Monday - Dozer's Back !

Hi All !

Today is Monday and we have 70 dogs.

We would like to welcome Jake (cockapoo) to our Canines Unleashed family. Jake turned 1 year old last month and started out with the big kids today. He is doing so well that he is already in with the big pack and having a good time. Welcome Jake ! (see pic #1)

Today, even with the relatively low number of dogs, we happen to have 7 boxers with us so we decided to proclaim it "Boxer Day" and try to get them together and take a picture. This was no small feat because, as some of you boxer owner's know, they have alot of energy and the attention span of a grain of sand. We tried to do it on the equipment outside but couldn't get more than 5 at a time before boxers 6 and 7 would leave out of boredom. (see picture #2) SO we went inside and after trying for quite a while Jill, Amanda, and Lindsey finally accomplished the impossible and got all 7 together. They are not all looking the same way but just to have them in the same shot was a major accomplishment (see pic #3) they are from left to right on the couch ; Sherman, Ricky, Cal, Otis --- on floor left to right: Henry A., Shockey, & Harley.

Good job Girls !

As most of you know last Monday was a very trying time for all of us. Besides the untimely death of our beloved Riley Eck and a few other things that I won't bring up again, we also had gotten the news that Dozer (Great Dane)who had been mysteriously sick for about 10 days now had taken a turn for the worst and was gravely ill. It was touch and go for a while and we weren't even sure he was going to make it. It is with great elation that I announce that Dozer has not only made a miraculous recovery but has already returned to us today at Canines Unleashed (See pics #4-#7 ). I can't tell you what seeing him did to me. I grabbed him and kissed him and wouldn't let go. He just wanted me to leave him alone and go back and play with his friends which I reluctantly let him do but at naptime he lay in my office and I can't tell you how happy it made me just to watch him sleep.

For those of you who don't know Dozers story, he spent the first 2 years of his life locked in a bathroom and beaten with a belt. The people that rescued him from that situation didn't really know too much about danes (they had 2 other dogs) and he never really fit in with them. They decided after 2 1/2 years of the other dogs beating him up and him being a sort of outcast in the home to give him up on Craigslist which is where I found him and decided to rescue him and find him a good home. When he came to me he had lost over 30 lbs in the last year alone. He was just skin and bones and had a hole in his leg that the previous owners said was from him chewing on himself for the past 2 years out of boredom, and he did alot of shaking almost like a constant shiver. You could actually see right through to the bone and tissue in the hole in his leg. Despite all he had been through he had the sweetest disposition. And when he leaned on me and looked up at me with those deep set eyes I knew all he wanted was for me to love him and keep him safe. I took him to the vet and gave him good food, some antibiotics for the hole in the leg that was infected, and lots of love and he was on his way. One more hurdle to over come was that he was afraid of other dogs. He also , at 5 years old, didn't even know how to play with toys or what to do with a bone. He was fine with my 4 dogs at home although he never left my side to be with or play with them but the daycare terrified him. Little by little he got used to it and one day we turned around and he was actually playing with the dogs. I was so happy that day at his breakthrough. He now loved coming to the daycare and was truly a different dog than the one I took in. During this time he gained over 30 lbs, his leg was doing much better and the shaking mostly stopped except in times of stress. Where he was sad and timid before he was now gaining confidence and starting to open up and even carry himself differently. But mostly it was evident that he was happy! The staff here and all the customers fell in love with him and soon there was a waiting list of people who wanted him. At the top of the list was Joan Mitchell who already had 2 dogs coming here --Maddy (standard Poodle) and Caesar (English Mastiff). After a brief adjustment period it was clear that Dozer had finally found his "forever" home. Which is why we were all so devistated that after coming so far and finally finding the kind of home he had wanted for 5 long years and also after being in that happy home for only a matter of months that Dozer became so gravely ill.

So he's back and getting stronger everyday but best of all he has that twinkle in his eyes back

and so does Joan. Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. Sometimes there is a happy ending.

That's all for now

Ann and Zoe