Sibley County Seizure
On September 7, 2006, 44 dogs in the care of Sanctuary Plus rescue were seized in Sibley county. The full story can be seen here:
www.kstp.com.
A Rotta Love Plus and its volunteers have stepped forward to assist The Humane Society for Companion Animals and the Animal Humane Society in caring for and placing these animals. A press release issued by A Rotta Love Plus can be found here: 090806 Press Release
If you would like to help either financially or by opening your home to one of these dogs, please contact us at: sp_response@arottalove.org
Update - October 22, 2006
Hatch - WAS ADOPTED this past Friday by Meredith. He'll be living with another brother dog and is already going to training camp this weekend at Dogue Style. Way to go Hatch!
Ernest - Is still in foster care awaiting his forever home. Ernest came to training camp this weekend so his foster mom and dad could get some ideas to make him even better before placement. His temperament with dogs and people is wonderful. He continues to be a good boy!
Amir - Came to training camp last weekend and is healthy and happy with his foster mom. He's working on better manners but does great with his other animal housemates. This guy is HIGH ENERGY and will need a home to exercise him. He'd make a great jogging partner or frisbee dog.
Easter - Finally found a foster home that loves her and can take care of her properly. She LOVES her new foster mom, dad and dog sister. This little girl is a super example of the breed. She's smart, in a small package and LOTS of smarts.
Ora - is doing great in her foster home with her Rottweiler brother. She came to camp last weekend and was WONDERFUL. She's quite the little princess and her foster mom and dad are doing a good job on her training.
Macy - Went to Justin's house for foster this past Friday. Finally a permanent place for this sweet girl instead of juggling her between 3 places. She'll settle in nicely. Macy does well with other dogs after an initial warm up period and provided they are respectful. We think she could even learn to live with a cat with the right owner!
Scuba - is in foster care with some of our MOST DEDICATED foster parents. Tim and Sarah have taken this girl through level 2 training camp now and her training is excelling. We are so impressed with her progress and this is in large part due too her fabulous foster family. THANK YOU TIM AND SARAH!
Update - September 20, 2006
This past weekend 3 of the dogs went into foster care - Scuba and Amir.
Scuba is really enjoying her time getting pampered and lavished with much needed attention. She's working on potty training and LOVES belly rubs and her daily walks.
Amir went into a home with a male and female dog and is being quite the gentleman. This beautiful boy will integrate into most any home nicely. He's a people pleaser and respectful of his home environment.
Ora went into foster care on Monday. Her foster family has a fenced in yard but we are still monitoring her acrobatic qualities and keeping her on a long line to figure out if she'll respect a fence with her people around her. She is with a male Rottweiler and getting along fabulously. While Ora is good with other dogs she'd much rather be around people.
Hatch updated! As of today Hatch will be moved to foster care with a local American Staffordshire Terrier breeder. Not just ANY breeder mind you but an ethical breeder that shows her dogs in conformation AND is active in rescue. Thank you Heidi for opening your heart and home to Hatch. He's a fabulous dog.
Ernest is waiting for foster care and we really need to move this boy. He's PERFECT. No messing in the kennel, fairly good on leash and just loves being around people. We are hoping to move this perfect boy this week. He will make a phenomenal pet!!!
Macy is letting us know that she will most likely do well in a home with no other pets. But this girl LOVES people. If you are looking for a couch cuddler or beg bug then this girl fits the bill. We are looking actively to get her into foster ASAP!
Easter is our little challenge. She really likes to mess in her kennel area so we will hopefully be moving her soon so we can start much needed training for this high energy girl.
We still need fosters (obviously!) and financial support. If you can help we'd appreciate. Stay tuned as we'll be posting updates at least every week!
THANK YOU TO ALL VOLUNTEERS FROM DOGUE STYLE FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO CARING FOR THESE DOGS.
Update - September 15, 2006
From Tiffany Huebner, Director of A Rotta Love and Trainer/Owner of Dogue Style:
At 8pm several people that are either active with A Rotta Love or Dogue Style come out to Windsor Kennels. We figured out a schedule of who is covering what shifts for the next week. I explained to everyone that as of Saturday our hope was to have 4 of the dogs transferred to foster homes. With that said the shifts for caring for the remaining dogs would be considerably easier. Everyone really stepped out and we have coverage for morning, afternoon and evening shifts to walk, feed and care for the dogs. This includes PLAY TIME and cuddle time because that's what these dogs seem to love the most.
After the meeting we took each dog into the grooming room. There were at least 4 of us at any given time and we have compressed rawhides, stuffed Kongs, rope toys, soft canned food and lots of treats. Our plan was to love them up and cut their nails (which I might add are some of the LONGEST nails I've seen on dogs in a very long time!).
First up was Macy - She is SO sweet and does this cute little "Roo" when people approach. It's a friendly gesture although I wouldn't be surprised if this was mistaken for something else (i.e. warning growl) by those that don't know dogs very well. She is VERY FOOD motivated. She takes treats rough but we worked on that last night and she tries so hard to please. We gave her a compressed rawhide, which she went to work on immediately. When offered a trade to give up the bone for a dog treat she obliged in a very lady-like way. I see no issues with this dog's temperament. She loves people and just wants to be loved up. Her favorite position when on leash is to put her front paws over a human's arm and get belly rubs and side scratches. Macy reciprocates by licking your face, neck and wagging her tail excessively. Nail Cutting: Macy was held in a stand position by (not restrained, but just helped to not keep sitting down) someone while I cut her nails. There was no muzzle and no reason to use one. This dog's nails were cut without a fuss or fight. We rewarded her several times during the process. She's a diamond in the rough.
Second up was Scuba - Scuba, named for her platypus-like feet and deep-sea diving eyes, is the shyest of the bunch. Shy is not even the right word. She's more reserved in her mannerisms and doesn't jump up on people as much as some of the exuberant dogs. Scuba likes to lay with one shoulder to the ground and eventually flip over for tummy/side rubs. We handled Scuba the same way as Macy and she was stellar. No problems cutting nails, no problem handling any part of her muscular body. She is a puller on leash (I took her for a long walk last night) but gets it that pulling won't work and really did well with me on leash. After we cut her nails Tina took her outside on a long line and they ran around. Scuba got a case of the Zoomies and happily went to her kennel run with a compressed rawhide and stuffed Kong. She slept well we think!
Easter was third - Easter, named for her bunny ears, is a sweet and petite pit bull. She's probably around 1 year old (we are guessing). When we brought her into the room with everyone I gave her a dental rope to play with. Oh my goodness was she in heaven. If anyone needs help mopping floors I think this dog could do it. She grabbed the rope toy and started shaking in the most unique fashion against the floor - like she was sweeping. She was SO happy and just chewed contently on that rope for quite some time. I patted her head and touched the rope without a peep. Just a wagging tail and one very happy little girl is what I saw that night. She takes treats SO gently. A baby could give her a treat. You don't even know it's leaving your fingers it's so soft. We clipped her nails so quickly.she was amazing! Stood there though the entire process like "Yes, please cut these! My manicure is WAY past due!" She loves to lay on side or back with her rope toy and get loved up. This little girl will be a fun dog. I could easily see her doing some great work in obedience and agility.
Hatch was lucky #4 - Hatch is Tina's favorite. He was the first pit bull we evaluated when going to the Humane Society. He's a striking boy (and big) and I cannot think of a dog that loves tug more than this dog. We gave him a rope toy and he was so happy. He didn't even want a bone or treat for his tug.now that's dedication! He's a growler when tugging but it's all in fun and this is not any sign of being naughty with Hatch. Due to the length of Hatch's nails he busted one the previous day all the way back to the quick. It looks quite painful so I wasn't sure how he'd be about the left front paw. Nonetheless we didn't muzzle this guy either to do nails and he was a champ. Four paws were done before you knew it. We are confident someone as some time cared for this dog. His leash manners are good, he's fabulous in his kennel and keeps it clean. This dog will be a breeze to housetrain.if it's even needed.
Ora was number 5 - Ora is our little fence jumper. This gal will clear most anything. Even a 6-foot privacy fence is probably not an option for this girl unless you cover the entire area. We have a sneaking suspicion that she and Easter may be sisters due to appearance and behaviors. They closely resemble each other and share one BIG thing in common.THE EARS! Ora has the cutest little under-bite and big eyes. She's just a love and was a star for her manicure and pedicure. She was interested in toys and treats but obviously loved the attention from everyone much more. Ora will likely need a little training in the potty outside department. But she's smart and willing so this will be a breeze. She's a pint size pit bull but her personality is anything BUT pint size. She's a quiet girl too. Not much for barking.
Ernest was our half dozen marker - Ernest is a big lug and so patient in his kennel. No barking, just standing to see about the bottom screen area and wagging his tail. He didn't have a whole lot of interest in the toys when with us. But he'll play with a water bucket in his kennel.go figure. This is the ladies man of the bunch. Poor Ernest has a raw neck from a collar that was way too tight. So we leave him naked at night to give him some relief. Ernest was completely fine with nail trimming and takes treats like a gentleman. He eats up the attention and is probably the mellowest of the crew. He did, however, dig the Kong stuffed with goodies. That's how we got him to stand for nail trims. He was making the most obnoxious slurping sounds but was thoroughly enjoying the treats inside and didn't pay any attention to the snapping of long nails being cut from his feet.
Amir was the last - And for good reason. He was being impatient and barking incessantly so I made him wait until the end. It paid off too because when we were playing with Ernest, Amir was quiet! Success! When we went to get him out he was quiet too. So his training is already underway and progressing for a foster to take over. He was SO happy to be in that room full of people. I'm sure he was thinking about why he had to wait so long for something so good. We gave him a rawhide to chew on and treats. He got lots of belly rubs and when Terry (owner of Windsor Bouviers) walked in Amir thanked him for his hospitality with tails wags and kisses. While Amir chewed on his bone I started cutting nails. When I would cut one he would stop to look at me but there was no grumbling, etc. Amir is a little noisy and impatient but I really think it's because he desperately wants the attention and once he's in a foster home this will really improve.
All in all the night was successful and the dog's have fabulous temperaments.
Tina called this morning (9/15) with an update for the AM shift today: Only one poop accident out of 7 dogs. Everyone was walked, watered, fed and the kennels were cleaned. They got to spend time outside in the fresh air and the Kongs were cleaned out thoroughly from the night before. Macy's compressed rawhide was nowhere to be seen so we know she was busy with that last night.
Update - September 14, 2006
On September 13, volunteers from A Rotta Love Plus and staff from Dogue Style dog training, took a trip to the Humane Society to assess and intake the remaining Sibley County
dogs from the September 7th seizure. Out of 44 dogs, there were 9 that were
available to us that had not be euthanized by the Humane Society. 2-3 of
the dogs were being transferred to other rescues. Out of the 9, we intook
7. Of the two that remain, one was a mix and the other dog was deaf, unfortunately at this time we are not
equipped to take in a deaf dog.
We were initally told that the remaining dogs had not passed the temperament
evaluation of the Humane Society volunteers/employees. Upon interacting
with the dogs we could not see any problems with temperament or behaviors
towards people. The deaf dog and mixed breed were equally friendly.
That night they were transported to the Windsor Bouviers facility in
Princeton, MN. Terry Scharber, owner of Windsor Bouviers, graciously offered
free housing for the dogs until they could be placed in foster care over the
next 2-3 weeks. They are comfortably housed in clean kennel runs with bedding.
Volunteers walk, feed, water and tend to the dogs a minimum of 3 times per
day.
We are learning the dog's temperaments more and more each day and they adore
people. Hatch loves a good game of tug. Easter is a social butterfly but
bossy about it. Amir LOVES a ball on a rope. Ernest is a ladies man. Macy
just wants to snuggle. Scuba is energetic and a little shy but nonetheless
a lover. Ora is a acrobat and can scale most any fence so she's receiving
special accomodations to ensure her safety and comfort.
We are still very much in need foster homes and donations. We'll keep you posted on the dogs progress
as we receive more information.
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