DogBoston’s Dog Blog

I rescued a rare breed dog.

One of the problems with rescuing a dog is you really don’t know anything about their history before they entered a shelter. I wonder sometimes, why Byron hates motorcycles and bicycles so much. Why he is so willing to play with any dog except German Shepard’s. Since becoming Byron’s parent, he has become my shadow. I wish I could ask him, is this his way of showing his love for me, or his need of affirmation, his fear of a second abandonment. His story prior to meeting me must be interesting, and very complex. No one knows his exact age, how he ended up in New York City, or the reason for his being alone.

Byron was found on December 26th, 2001 roaming the streets of New York City, by Animal Control. He was without any type of identification, scared, hungry and dirty. This is the day his history starts for I have documents. Our time together was still four months away, Yes, Animal Planet lovers, those Animal Control officers. I even know which one, but that is not important to Byron’s story. He was cleaned up, and his nails trimmed, giving him a lifetime hatred of baths and nail trims, not so different from other dogs. His left hind quarters were such a mess, the shelter decided to shave him, his coat never recovered. He was left in the shelter for two weeks waiting for who ever once called him theirs to return for him. While I don’t know his true age, I do know that he only had his puppy teeth, and his adult coat had yet to grow in. So according to the vet we can presume he was born some time in the summer of 2001. I was born in the summer, and the day he was found is the birthday of my former husband. So perhaps, Byron ending up in my life was somehow planned.

On January 25th, - The birthday of Lord Byron the poet, in case your wondering where his name comes from. Byron was released for adoption. He was taken in by Keeshond Rescue of Ct, and brought to the home of my friends who already owned a three year old rescued male. Their plan was to have the dogs keep each other company when they were at work. The dogs did not get along.

After two months of trying and failing to become a two dog household my friends made the difficult decision to return Byron to Keeshond Rescue. Before that day, I discussed with them the possibility of trying to see if Byron would do well in my pet empty house. He was brought up for a visit, and he explored the house, running back to check on his parents, and on me. On his second visit, I took him for a walk while my friends stayed at my house. The third visit he was left behind with me.

He decided quickly to make the best of it, after all, I did give him a nice piece of raw meat for our first night together. At bedtime, he followed me into the bed room, and crawled under my bed. He choose this as his sleeping place, and quickly became the creature under the bed. He has slept there just about every night since.

Training Byron was easy, he took well to crate training, and it only took a few months to train him to walk on a lead. Training Byron has taken no longer than it would have taken a dog who’s age I knew, or who’s parents I had met. I do not know Byron’s personal history, he does not have papers, but then I have no plans to show or breed him.

I have shared my story today because I wanted to show two very important truths about obtaining a dog from a shelter. Raising a shelter dog is easy, as easy as having a dog can be. They do not come with extra problems, excessive needs, or training issues. You can get a purebred dog, even a rare breed like a Keeshond from a shelter.

Most importantly, you will have obtained a dog, a wonderful being who will love you like no other. Which in the end, is what it is all about.

For the love of dog.