One man's trash...?

Not me but my older sister. She saved this wonderful female chocolate lab from this women. This dog is sooo sweet and lovable, the womens new husband hated dogs and kept the dog locked outside in awful conditions. This dog saved my sisters life(long story), she is a full bred dog with a wonderful personality, I am really glad she ended up with my sister.

My American Pit Bull Terrier ended up at a KILL animal shelter near my house because her owners no longer had time for her. When I brought her home, you could tell they didn't work with her at all. She had absolutely NO manners. But after a few weeks of some simple training, she has become a very well behaved and loving family companion. I couldn't ask for a better dog.

I also have two rescued cats. One was up for adoption because her owner died. And the other was a kitten from an unexpected litter. They are also both wonderful pets.

We've adopted all of our dogs, since I was a child... (We don't still have all of them at once, don't worry. Haha)

We adopted a Lab from the Human Society that a family had given up because he had epilepsy and had at least two seizures a day, even with medication. He was the best dog ever, but sadly didn't get to live a full life because of his epilepsy.

Also, we got a poodle mix of some sort (ultimate mutt =] ) from a family that "forgot" to get their dogs spayed and neutered. He's the smartest dog I know.

There was a brother and sister puppy that were Jack Russell Terrier/Chihuahua mix. They are completely different looking dogs, but really, really funny. Again, from an irresponsible dog owner that didn't spay/neuter their dogs.

Now, that I'm married and out on my own, my husband I adopted a Miniature Pinscher. We were "baby sitting" him one weekend and just fell in love with him. The owner lived in an apartment, so the puppy was kept in a kennel all day while he was at work. We were able to offer him a yard to play in and somebody to pay attention to him and play with him. The owner asked my husband if we would adopt him because he knew he'd be happier here. He's the such a great puppy!

My sister runs a rescue service. She was once given a 1yr-old great dane because the ppl thought she was too large... what were they thinking when they bought this pup i ask u? Lucy was gorgeous! Very easily place, thank goodness...

Another? One lady gave her a french poodle... papers and all... the dog shed too much. She was adopted by a breeder... who quickly found out she was from a championship line and her pups... they sell for $600-700 each. Incredible!

But the best of all... her Australian Sheppard. This pup was abandoned. My sis and her family fell in love with him immediately and decided to keep him. He is now a certified caregiver, helping her to teach classes to small children. I have never seen a more intelligent dog. There is nothing this pet cannot do. Some ppl just do not know what they possess.

The Male Doberman in my avatar is by far the easiest dog I have ever had. He is laid back and sweet and loves everyone. He actually was sent to rescue twice before I got him. The first time was at almost a year old for barking at horses. Apparently his previous owners were unaware that you can train a dog not to bark at certain things!

The second time he was surrendered to a different rescue, this horrible woman brought him in 25 pounds under weight, his nails had grown into his foot pads and he had had no vet care or attention of any kind in years! Her excuse was that she couldn't afford to feed him anymore, yet she was a good 100 pounds overweight herself! She could find a way to get herself plenty of food while her dog starves in the backyard! Just sick!!

Well, he's with me now and is spoiled rotten. He has truly been a joy to have around.

I have many stories!!

But i got 8 border collie mix puppies from a lady that was going to take them to the pound or she said get "rid" of them some how!!So who knows wha would of happen to those poor babies!!Because she didnt have the money for her dog to be spayed!! And i fell in love with one Ginger and kept her!!That was 2 years ago!!And then i pulled a pregnat golden ret mix.She came in with her 3 puppies from the LAST litter.Her teeth are all weird looking from her being kept on a chain for 3 years having litter after litter every 6 months!!That was about a year ago.

I have a 15 year old Pomeranian that I rescued from a breeder. God knows how many litters she had. She was kept in a small pen on the backside of his garage and her mate had died a few weeks earlier. He was 19. He had to spay her and no longer wanted her. I didn't need another dog but couldn't let her stay there.

Now she lives in the house and has her very own bed and blanket. She has learned all about toys and living a happy life. If I could only get her potty trained. She'll live out her life in safety and comfort. I gave nothing for her but I would have to get her. She deserved to live out her life better than what she had it.

By the way that breeder is now out of business.

My husband's dachshund was a "gift". Her original owners were getting a divorce and neither spouse could keep her for various reasons. She wasn't even full grown, not even 9 months old. Weren't they dedicated? Their loss is our gain. She's quite the delight. I've never had a dachshund before, and can tell you her mild-mannered personality is soooo different from my chihuahuas.

I'd never have thought to buy a dachshund, but there's no way you could get her away from me now. She has the sweetest most soulful eyes! She isn't as needy as my chihuahuas, but once a day, she'll come up and ask for her daily cuddles from me.

When we first met, she was so jealous of me, and the time I spent with her daddy. We couldn't hardly sit together to watch a movie, without her trying to push her way in between us, so she could be sure I know he was hers. Cracked me up! She was quite determined and very stubborn about it, and all the while, with these big, sweet eyes!

My favorite time of day now, is in the evening when all 3 "kids" pile on my lap for our evening together. It's a tight squeeze, but we manage. She is definitely a permanent part of the family. I have no clue what those people were thinking when they gave her way all those years ago, but I'm glad my husband had the sense to bring her into his life and as a result, mine now as well.

I don't have enough time to tell you all the stories, but the best one I can think of is how we ended up with "Rags"...

Two dogs were on the loose heading towards a major 4 lane highway near my house. I took one of my dog, put him in the SUV and drove to get the dogs. I lured both to my vehicle and lucky enough, they ran along side of it back to my house.

I checked for ID and found a tattoo on the Shep. Long story short, found the owner. He came to claim his dogs... actually, dog. He didn't want Rags, he only wanted the Shep. Rags wagged his tail too much, and when on his 4 ft chain stuck in his dog house, it rubbed raw causing this owner a vet bill often. He wanted the Shep because he was a good guard dog.

I purhcased the Shep off him for $400, that's what it took. I refused to give the dogs back and if it was all the cash I had, then so be it. NEITHER dog was going back home with him over my dead body!

So... that's how I got another man's "trash". That's one of the hundreds of stories I have, but the most recent.

My Tyson was abandoned in a vacated apt in the complex I manage. The animal control office told me that if they came to be picked up they would be euthanized bc they are a vicious breed. So we kept the whole litter until a rescue member friend of mine could take the other 7 pups. I can't imagine moving out of an apt and leaving a litter of pups in an apt with minimal food and water, never planning to tell anyone they were there! Creeps...

That is pretty ridiculous! How anyone could get rid of a dog, especially a dachshund (lol), for a stupid reason like that is beyond me!

For my red smooth haired standard dachshund, it's not a very pretty story. I had been looking for a dog for some time and my brother told me about this lady, who unfortunately ran a HUGE puppy mill, that was going to euthanize about 10 out of her 60+ dachshunds. She also had miniature Schnauzers, miniature Poodles, a 250 lb Rottweiler, and her own personal dogs (about 10). Once I heard that, I knew I had to save at least one of them. I went out there the next day, and I felt so terrible for all of those poor dogs. The only dogs that were inside of the house in the hot weather of Texas were the nursing mothers, and they were all clustered one by one in a small corner of her house. All of the rest were all outside in tiny little pens. Most of them were about 5-6 to a pen, even the pregnant ones, and they all had one food bowl and one water bowl that they had to fight for. Most of the pens didn't have any shelter at all, just a empty pen with electric wiring around it. I saw all of the dogs with the fleas, way overgrown claws, hernias, you name it (fortunately, I didn't see any with back problems) I saw my girl in the back of her pen and she was one of the few not barking. I fell in love with her and immediately took her. To this day, I feel terrible that I couldn't take them all, but luckily, she did lose most of her dogs. I'm thinking she got raided by a local dachshund rescue, which was terrific to hear!

She has some social problems to this day. She's very leery of people she doesn't know and is terrified of most men. She had some health problems, but now those are fixed. Last week she finally had the surgery to repair some inguinal hernias and she's getting her stiches out today, so she's completey done now! That lady gave her to me for free like she was nothing. She didn't even care about her. As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. In this case, one puppy milling crook's used up dogs that they can't make any more money off of, is one of my priceless girls that I love dearly!