Rescue Corner - September 2012

By Veronica Hudak-Moe, Lois Cleland, and Ann Gates

The Rescue Corner column began in the August 2011 Thistle Talk. The Corner will keep you up to date on all the goings-on in PCTC Rescue and more. You’ll be hearing from several of us over the next several issues. We’ll tell you our stories about how we came to rescue and how it has enriched our lives. We invite you to enjoy our stories and maybe join us in Rescue, one of the most gratifying experiences the dog fancy offers.

Labor Day Weekend, members of the Rescue committee, a few volunteers, and their Cairns attended the Virginia Scottish Games at Great Meadows in The Plains, VA in order to educate the public on Rescue, our club, and our breed.

On Saturday, Maryland Rescue Chair Lois Cleland tended our booth with Lexi and Trouble. Lois said Trouble charmed everyone and was very good with all of the children, and Lexi was wonderful as well. Volunteers Sally and Baron Berninghausen brought their two adopted cairns, Binky and Otto, and they were perfect gentlemen.

On Sunday, Virginia Rescue Chair Veronica Hudak-Moe and Rescue Committee member Ann Gates tended the booth with member applicant Barbara Pennington. Despite the rain, we had a large number of people approach us who were interested in learning more about Cairn terriers and about rescue and our other programs. We sent them away with literature on the club and on field trials, as well as on the Cairn.

The dogs were wonderful ambassadors. We had Ann’s Boo (Ch. Whetstone Trick or Treat), Barbara’s Remi, and Veronica’s Brody. They were friendly and attentive all day, despite the heat, the rain, and the surfeit of French fries.

Westie Rescue asked us if we were running a daycare, since we had a lot of smitten children sharing our cover all day. One boy, going into kindergarten today, said: “These are lovely dogs. I can’t imagine any lovelier.” Now there is an endorsement.

The Rescue Committee will be attending Fredericksburg’s Gone to the Dogs, a fun-filled Dog Fair in downtown Fredericksburg, VA on October 6th. So, if you’re not going to the CTCA Specialty and you’re looking for something Cairn-y to do, contact Veronica for details on joining us at the Fair.

Rescue Corner - July 2012

By Veronica Hudak-Moe

The Rescue Corner column began in the August 2011 Thistle Talk. The Corner will keep you up to date on all the goings-on in PCTC Rescue and more. We‘ll tell you our stories about how we came to rescue and how it has enriched our lives. We invite you to enjoy our stories and updates, and maybe join us in Rescue, one of the most gratifying experiences the dog fancy offers.

Rescue has had a busy 2012 and we are only halfway through the year. As of July 1st, Rescue has already helped 32 Cairn terriers: 14 through foster care, 7 through direct referrals, and 11 through other rescue coordination efforts (i.e., courtesy listings and networking).

Our most recent addition to the foster program is 6-month-old "Dixie", whose owner was facing eviction because of her pets. Ann Gates is fostering Dixie and these are her observations:

Dixie really has no issues. Her toe nails are literally 2 inches long, I had to struggle to get her way too-tight collar off, her coat is a nice red-blonde, but it is a mess, and she may never have been out of her apartment, oh, and she isn’t house-broken; but really she is just fine.

She is affectionate, brave, cute, and she eats well. I have been taking her for walks with ZsaZsa (who is very sweet to her and shares) and Roxanne (who deliberately bumps her and threatens her when she thinks I am not looking). I don’t think she has been on any walks and everything is interesting or scary, but Dixie is game. She poohs outside, but does not pee – we will have to try to fix that. I think she was owned by total incompetents who were kind to her.

Lois Cleland is fostering "Cinnamon", a 3-year-old female who was hit by a car and dumped by her owner in a shelter with a broken pelvis. She did not require surgery, but she does require 10 weeks of crate rest. Lois said she has a lovely temperament even in the midst of all her pain. Lois transports her in and out of the house using a laundry basket.

Reed and Becky Sims fostered 5-year-old male "August" in May and June until they found a possible match in Virginia. Things didn‘t work out with the resident Cairn bitch, so August is now being fostered by Veronica & Ken Moe. No rest for the weary, however! Reed & Becky will be fostering another 5-year-old male that will be coming into Rescue shortly.

Our most recent placement was 6-year-old "Finnegan". He was definitely a diamond in the rough! Below are his before and after grooming photos.

BEFORE

AFTER

Finnegan is now living the good life close to the beach in Delaware…

Aggression: Resource Guarding

Resource Guarding is when a dog shows aggression while in possession of something he values, whether it be food, toys, a person, or a spot on the sofa. The following article offers tips on training your dog to change his behavior.

Guarding and Showing Aggression Over Resources

More articles on dog aggression: http://www.potomacctc.org/page.php?id=26

Rescue Corner - January 2012

My interest in rescue began about twenty-four years ago when I started my search for my perfect companion. I had just graduated college and bought my first house and decided that it was time for a dog. Of course my parents thought it wasn't such a great idea; they knew it was a lot of work. Needless to say, I had my mind made up. Back then, the internet wasn't really popular yet, so I started my search at the Montgomery County Humane Society. I went and looked at all the dogs really hoping for a puppy but not really sure where to begin. I talked to the lady that was at the desk and told her what I was looking for and not sure how to find my new companion. She right away took out this booklet on this little guy named Carey but who preferred to be called Bubba. This booklet was actually a small book about the little Cairn that had been previously owned by four other people. Each of the other owners had written about him all liking him saying great things about him but all of them said that he dug holes, ruined their gardens, had such high energy, and was feisty. These were apparently traits that others couldn't tolerate but for me a very active young person, I couldn't understand why these were such a big deal.

So the journey began with my little Cairn that chose his name Bubba and lived to be eighteen and a half. I got Bubba when he was one and a half and had the best loving, faithful companion. I traveled with Bubba, hiked with him, ran five miles a day with the little guy and completely fell in love with him. This little Cairn was completely issue free so I assumed that all rescues would be perfect. Come to find out about a year later when I began my search for a female companion for Bubba that this isn't always the case.

Back to the humane society and just as luck would have it, I stumbled upon another terrier. She was the most beautiful white terrier that I had ever seen. Since I really didn't know a lot about terriers before Bubba, I had purchased a lot of Cairn terrier books and read the history about these fabulous dogs and knew right away she was a Westie. I had to have her so I could continue with just the terrier breeds, because of course they are the perfect dog.

I adopted my Westie and brought her home. Shortly after realizing that as sweet as she could be, there was the flip side also. She got along with Bubba perfectly, but was the queen of the house and she ruled with an iron fist. I realized that she didn't like kids and was particular about her doggie friends. But I was happy just having two of what I considered the most perfect terriers.

Then along came Jennifer, my human child. Everybody that I knew said I would have to get rid of my two faithful companions, except for my family. I just couldn't understand people’s mentality that because you have a baby now the pets have to go. I grew up with dogs my entire life and my parents had never given up a dog because they had kids. I knew that my pets would be fine with my human kid even though Maxi, my Westie, didn't like kids. Maxi had been abused by kids and they had dislocated her hip she had been tortured by these very mean kids and then dumped at the humane society. I knew that patience and time would change Maxi's mind about kids. After a few minor incidents, Maxi and Jennifer became fast and lifelong friends until Maxi died at fourteen from bladder cancer. I had these two wonderful terriers for fourteen and eighteen years and completely loved every minute. When Bubba died, I again began my search for my next future Cairn companion but I'll leave that story for next time. So hopefully everybody that reads this will understand that some rescues are perfect and are a challenge, but bring you nothing but happiness at the end of the day.

Until next time, Nan Vonfeldt