AT RESCUE REPORT: OUR LITTLE DOGS NEED YOU!

by Dr. Kerrie Bryan

The newspaper advertised the unspayed Aussie bitch for sale. An alert ATCA member saw the advertisement and called the number. She made a follow-up visit. An overwhelmed young woman with young children was selling “Lady” because she and her husband had to move and could not keep Lady. The member bought the little bitch on behalf of Australian Terrier Rescue, kept her for a few days and then transported her to me. I fostered her for a few weeks and it was obvious that she was a little timid, not house-trained - but very loving. I was able to place her with a friend who promptly renamed her “Lady Josephine.” Now Lady J. lives in luxury, holidays at bed and breakfast inns in Vermont and Maine, and generally rules the roost.

Another little Aussie, “Razzle”, had a hard life but was fortunate enough to be fostered by an ATCA member who found him to be a charming boy, but very edgy and anxious. The member worked with Razzle and we found a great home for him with adults who worked patiently and tenaciously with him under the guidance of the foster person. He is now so beloved that the owner is going to adopt another Aussie. The older Aussie, “Ziggy”, was picked up by an all-breed rescuer who in turn, called Aussie Rescue. He was about eight years-old and deaf. He was fostered successfully with my dogs. I just kept him apart from my males. I determined that he was the sweetest, most loving of dogs. However, this was a handicapped Aussie and he needed a special home. One was found. He was taken in by some very compassionate people who already had a diabetic Aussie (taken in from a shelter), as well as a blind beagle.

Their son taught Ziggy sign language. A few years later when Ziggy was diagnosed with cancer, these special people wrote:

“We have decided to pamper him for the rest of his days...when he goes, we will bury him on our new 10 acre ranch where he loves to visit and walk on the trails in the woods surrounding the fields, where our new house is being built...”

There are so many more stories of successful AT Rescue placements where the dogs and the owners are devoted to each other. The most significant reason our placements are so successful is that we have good foster homes, where a person familiar with Aussies evaluates the dog and works with the Rescue coordinators, and sometimes with the new owners. However, we are in desperate need of foster homes. In my area, the Northeast, I have one wonderful person, Alice Plotkin, who has fostered so many little dogs; without her, I would be lost. Every coordinator can tell the same story. We rely on a very small pool of people to help with the rescuing and fostering. There are planes to be met, dogs to be transported, vets to be visited, and just everyday “TLC.”

Our little dogs are so wonderful. They are loving and stoic. They ask so little and give so much. So I am asking for them. Please contact Australian Terrier Rescue and offer to foster just one dog a year. The love you will receive in return from these abandoned little dogs will make it all worthwhile...