The Rescue

There's a dog that was abandoned by his owners. Left in a 4x8 pen, outside, in the middle of the country, with a bucket of water and food meant to last him a week.  They would only return to replenish the water.  He was left in the pen, with no contact, in his own feces, enduring many nightly freezes.  A neighbor learned what was going on and was concerned that he did not survive the freeze.  He went to another neighbor and they decided to go get the dog.  They learned very little from the owners, mainly that they had moved into the city and no longer had the need for their hunting dog. Anyone could have him.  The kicker, he is a Brittany Spaniel, they greatest breed that ever lived! We saw this information on facebook and our heart broke. Our friend rescued him from these conditions but could not keep him because she already had several dogs, cats, and horses to care for. He spent the first night in her home.  She thinks this was the first time he has ever been in a house.  The next day we picked him up and began searching for this sweet dog's new home.  His name is Jake and he has been living with us for 3 days now.  We CANNOT  keep him.  I wish we could make it work, but 2 dogs and a toddler are all we can do right now.  In the short time he has been with us here is what we can tell you about him....

He is the sweetest, most non-aggressive dog I have met.  The first day he came home with us he stunk to high heaven.  He let me pick him up and put him in the laundry mop sink, where I lathered and scrubbed him for 10-15 minutes.  He just stood there allowing it, probably loving it.  He has played wonderfully with our dogs and our 2 year old from the start. All this dogs needs is companionship.  He can be chill or spunky depending on the time of day.

The previous owners had said they thought he was 7 years old.  That has made it especially difficult to find someone to adopt him.  A couple who already had 2 Brittany's were considering adopting him and offered to take him to the vet today to see if they could learn more about him.  The vet gave him a clean bill of health and said that it appeared he had been taken care of until recently.  This couple also paid to have him fully vaccinated.  Because they live in a condo and already have a 14 and 9 yr old Brittany they decided not to adopt him.  Poor Jake is still waiting for his new home.

I have never heard this dog bark. Even with our dog Mayhem barking 2 inches from his face, he just looks at her and runs off.  His only issues are that he jumps up, but that is already starting to stop as we are training him. He is very smart.  He did not appear to know the words "Sit", "Lay down", or "Treat" when we first got him, but he does now.  He has NOT been neutered so we have made an appointment for next week to have that done.  What this dog needs if for someone to take him in and spoil him.  He does not need to go back to a hunting pen.  If you have been looking for a wonderful family dog, please contact us as soon as possible.  If your heart breaks for what this dog has been through, please forward this or re-post it so that someone you know will take him in.  This breed can live well into their teens especially when taken care of.  We do not want to have to take this dog to the rescue!

If you are reading this and think that we are nuts to have three bird dogs at our house right now, then help us out and take one off our hands!



***UPDATE 1/20/2013  - Jake has been adopted and is now living with his new family.  Read what they have to say about him in the comment they posted below. Thanks for everyone who helped spread the word about him!