It's a horrible situation, and I feel so very badly for Mijo, and his family.

Edited to add: as several commenters pointed out, this story is rather one sided. And also anonymous, which I ought to have noticed. So, if I've got egg on my face, that's the way it is.


From Change.org:

This man, a Minister residing in Alamo, TX, had no problem going into this house, grabbing a Machete, and striking the Yellow Labrador Retriever belonging to an Iraqi Veteran not once, not even twice, but FOUR times. His actions were thoughtless, careless, and inhumane. If he can snap at a harmless animal that was NOT attacking a human being, what could this man do to another person, or child?