Please help welcome a very special little one--Daphne. Miss Daphne is a beautiful 5 year old wheaten girl, who joined Col. Potter to find her happy forever.
Daphne was a breeder mom, and now will put that behind her to learn all there is about being a beloved family member....She is currently getting her spa treatment, and will be moving to her foster home this weekend.
Satori is the Japanese Buddhist term for enlightenment. The word literally means understanding. Satori translates as a flash of sudden awareness, or individual enlightenment, and while satori is from the Zen Buddhist tradition, enlightenment can be simultaneously considered the first step or embarkation toward nirvana.
Imagine being help held captive in a small wire cage, wondering when or even if your next meal will come. Water is scarce. Some days the heat is so intense you can barely breathe. Imagine being bred, over and over, for 5-6 years, only to have your babies ripped from you too soon, when they are too young, and still in need of you. Then, imagine the day you are set free. The day someone takes you into their arms to hold you, pet you, the first time you get to feel grass under your feet, play with a toy or the first time you run free.
Sadly, for most breeder furkids, this is a very scary time. But with the love and patience our foster homes provide these scared furkids, slowly, a flash of sudden awareness, an individual enlightenment, the understanding that they will never be tormented again happens. It’s the reason we all do what we do, the reason we joined Col Potter. I am proud to introduce Satori, a 5-6 year old former breeder girl, on her way to her foster home. On her way to her to her the first step or embarkation toward nirvana.
Don't think there are puppy mills near you? Think again! I was just at one ... 15 miles from MY home!
I received word last weekend of a young, female Cairn that needed help. The story went something like this ... her owner had died, the family couldn't keep her and she had been given to a dog "broker" to re-home because he had a lot of contacts. On top of it all, the "broker" was located in the same town where I live!
This morning I drove out to pick-up this little girl and get her to safety and freedom. I turn off the main highway and head down a country road. The farther I drive down the country road, the farther apart the homes get, the farther back from the road they are set and the more rundown and shabby they become. After about 3 miles I see the address I'm looking for. A wire fence surrounds the front of the property with a gate across the driveway. The gate is partially open and has a sign on it that says "If you're not expected, DON'T ENTER!" I drive in and head up the driveway until I get to the buildings. I get out of my car and a man with a scruffy beard and dirty coveralls greets me by setting down a VERY pregnant DOXIE who comes running over to me. He has to jump on his 4-wheeler mule to retrieve the Cairn. I stay with the pregnant Doxie, all the while taking in what I can see - a small shed approximately 8' x 6' that must be the whelping shed, many small wire enclosures scattered around the main shed, house and the whelping shed with no dogs in any of them, and a little Cockapoo that is desperately trying to get back into the 8 x 6 shed. He then comes driving up with the Cairn. Once again he gives me the story of how she was a house pet, is UTD (Up To Date) on her shots and how happy the family will be that she has found a good home (NO, he doesn't know I'm rescue). I thank him profusely, all the while just wanting to get her settled in her crate and get the heck out of there!
I had a couple of hours before my appointment with my vet, so I take our new little girl home. I put all my furkids outside and bring her in the house for a look see, bath, grooming and nail trim. The first thing I notice is she has definitely had puppies from the length and size of her nipples. Then I see the claw hooks she has for nails and my suspicions are confirmed - she was a puppy mill breeder dog.
Those days are all over for her now! She has moved to the "other side of town" and there are no PMs over here! This little girl is absolutely precious! You can tell she did spend some time in a home and was treated with some kindness. When we arrived at my vet's office, she was dancing on her hind legs trying to entice anyone that walked in the door to pet her and all the dogs to play with her. She was very content at my house for me to hold her and for her to lay next to me.
Please help me welcome our Easter Special Delivery - Nani (na - nee) which is Hawaiian for beautiful and precious. Both of which she most definitely is!
UPDATE: We are very pleased to announce that Servus has found his forever family! Are you looking for a TERRIFIC TERRIER? Check out our available cairns! Look for Servus and other "Happily Ever After" stories on our Post Adoption blog.
Servus was first introduced by Col. Potter in September 2007. He was one of the cairns in the group “9/11 Rescue Heroes” and is named after one of the real canine heroes who served after the tragedy of 9/11. Servus is a hero in his own right, as he fought to live, and not lay down and die in the puppy mill. After being treated for heartworms and a complete makeover it is now time to find this little “hero” a forever home ALL his own! When his Foster Mom was asked about Servus she wrote the following:
Servus is sweet and naughty, all rolled into one. He loves attention and seeks me out to pet him. He also stands guard at the babygate to watch for vermin (cats). He doesn't growl at them, but he really would like to chase them, I think. He's found out that the cat box has snacks and that their food tastes good, too. The naughty Servus takes advantage any time I forget to shut the baby gate.
Servus has the most beautiful and softest eyes. They say "love me, love me". And I do. The only time Servus barks is when he hears me come home from work and when he's excited that supper is about to be served. It's like he's saying, "Hurry up woman, I'm hungry!" As with any long term puppy mill dog, he's learning what love and life outside of a small cage are all about and makes progress each day.
Servus loves to play with toys and will pick one up and walk around with it, and will play gentle tug of war. His favorite place is standing next to me for scritches or lying in a dog bed next to me. He isn't comfortable being picked up but does not complain when I do since he loves the attention. He wags his tail all the time and is a happy boy. He's still a little shy, but will come out of that eventually.
Servus is a former breeder dog, so he does feel the need to compete with other male dogs. He's not comfortable around new dogs until he gets used to their presence. There was a new male here for a month and Servus wasn't happy at first, but then stopped paying attention after the first couple of weeks. Some male breeder cairns can be very protective once they've discovered how wonderful life can be in a home, and until they learn that their human will protect them. Obedience training is highly advised as it helps the new cairn and human to bond, as well as gives them structure. Servus is a smart little boy and will learn most anything if taught correctly by positive reinforcement. Servus was abused most of his eight years and has every right to be sensitive. Servus deserves to receive only gentleness, praise and love for the rest of his life.
If you would like to welcome this sweet little "hero" into your home and heart, click here to fill out an adoption application!
Check out Servus in his starring role in the CPCRN video "To Better Days".
Col. Potter Cairn Rescue Network, the nationwide rescue formed in 2001, has rescued more than 4,500 cairns and cairn mixes across the United States. For more about CPCRN, see our website atcairnrescue.com.
Check out Servus in his starring role in the CPCRN video "To Better Days".