That One Dog You Normally Wouldn't Take

If you were to read the 'about me' section on this blog and/or follow the Pointers From Oz (PFO) or the Birdsboro Dogs links, please excuse the appearance of the Birdsboro Dogs website because all the edits have yet to be completed, to the right you will quickly realize that my significant other, Erin, and I run an English Pointer (Pointer) rescue. We do it because we like Pointers despite all of the headaches that running a rescue can bring, there will be more about running a rescue at a later date, and at the end of the day it's rewarding. Although we only rescue Pointers there have been other breeds of briddogs in the past, but 99.9% are Pointers. Now and then there is that one non-Pointer you can't help but pulling from the shelter. A case in point would be our most recent addition to PFO, "Eddy" the labradoodle.

If you don't know what a labradoodle (doodle) is it's a cross between a Poodle (standard or miniature) and a Labrador Retriever. Often these dogs are a good fit for people with allergies since they do not shed if you get the correct coat. There is quite the variance in color as well. For more information of labradoodles go to the wiki for it here.

The story of Eddy just goes to show no matter what you plan for in rescue there's always that one dog.

Erin is a vertinarian that was the founder of PFO and she has a big heart and plenty of knowledge about dogs. She also has this innate ability to bring a dogs love to your home. Believe me it's a good thing in the end. So when it's time for a family member to get a dog they go to her for advice on picking out the right dog for them. Hence we have Eddy at our house right now. My father in law and his signifcant other fell in love with my sister in laws goldendoodle (a golden retriever and poodle mix). So he recently asked her to pick out the goldendoodle that's just right for the family and Erin found the right litter of puppies. However, my sister in law has wanted a second doodle for sometime but her significant other wasn't keen on the idea having a second dog just yet. As Erin was trying to also convince my brother in law that they needed a second doodle she also mentioned there was a labradoodle at the shelter that is attached to the vet clinic she works at. Fast forward approximately a week and I get "the phone call" from Erin. The phone call that says the doodle is coming home with her from work today, keep in mind the doodle doesn't have a home, and it has heartworm and kennel cough. In all fairness she wasn't eating, because she feels like crap from the kennel cough.

If you don't know about heartworm check out the little buggers here. They are expensive to treat at the vet and a tough one to treat because the medication used is fairly toxic because you are killing larva and worms that are in the blood of the dog. Keeping your dog and cat on heartworm meds saves money in long run, because the average heartworm treatment is apporximately $500 and a lot of work. Kennel cough can be treated with antibitotics if it's bad so that's not too much of a concern. We'll fix Eddy up here at home.

Erin brings her home and despite my apprehension of having yet another dog in the house, I've take a shine to eddy. With that said I'm sure she'll perk up once she starts to feel better, but I have a feeling she is going to be like my sister in laws doodle and spend her days not doing much at all. Her day consists of lying around the house and being essentially what amounts to as a hairy piece of furniture while all of the other dogs fervently play around her and the couch. Eddy does however like me, and he sdoes follow me around the house, but will promptly lay down as soon as I stop in one place for a few minutes.

The moral of the story is this; despite what you do to always stick to your normal practices there is always room in your heart for one more odd ball dog in your rescue program. I know Eddy will find a good home, they all do eventually. I'll keep you all up to date about the doodles progress, but that resistant brother in law that I have is already picking out new names for Eddy.