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Nicknames: Sprint, Spurt, Sprocket.
Expected Adult Size:
Medium (26-50 lbs.)
Arrival Story: Spirit is my second foster for AARF.
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Potential adopters must live in the Richmond Virginia area. Fenced yard required. Also consideration needs to be given to Spirit's disability. Single level living would be great! Uncarpeted wooden stairs are a no-no. Some slick floors may need to be covered with carpet pieces. That being said: Spirit is no couch potato! He enjoys a romp with my two, one of which is 60 pounds. And he can manage the flight of eight carpeted stairs from my lower lever up to the main.
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Spirit is going to be a medium dog, maybe 40 pounds. He has the glossiest black fur in the world!!! He is reliable and comfortable in the crate and overnights in the crate in the same room as my own dogs with no fuss at all. ---------------------------------- ------------------------
His dialy routine is something like; Overnighting in the crate with the door closed. Up around 6-am for a potty break and play with my two ruffians until 8-am. In the crate for the morning, lunch break with the gang again, and afternoons either at work or outside with my neighbor watching. Iam not sure how he will do 'home alone' in a working family enviroment, but I hope the routine he is living now makes him adaptable to whatever situation his forever home offers.--------------------------- ---------------------------------- ---------
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We don't give him much of a chance to housebreak. I think he gets the idea, the first thing he does after being let out is to releave himself. He always gets high praise for that! I don't consider any dog housetrained until after 60 days in a row of no accidents.------------------------ ---------------------------------- --------------------------In just a few days Spirit has learned to 'Sit' and is getting the idea that there are places in the house and yard that are off-limits for dogs. He needs to work on paying attention to humans. I imagine much of his earlier life has been in an outdoor enviroment with limited house living learning opportunities.
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Spirit might not win any trick competitions, but I think he will make a nice house pet for someone!
Bio: Copy/ Pasted from Lost Fantasy Rescue :
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Just when I thought it could get no worse the local pound has proven me wrong again.---------------------------- --------------------------------
Meet Spirit... ---------------------------------- ---------------------------------- ---
Spirit is a 3 month old puppy with a compound fracture of his rear leg that was found on October 6th, 2007 at the Wythe Co. pound. Isn't the infection nice? See the swelling? Notice the bone sticking through the skin? See the foot "popping" open from the untreated infection? What you can't see is the poor shape Spirit is in physically. He is nothing but skin and bones stretched over a weak body. What you can't smell is the god awful stench coming from the infected leg...it can turn your stomach. ---------------------------------- ----------
This puppy was hit by a car over a WEEK ago while in the "care" of his former owners. Apparently they could not afford treatment (or a bullet) so they allowed him to suffer for days prior to bringing him (and his siblings) to pound where they surrendered them all to their fate. Then the pound put him in a pen with his siblings and left him with NO MEDICAL TREATMENT! The excuse? It isn't in their budget! ~Note this is NOT the first time they have denied a injured dog medical treatment either..The Humane Society has pulled numerous hit by car and even a hit by TRAIN dog from this pound!~
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The pound euthanizes dogs all the time..that's part of their job. They have the training and the medications to do it but apparently this particular puppy and his suffering wasn't important enough to take the time to put him down since they couldn't "afford" to have a vet look at him. Instead they left him in a pen with his siblings with a compound fracture that had become infected. An owner surrendered animal can be euthanized on intake (and they have done so many times in the past)...so what made this puppy any more special than the others? ---------------------------------- -----------------------------
Spirit was found by the gentleman who takes the pound photos weekly... he had his wife pull him and the Humane Society has taken him to a local vet where he is now receiving his much needed a very delayed medical treatment. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~
On October 6th Spirit was taken to Wythe Co. Animal Clinic where Dr. Taylor was kind enough to treat him for us. His surgery was supposed to be done on Tuesday the 10th however one of the ACOs (the same one who picked up Spirit and KNEW he was injured) decided to go into the vet clinic and DEMAND that all treatment be stopped on Spirit because the "county can't pay for it!" I put all bills in my name for his treatment to be continued! His leg was removed on October 13th and his total bill came to $138 (now tell me WHY they can't afford that?)
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On October 10th members of the Wythe Co. Humane Society, Wythe/Bland Animal Welfare League, Lost Fantasy Rescue, and private citizens met with County Administrator and his assistant to discuss Spirit and the blatant lack of care that the animals at the pound were getting from the ACO's and the pound custodian. They both promised us that conditions would improve and that the ACO responsible for Spirit's non treatment would be reprimanded.
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An online petition was created titled Justice for Spirit where the whole story was outlined and folks were welcomed to sign showing their feelings toward this whole incident that the County Administrator called "Bad Judgment" on the ACO's part.
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On October 25th (requested by the FOIA act) a copy of the state inspection for the Wythe County pound was obtained by Mr. Witt. In this report Wythe Co. was found IN VIOLATION of lack of medical treatment for a dog ALREADY in the pound 8 days BEFORE Spirit (September 27th)! Other violations are also listed including "some deficiency in the general area of the laws, regulations, and directives that apply to the pound facility and transport vehicle" by one of the ACO's and the pound custodian!
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Spirit will never be subjected to hurt again. He will always have food and water and a soft place to lay his head at night. He is a very happy puppy who loves to play with his squeaky toys and the cats that live with him. Thankfully dogs live in the moment rather than the past and I feel that Spirit will be just fine. However this never should have happened to him neither by the lack of treatment from his former "owners" or the lack of care from the pound who is supposed to be their voice! Only we can change the past and changes need to be made for the benefit of the animals that have to be held in the pound.
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Likes: Being out of the pound!
Pet-Peeves: CARS!!! On the street. Loves a car ride though.
Favorite Toy: Anything he can toss around as he runs
Favorite Food: Canidae kibble garnished with Merrick can stuff. He likes Bones.
Favorite Walk: We are staying in the front yard watching the occasional car go by, and working on his fears.
Best Tricks: Pooping outdoors!
Forums Motto: I want to go home... is it YOU?
The Last Forum I Posted In: Adopt a handicapped or senior
(Per forum instructions, diary entry moved here. Makes the story line a bit jumbled with the other entry dates...)
Beginnings 7/07 - 10/07
Actually I began life on four wheels just like most of us. I am hardly more than a pup now, yet my puppyhood seems a lifetime ago, and a world away. I can't remember Mom's name, don't even recall how many brothers and sisters I had. My first couple of months were just normal puppy stuff that any country dog could bark about.
One fine autumn morning me and my pals were out exploring. We had been straying farther and farther from home base over the past several weeks. So many new things to discover! One of us discovered rolling in cow pies, another found a neat creek to splash in. It was a time of fun and exploration.
This day, we discovered what I later learned was called; 'The Road', and 'Cars'. Now we had all chased off a rabbit or two before, but these Car things were fast! They made funny blarring noises when we chased them too. We were having a blast trying to catch one, and had no clue of the danger. I went after one of them and before I knew it, I was attacked! It bit the heck out of my leg. It felt like it was on fire it hurt so much! The bone was showing through my skin. I don't even know how I made it back home, I just did it.
That was when I discovered not all packs took good care of their members. My humans did nothing! No Veternarian, no nothing, not even a bullet to put me out of my growing misery. Over a week went by and my leg kept getting worse. I grew sick and feverish. There came a time when I couldn't even get up to eat or drink.
Finally my humans took action. The whole litter was loaded up in the car and off we went... TO THE POUND!
I arrived at the shelter as a bag of skin and bones with a compound fracture of my back leg ozzing pus. My foot was swollen to twice it's normal size, and I smelled of sickness and infection.
Now the Pound is not a nice place. They have a tough job to do, that no one else wants, which is to house and dispose of unwanted animals. Some Pounds have money and doctors, and some don't. This one had neither. I shudder to type this, but the kindest thing they could have done would to have been to euthanize me right away. Obviously that didn't happen since I am still barking this, so just what did they do?
Nothing!
I was kept in a common pen with my siblings, too week to move as they romped all over me. Once again, humans didn't keep their end of the bargan. see (The Pact of Fire) My time in this world was running out. I was fading away and often dreamed of The Bridge.
The next day my new life began.
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Dad's edit for adopt 08 contest:
Need you ask what adoption (rescue) means to me? How many forms of abuse and neglect can you spot in this single diary entry!?!
I want to be a part of the solution to any part, and/or all of this...
As Sadie mentioned in her diary, Dad coordinated his first remote dog adoption stand last weekend. I was one of only four adoptable dogs that actually showed up to the spring carnival. A few more were supposed to come, but they didn't make it for various reasons.
I had fun there mixing with the kids and other dogs. Dad told my story a hundred times. But no furever home yet. I know Dad is trying his best, it will be grrreat when it happens.
One of my pals Trigger, did score a forever home from the fair, so Dad is running around telling everyone he has a 25% successful adoption rate at his stands.
Uh huh. Just a few weeks ago, he was telling eveyone how I made 25% less mess on the kitchen floor with my three legs ... Believe that, and I'll sell you some swamp land full of dinosaur BONES too...
... I'm not afraid of cars anymore! Dad and I just noticed it this morning on our walk. We've probably been at that point for over a week or so.
In other news, I am learning some commands and tricks too.
I can; Sit, Down, Stay (well most of the time...) and Come. Tricks I can do are; Speak and Spin. Dad tried to teach me to Shake paw, but I kept falling over. Dad felt kinda bad about that.
Today, I played my first game of hide -n-seek. I Sit/Stay while Dad goes into the warehouse and hides. He then calls me, and I have to seek him out. And I get a treat when I find him. Good fun!
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