Max was rescued but...

Max

Max is still in trouble as he has been relinquished back to the WLA volunteer who got him out of the shelter and into a rescue. Max was "saved" we thought by a rescue, however, once there was a behavior issue, the rescue decided that they wouldn't keep him. There had been a large donation for this dog which is being returned.

Lesson learned? Rescues are so over burdened right now that MONEY is causing them to make some very bad decisions. The shelter situation is so bad that volunteers are having to raise funds to get the dogs out. Many more dogs than before are being killed due to lack of space or for TIME.

We never know how long we have with each dog. As we learned with Elvis, any behavioral issue that occurs even if it isn't the fault of the dog will be a death sentence. I don't like to sound overly dramatic, but this is serious! Great dogs are being killed, plain and simple...

Please read Kara's story and maybe someone can help her and Max find him a safe haven...

I'm writing about a dog that I and others tried very hard to get rescued out of the West LA shelter, where he was on the list to be put down.

We networked him and raised funds to contribute. It was a known issue that the dog, Max, has a strong tendency to chase small animals, and that was included in the e-mails. I introduced him to some larger dogs in controlled intros and he did well. He is as sweet as can be with humans. He runs over and bows down, then rolls over on his back for belly rubs. He's a cuddler. He is possibly a mix of lab / shep / sharpei, and is 5-7 years old. He's around 53 lbs.

A rescuer eventually stepped forward. Max was neutered, and we drove him to the rescuer in the San Diego area. Everything looked great at first. Rescuer has 4 large male dogs. She said she'd keep Max separate at first and introduce slowly. She predicted that one of her dogs would provoke Max, but that it would be under control. All seemed well.

The next day rescuer said Max was getting along fine with her dogs. The following day (Tuesday this week) Max was off-leash in the yard with all of her dogs. This was less than one week after he was neutered. It is not clear what happened but Max and the predicted provoker got in a bad fight and her dog was injured. Rescuer now wants Max out.

I tried hard to raise $$ and find a good rescue because I'm not positioned with time or expertise to place a dog. Max, it is now known, is a dominant male, and will chase small animals. The rescuer did start to work with Max by showing him her cat, and correcting him when he got excited. He responded well to the correction -- backed down onto his haunches. He may do fine with a submissive female dog, but it seems clear he needs to be placed with a dog-savvy owner.

A portion of the funds that went towards Max's rescue are going towards vet bills, but I will generate donations or pay for boarding or do anything I can to help get Max into a safe and appropriate situation.

Thanks for reading!

--Kara

Please contact lola4dogs@gmail.com if you can offer help, advice or something... Thanks!