Tidewater Afghan Hound Club Rescues
"Rocky"
Rocky was spotted by a lady trucker in Georgia tied to a tree in the front yard of a house with a sign that said "Free Dog." She has been known to rescue various animals and Rocky's poor condition could be seen from quite a distance away. She stopped and asked why he was giving the dog away and was told "Dawg is too old to breed anymore." Upon further investigation by our trucker heroine it appeared that this was a small time puppymill operation. She immediately took the emaciated Rocky home to her mother's house in Western Virginia. Her mother was caring for several other dogs that our heroine had brought home and Rocky in his condition was over the limit.
National got a call from the mom, who in turn called Tidewater AHC. Although this was far outside our territory there seemed to be no one else, so off to the resuce of the rescuers! Rocky was so sweet and patient. A very gentle and grateful sould. There were many people clamoring for him but, he couldn't be placed until he gained enough weight to be neutered. It took 6 months for him to gain enough that the vet was satisfied.
Rocky has a wonderful forever home and is much cherished by his new mom and family.
"Halo"
I got a call on a Friday night one August... it seemed that the Mongomery County Maryland animal shelter had called a rescue person with a 9 month old Af in big time emotional distress ("frightened out of his skin"..direct quote from shelter workers). His wonderful owner had turned him in...claimed he jumped a 6 foot fence (then said "gets out of " 6 foot fence on the bottom of the turn in form).
I spent 10 1/2 hours on the road the next morning to go get this little guy. 3 hours up and 6 1/2 back...you know, I-95. . .can't say enough about it!
He was a wonderful little dog...shy, sweet, well mannered..he was even half way groomed! He was easily worth 24 hours on the road. Black masked/black and tan. My husband was in love with him before we got to our foster's home. She loves him too! He got along with everybody and everything (cats, kids, etc). Okay..she lost one shoe to him. However, a "kennel" environment scared the heck out of him. He was shaking so hard when I picked him up that I didn't think his little legs were going to stay under him...the very minute we walked out the door into the grass ..his head came up and he was a different dog. They told me he would not walk on a leash, I did not find that to be true. However, he would not walk near a car. I think from his reaction to the front end of a car that he must have come very close to getting hit. He RODE in a car great.
Whoever got this guy I really wanted to be perfect for him! He needed a little company . He seemed to be at that stage where emotionally he could be ruined fairly easily. I guess you could call it "needy" ... he didn't want to be alone. Well, he was a baby after all. He loved for the momma cat to wash his face if that te <<Outlook.bmp>> lls you anything about his personality. It was another state a good way from Tidewater but, I was not about to let a frightened puppy wait in that shelter any longer than I had to.
I'd do it again in a minute. :>)
Halo was placed with a Veterinarian and he goes to work every day. He has plently of company now!
"Sampson"
At two years old, the dog did not have a name. He was closed in a run with his brother for company. He had an airline kennel for his only shelter that he shared with his brother. Storms were VERY scary things out in the wooded area where their kennel was located. A lady came once a day and threw some food in for he and his brother to wrestle over...she was a busy lady, she had LOTS of dogs. Because she was such a busy lady, bathing and brushing was not an option for all the dogs, and so, the dog with no name never got bathed or brushed.
Then one day came the fire. The lady was not home when some bad wiring caught fire, gutting the house. Unfortunately, there were some animals in the house and they did not make it. So the dog with no name and quite a few others were lucky. The firemen did not know that the dog with no name didn't know people...and they opened the door to the run. SEVERAL hours later the firemen managed to catch him. By this time the local newspaper had time to get a photographer and a reporter on the scene and the following day a picture and story appeared in "The Daily Press" (June 19, 1993).
Enter the local Afghan Hound Rescue Organization. Actually, she was on the scene before the firemen left, wondering just where she was going to foster all those dogs. I saw the story and picture in the newspaper the next day and called Claudia to ask if she knew anything about this, and, if I could be of some help. She asked if I could "foster" one of the dogs until a permanent home could be found. I said "Yes".
The minute I saw him I knew that this dog would never leave me to live with another family. When he came to me out of his kennel in the woods he weighed 42 pounds, and he was ONE GIANT MAT! He also was covered in ticks, this resulted in him being shaved naked...all the way to the skin! Being "shorn" he then received his call name of "Sampson" (I know that the "P" does not belong in there but HE liked the sound with it..who was I to argue?). There IS such a thing as "OVERKILL" and in attempting to teach a 2 year old dog with no name what "his" name was, I repeated it to him often, always with lots of love and playfulness....he then began to believe that his name was not just "Sampson", but that it was "Sampson-Sampson"! Never the less he knows that's who he is!
Sampson came to me as a frightened, traumatized 2 year old. He had absolutely NO confidence. He was frightened of EVERYBODY (myself included) and EVERYTHING, thunderstorms were the worst..you could hear his kennel shaking at the other end of the house and I could not even physically get him out of the kennel to comfort him! Since that time he has "rescued" me from a burglar and become my most faithful protector. He now has NO fear of ANYBODY or ANYTHING! He sleeps through thunderstorms where ever he happens to be in the house without so much as blinking an eye! Not only is he an excellent example of "The King of Dogs", an awesome dog to see....an Afghan Hound; but, he also is a fine example of temperament and of how a little kindness and a LOT of love can turn neglect into beauty.
I can say with certainty that Sampson TRULY LOVED ME and I loved him VERY MUCH!
A follow-up story on Sampson appeared in "The Daily Press" May 18, 1998. On May 25th the following week, Sampson took "Winners Dog" at the Virginia Beach Kennel Club Show in Jamestown Virginia, and is now pointed!
I lost Sampson December 27th 1999