If you are on the fence - Please rescue
I got my girl from MAD about two years ago. She only had a couple days left at a rural shelter before they euthed her for space reasons. Even though the one guy (the shelter was understaffed) thought she was a sweetie, she was passed up because when she was 10 months she was all black and chompy when excited.
I was scrolling MAD and saw a picture of her and fell in love. We rushed through everything but she was also in heat and MAD couldn’t get her into the low cost spay program and she was out of time. So I paid for private care and the adoption counselor pulled in a favor.
We’ve been through a lot, from me sleeping next to her crate for a week because of her anxiety to stopping various walls with her face meaning chipped teeth, to a crapton of money for training and daycare and wrangling an often annoyed partner who really really likes Type B dogs. Dealing with her specific brand of crazy while trying to teach her something useful.
And then - today she showed everyone at the nosework trials what an effin Queen my girl is, we were each other’s ride or die. I’ve owned 12 not-Mals in my life and she is like no other.
So if you are thinking about whether you want to purchase a pup or rescue, I want to tell you that it was REALLY hard to rescue. Mals are hard anyway and it was adding another layer of working-through.
But the girl who entered the shelter starving now has two titles from two different associations and is the love of someone’s life. The girl who was two days away from being put down for space is so secure in her person’s love that she enjoys trolling me by deliberately being annoying.
There are Mals just waiting to have someone love them and become what they were always meant to be. And maybe even more.
Please be that person who turns it around for them, if you can.