IS THERE NO JUSTICE?
|
| 4/15/08: Here's the info as received verbatim this evening. It comes from our Yuma rep Cyndi. Bottom line: this boy needs a safe haven NOW!
Justice (formerly Cain) was brought to the shelter as a bite dog. I was contacted by the shelter because they felt he was being unfairly accused and sentenced to death. His owner surrendered him because he bit her hand while she was shaving him. When she was told that surrendering him as a bite dog meant he would be PTS she said she would not be reclaiming him. These pictures were taken 11 days after the shaving incident (notice how short the hair still is) and while visiting him I could still see the RAZOR BURN marks and CUTS on his skin! An inexperienced person performing a hack shaving job on a 1 year old German Shepherd, who has never been groomed before AND she was physically hurting him and burning him in the process. No wonder she got bitten. He was probably trying to bite the clipper. She should have been charged with animal cruelty.
Justy needs a foster home immediatley. Please keep in mind that we have not had an opportunity to personally evaluate him so just to be on the safe side for now, no kids please. Based on his photos, Justy might even be younger than a year old. (BTW....WE NEVER SHAVE German Shepherds; if one cannot deal with their shedding, it's time to rethink your breed choice).
We'd like to get Justy a foster home in the Phoenix area so that we can start working with and vetting him. Please check back as we learn more about this now Lucky Dog!
He is very smart and alert, a great passenger during his car trips. He'll need to learn the usual social skills as he appears to have been an outside guy and allowed to chase cars. He's mild mannered and adorable. He will learn some valuable lessons where he is from Aunt Becki but we would still like to see him in a real home setting much like one into which he will be placed. Meanwhile we'll be trying to work with him beyond "sit" and get him more socialized. Once his hair grows back this handsome dude will shine. UPDATE 4/25: Justy's foster Mom finds him quite lovable. He's very affectionate and people oriented. He's being left alone for various periods of time to help with any abandonment anxiety and is doing very well. Aunt Becki has very few boarders right now so Justice is getting a lot of free time wandering in the house. He is, however, crated when she leaves. Aunt Becki has also been handling and brushing him regularly so that he learns it's a "good thing"...holding his feet, ears, touching his head all over, and no more indication of hand sensitivity..he is very trusting. The first time he saw the soft rubber brush he politely pushed it away with his nose..sooo cute. It wasn't long before he was asking to be brushed! This youngster just needs socialization and training, including leash work, after which he will make a perfect family dog. We're hoping to get him out to boot camp soon where we can socialize him with lots of other dogs. UPDATE 5/13: Aunt Becki's notes on Justy's obedience class: Little boy did so well last night... we went through the motions of heeling, sits/down stays..and he got to meet some Great Dane puppies. I kept him out the whole time. He is catching on but still immature in attention span. Justice has done well around all sorts of unfamiliar dogs. He does chase everything in sight from within the yard; birds, passing cars..most anything that moves. We're pretty certain that this was his only form of "entertainment" during his first year. He will learn that's there's lots of stuff he can do with a human companion. He's still very much a big puppy. UPDATE 5/20: We spent a couple of hours with Justy last night and here's what we learned: He's very puppy-like, almost as though he'd skipped that part of his young life. He lacks focus much like a puppy and his primary goal in life is to play, play play. While he comes on a bit enthusiastically, he is friendly with every dog he meets; gender, breed or age not an issue. In fact, he is very dog oriented which is typical of dogs raised with other dogs, outside and with insufficient human interaction. If he had his druthers, he would likely choose to spend his time with a canine friend. Thus placing him as an only dog initially would probably accelerate the bonding and training he needs and increase his dependence and attention toward his people. Justy would do best with someone who has already done some obedience work or who has handling experience...he's pretty much a blank slate as far as knowing commands. He is a classic teenager that has not had much structure early on. Once it was made clear that he had to lay down and just watch about 20 other dogs he was compliant and obedient. His walking skills need work but he catches on quickly. We would prefer no cats, no kids under 13 years old. Justy can be a little mouthy if pushed into something he doesn't want to do. A quick squeeze of his muzzle and he's oh so very sorry and will apologetically lick you all over. It's all about leadership with this kid. He is a high energy active boy and loves to play in water. Now that the heat is on, he will likely be introduced to the pool.
As you can see, Justice is growing his coat back and is eager to meet his new folks. If you think you can help this poor fella, please complete a foster application and Email Us at SWGSDRescue@aol.com ...THANK YOU!!! If you are interested in fostering Justice, please read about OUR FOSTER PROGRAM and submit a Foster Application (found on the Foster Program page). Adoption fee $275.00. |
I was told that this person recently acquired this dog and that Justice lived with children and another female shepherd mix. He is 1 yr old, neutered and current on shots. It was hard to get good pics of him because he was anxious and had a lot of cooped up energy. He had been in solitary confinement for 10 days, wasn't allowed outside and was tied to his kennel door while they cleaned his cage, then back in the cage he went. Even though he had been in confinement and must have been going crazy, every kennel worker I spoke with said he was a very nice dog. To take these pictures was the first time he had been outside in 10 days. He gave me lots of kisses and was trying to behave himself although you could tell he wanted to run, run, run!
Annette, the Director of Operations at the shelter met the dog today (I was contacted about him just yesterday) and felt that this dog didn't deserve to die and she repeatedly said he was a sweet dog and kept giving her kisses. The problem is his only option is rescue and he must leave Yuma ASAP. He was supposed to be euthanized today. "You know I'll drive him anywhere he needs to go Steff--is there any hope for him?"
UPDATE 4/17:
Thanks to our heroes; Cyndi, who got up real early today to squeeze in a transport before she headed back to go to work and Carla, who took time off work to do her end of the transport (and who obviously has a very understanding boss ;-), Justy is winging his way to his temporary foster home in Mesa!
This is a multi-dog pack and foster Mom will be traveling soon to compete in some agility trials with her own dogs, so we'll likely have to move him but for now, Justice is SAFE...THANK YOU LADIES!
UPDATE 4/18:
We had an opportunity to have a look at Justy today and moved him to his new foster home; what a sweetie!
Not surprisingly there was some posturing going on between the two males where he was and Carla didn't feel that her hubby, who is home with the fur kids most days, would be comfortable dealing with any aggression between the boys. Justy did play well with the females in the pack.
He's very affectionate..lots of licks..and gentle taking food or toys. He seems a little hand-shy..very subtle and we think we know why. We have learned more about the former "owner" who surrendered him:
She had been banned from adopting from the Humane Society and forbidden to keep any pets where she lives as she has a pattern of taking then dumping animals frequently. She was told to remove all pets from her home so there's a chance Justy never even bit anyone; imagine, he was almost put to death for no reason. She was described as not very stable. It's possible that this youngster was dealt with harshly.
