Avis A Townsend
Appleton, NY 14008
ph: 716-795-9672
Avie47
Dogs I've Adopted
Monty was the runt of the litter, and his owners thought he would not live. They raised and showed Cardigan Welsh Corgis, and Monty would never make the cut if he survived. Kept on a heating pad and hand-fed by his owners, he made it to eight weeks, and they brought him into the vet where I worked, asking if one of us would take him. How could anyone resist that face? He's had his problems. One of his legs is backwards, he has a knot head, he chokes easily, and he was born a cryptorchid, and it made his neutering very expensive. But he's silly, and he thinks he's the alpha male for the entire household.
Sparkle was a show dog in the Midwest, but she was scared of the judges, the show ring, and all strangers. Her breeder could not put her through the paces of such trauma, so she asked if someone would take her and give her a good caring home. When I saw how beautiful she was, I could not resist. I drove to Cleveland and met her owner half way, and Sparkle returned to Western NY with me and my husband. She is still shy, hiding from anyone who comes to visit, and her favorite hiding place is next to the toilet, but she loves going to the barn and playing with Monty.
Bluie was rescued a long time ago from a Colorado greyhound track when she was only five months old. She wasn't fast enough, and her owners were going to shoot her. This goes on all the time, and fortunately television news shows have shown the piles of dead greyhound bodies in dumps outside of greyhound tracks. There are now greyhound rescues, where people can take home their own dog. I can attest that they are kind, wonderful, and funny animals, but they do need a spot to run. If you can't take them to a dog park, have a huge fenced in yard, or have a place to take them where they can expand their leg muscles, leave them to someone who can. And they can't be left outside in cold climates. Their skin is so thin when the sun shines through you can see their blood under the skin.
Poppy (the dog) and the original Eli (the cat) are no longer on this earth, but their spirits remain. Eli was killed by coyotes, so when a new Eli wandered into the yard, begging to be adopted, I made sure he never went outside. Poppy weighed 106 pounds, and was half boxer/half German Shorthair pointer. Both parents were purebreds. He lived a long life, to 13 years old, with no ill health until the end when he got cancer. He was a star at our annual family picnics, robbing hot dogs out from under everyone's noses, and being so quiet about it no one knew he took them until they saw him sneaking away. Poppy was the perfect dog, even with his food-stealing habits. Poppy's mother's owner never took the female to the vet, allowing the dog to have a litter of 12-13 puppies each year. We still have Poppy's brother, Kukla, from the second litter. Kukla will be 13 this year but is starting to fade.
Feen had been hit by a car and laid in a field for three days, exposed to rainy downpours and hot sun. At seven months of age, she already had a set of puppies nursing off her. The owners ignored her injured body, and some of the puppies were killed in the road. I contacted Save-A-Pet, and we rescued her from the property. I could not bear to see her euthanized, so I adopted her. Save-A-Pet found homes for her puppies. She was spayed when her injuries were taken care of, and she lived with me for sixteen years. She was a wonderful dog.
Bugle was abandoned in the woods behind me by her hunter owner. She was forced to live off squirrels and vermin for six months until the day she came walking out of the woods and I took her in. I had heard her bugling all fall and into the winter. When I called the town hall, they said it was common practice for beagle owners to dump their dogs in the woods if they didn't hunt well. She died in 2009 at the age of 16.. She was a great dog.
Shu Shu was not a rescue, but she was purchased for me by my husband to atone for losing our previous dog, Duncan, who was let out with a short chain hanging off him and he disappeared into the woods. We heard him barking for hours, and we were just about to go looking for him, when the barking suddenly stopped. Either he hung himself by the chain, or he was attacked and killed by coyotes. We now have a fenced in yard. Shu Shu was always aloof, but she held her own in the pack of dogs. She died in 2009 of old age, like most of our dogs have passed.
I adopted Pippin in 2008. She was in a kill shelter in Kentucy with only one day to live. She reminded me of Peepers, one of Bugle's puppys, who died at a young age from kidney failure, so I arranged to get her, got her on the dog rescue railroad, and she has been with the family ever since. She is super friendly and can't do anything without having something in her mouth, mostly cat food cans like in the picture above.
Appleton, NY 14008
ph: 716-795-9672
Avie47
