Happy Tails

Around Fathers Day, 2010 my wife and I had been looking at WNC Boxer Rescue to get a companion for our “senior” Boxer Mugsy. On WNC’s Facebook Page we had seen Diesel and immediately became interested. On the saturday before Fathers Day, WNC Boxer participated in an “Adoption Day” at Pet Supplies Plus on Hendersonville Rd. We decided to go give it a look and meet Diesel. Automatically we fell for Diesel. With him being totally deaf though it was awkward hanging out with him.

We walked him around for a bit, talked about it and decided to take him on a “trial” case. After all, it was very important that he get along with Mugsy. We brought Diesel home that day. It quickly became clear that both dogs had the “Alpha” sense about them. Mugsy pouted and picked on him relentlessly the entire weekend. It had gotten to the point that we did not think that it would be a good match. Admittedly, it was also frustrating in trying to figure how to communicate with him and train him. But a few things about his character were obvious. He was a good dog. He was scared and all he wanted was loved. However, we weren’t sure that this was going to be a good match.

I had actually called Robbie four or five days into having Diesel and arranged to bring him back the next day. Something kept tugging at us about him though. We weren’t sure exactly where or what conditions he was rescued from but we did know that it was a bad situation. This guy NEEDED a family that was going to take care of him and that was going to be a challenge with his handicap. It was a no brainer. We were not going to give up on this sweet animal. I called Robbie and told him that Diesel has a “furever” home.

I will not lie and say that it has been a bump free road. House training was a challenge. Our neighbors thought we were certified crazy when they would see us in the yard exuberantly praising Diesel for going potty… …in silence! After-all, he cant hear! Clapping, giving him a “thumbs up”. We figured him out as he did us. A simple stomp of the floor gets his attention. An side to side index finger means “no”. A thumb down asks “do you need to go potty?” and fingers to the lips means CHOW TIME!!!

He and Mugsy have become great friends. She knows that there is something different about him. At the beginning she would have nothing to do with him and would pick fights. That is not the case now.

This Christmas, my niece and brother-in-law visited us from Tacoma, WA. Diesel’s love for children caused him to forget us and hang out with our niece. Her name is Selah and she is four years old. They became fast friends. One evening they were cuddling on the couch. Selah was just treating him like a big pile of play dough. I had to take a picture, which is the photo that you now have. He ate the additional attention up! The thing about Diesel are his looks. With his blue eye and his shape he can be quite intimidating. This picture just brought out what an angel he is. I think you can just see the comfort and contentment in his face.

He knows that not only is he loved but he is now safe. He knows that he lives with people that will take care of him and not be inpatient or hurt him because he can not hear. This has been a great eye opener to the importance not only of dog rescues but to the special people that run them. We couldn’t thank Mr. Ivey enough, not only for what he unselfishly does but for saving Diesel and bringing him to us.

-Scott Pruett

“My husband and I went to an adoption event held by WNC Boxer Rescue at Pet Supplies Plus not expecting to adopt but just to look and play with the dogs.. We went over to where the puppies were and one puppy came right up to us and started barking. So we asked to hold him, we loved on him and were giving an application for adoption if in the near future we wanted to adopt. All we could think about the rest of that day was the little puppy named Noah. So that night we called and adopted little Noah who is now Banjo. Robbie was amazing to work with, he got us Banjo and even sent a toy with him. Banjo has been such a blessing to our lives, he loves our daughter and even checks up on her. We could not have asked for a better experience. Robbie is so helpful and still checks in on Banjo. Thank you WNC Boxer Rescue for all you do!”

-Tyler, Kayla & Kirsten Radford

“When our last boxer died there was a void in our lives. We waited two years before we considered opening our hearts again. That was when our daughter told us about the WNC Boxer Rescue’s need for homes for a litter of boxer puppies. This was our first experience with WNC Boxer Rescue. We didn’t know what to expect from the Boxer Rescue and were a bit surprised with the paperwork we were asked to complete but then began to appreciate the intent of the questions. Boxer Rescue cares about the boxers and makes every effort to be sure the boxers will be well taken care of. It is important for them to know that the boxers will be adopted and that their new families will be responsible, attentive and loving. We were very impressed with the care our boxers received before they were old enough for them to come to our home and equally impressed with their involvement after we adopted them. After our boxers came to live with us, WNC Rescue maintained interest in their welfare and kept contact with us to be sure they were being cared for as we had promised. We respect and appreciate the work these people do. WNC Boxer Rescue gave us two loving boxers and we will be forever grateful for these gifts.”

-Dorothy Drapp

“It started around mid September 2010. Dixie is an inside dog and always has been and she sleeps in a crate. One Sunday night after we went to bed and put her in the crate for the night. She had never had a problem sleeping in the crate through the night before but this night she woke us up, yelping and crying in her crate. I woke up, she had peed in her crate. I let her out cleaned it up, she drank a little bit of water, I let her outside and then put her back in the crate and went to bed. About an hour later she started whining and crying again and I went through the same steps but this time I just stayed up with her. Since that night she had an unquenchable thirst for water, and therefore lost almost all control of her urination. We took her to a local animal hospital and the vet there told me that it was in her head, and to cut back her water intake because “If she doesn’t drink so much, she wont pee so much”. He ran a urinalysis and since her urine was too diluted to see anything he concluded there was nothing wrong with her. I followed his recommendation and cut back her water intake to what it normally was before all of this. In the course of three days she had no energy, stopped eating, constantly wanted water. The tipping point was when she vomited blood on the following Sunday night, a week after all of this started. I took her to another vet the next morning. They said that she was severely dehydrated, and that there was definitely something wrong; it wasn’t in her head. They ran several tests and could not figure out what was wrong. They too ran a urinalysis to check and see if it was a kidney infection, but her urine was again too diluted to tell. However, we left the vet that day with antibiotics to treat a kidney infection, just in case that is what it was. The course of the antibiotics was a month, and in that month we saw no improvement. So it was not a kidney infection. For five weeks she drank constantly and had to urine constantly. The entire time my younger brother and I took turns staying up with her all night because of her condition. On our return trip to the vet they were still not sure what was wrong with her. They wanted us to go to a specialized vet somewhere in the upstate where tests would run about $1500, money we did not have especially since we already had about $700 in this already. We declined to do that. She told us that although she was not sure this was it, she thought Dixie had diabetes insipidus. Even without having the proper tests to diagnose this she gave us a trial of the medicine that is used to treat this, Desmopressin. This medicine helped some, but it did not take care of the problem. For months we stayed awake with her all night. We needed to get Dixie back to her old self.

With the help of WNC Boxer Rescue, Dixie is doing well. She no longer has the urine problem as long as we give her the medication drops prescribed by WNC Animal Clinic. I want to say thank you for helping us get her better. We had been to several vets, who wanted to run many tests and wanted to send her out of state to get her diagnosed. All of that would have cost money that we did not have. The vet at the WNC Animal Clinic, which you graciously paid for, knew exactly what was wrong with her and was able to tell me and show me how to take care of her. I am very grateful for what you have done and it is very important to us that you know that. Your organization is a great one, and I will recommend you anytime I come across a boxer in need.

Thank you so much for everything you have done, God Bless.”

-Peter Dolan

I am very pleased to have met Robbie Ivey and WNC Boxer Rescue. I knew I wanted to rescue a puppy after my dog Murphy passed away in March 2010. I had been to rescues and come close to adopting. Then I met someone who told me he had gotten his dog Grey from WNCBR. I quickly did some research and went to visit Pet Supplies Plus. It was the same time Robbie had rescued Britt, Abby, Donzi, and Keely. After hearing their story and learning more about the organization, I was hooked.

A few weeks later, I got an email from Robbie telling me about two Boxer/American Bulldog mix puppies coming from St Paul, NC. The puppies arrived at his house on Sunday June 19 around lunchtime and I agreed to foster one of them. I knew when I left his house a few hours later, I would be a foster failure. This is the one thing in life I’m glad I failed at.

I have been so glad to get home from work everyday to see my girl Avery. She has made me laugh so much since bringing her home. Everyone she meets falls in love with her right away. Avery plays well with other dogs and has a great personality. She is ALL puppy though. Playing and eating are priority #1. I was very impressed on Sunday when she went to the door and scratched telling me she needed to go outside. SHE IS 10 WEEKS OLD and already that smart!! I have a genius puppy!!!

Anyway, I have made several donations to WNCBR and am glad to do it when I see all the furbabies lives who have been saved. More than anything, I see how people’s lives are changed when they adopt a dog in need. I’m a prime example.

THANK YOU WNC Boxer Rescue!

-Melony and Avery Winters