What is a TDL Dog?

I’m asked this question quite often.  How do I know which dog to pick and not to pick.  I don’t!  I go by instinct and past experiences, but more importantly, I know what my audience is looking for.  Sometimes I’m wrong, sometimes I’m shocked!

There is no magic formula

It’s not about size, color, coat type, or age.  It’s about the whole dog.  Dogs in danger of being euthanized have first priority.  Dogs that are being owner-surrendered, that I believe have a reduced chance of being adopted, or that I believe will shut down in a shelter, are also considered.  Many times I have looked at a dog’s shelter photo and I’m confident that it will be adopted quickly from the shelter, like our newest SunKissed.  Much to my surprise, they aren’t adopted, and that’s when I move quickly to pull them before their time is up.

I’m also asked quite often, what’s the hardest part of rescue.  Everyone assumes it’s finding the dogs’ new homes, or letting them go.  Wrong!  That’s the easy part!  The hardest part really is transport. People, like Rebecca Harshman, who volunteers for Chilton County Humane Society in Birmingham, Alabama (and many other shelters as well) makes it look easy, but it can be a real nightmare.

As I’m trying to write this, I turned and asked my daughter, what is a dog liberator dog?  She answered with a chuckle, “A smart dog that isn’t a dufus!”  Amazingly, she’s right!  I asked my son, Ryan the same question, he answered, “A dog that doesn’t bite and isn’t mean.”  Ryan is right, but how do you explain Shy Sharon?  She is a known fear biter and I am fostering her.  Here’s the caveat!  We do rescue dogs that have issues, if we have the right foster home for the dog, I personally specialize in the deaf dogs and the fear biters.  And of course, we have rescued many dogs that have medical issues, when we can afford to do so.  See what I mean when I said there is no magic formula?

So here’s the bottom line.  A Dog Liberator Dog is one that is intelligent, eager to please, easy to train, attractive or unusual!  It’s that simple!  A Dog Liberator Dog is a dog that I personally want to invite into my home.  A dog that I would personally foster, no matter how long it takes for them to find their forever home.  A dog that I enjoy so much, I’m proud to parade him through my neighborhood!  A dog that I want to pet, hug, and spend time with.  A dog that I can brag about, a dog that if I could, I would keep for myself.

But it’s not about me

There are many dogs that I adore that I never got to foster, like Kudos, Doc Holiday & Wyatt Earp, Bowie, Huckleberry, Lady Truelove, and the list goes on!  But that’s okay!

What people tend to forget is that I’m not just rescuing dogs to save their lives, I’m rescuing dogs that I believe will rescue people.  The joy of seeing our adoption updates, and knowing that one of rescued dogs as given a family joy, or has become someone’s best friend and companion is my reward.  Saving the dogs life is the bonus!  I had my heart dog, her name was Reckless, and when she died, I started this rescue, to find dogs that could give to others what she gave to me.

You’ve got to take your lumps

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I understand that, but there are many times I personally think a dog is gorgeous, but I know that it will have a slim chance of being adopted from my rescue.  When I rescued Zeus, the Chinese Crested, I thought he’d be adopted immediately, along with the Japanese Chins and the Cavaliers.  They are in fact very popular breeds, yes?  I was wrong!  They were all rescued from the same backyard breeder and they were all in horrible condition.  Even after they were nursed back to health, they did not get adopted quickly, and we were concerned.  Regardless, without rescue, none of these dogs would be alive today.

But what does adopted quickly really mean?

When I was talking with Mariacristina this week, about Knish, we talked about how all of her previous foster dogs were adopted within 7-14 days.  Even Luis was wondering why Knish didn’t have any interest.  The reality is, she was adopted within one month, and in rescue, that’s fast!  So while I moan and groan about dogs that are not adopted quickly, I really need to conduct my own reality checks and admit that one or two months is not a long time!  I’m just very impatient!  The truth is, Knish was not adopted quickly because she needed time with Maria and Luis to finish her rehabilitation!  She clearly was adopted at the right time, her time, not ours!

It makes sense that the faster we can promote, share and post our dogs, the faster we can find quality homes for them, and the more dogs we can save.  When it comes to “To the Max”, I’m stumped.  He is by far, one of the most awesome Aussies I have ever fostered, and he’s still with me.  He’s totally trained, won’t jump on you like some dogs do (how rude) won’t get into your face and lick you, he’s not overly excited, and relatively calm, he’s what we call easy peasy, and he has not been adopted.  But when that right person comes, Max will never look back!

Update:  The day I wrote this, Max was adopted!  Hoping he fits in well with his new family and we get some great updates shortly!

No, we’re not a fast-food, drive through rescue, but nothing irritates me more than watching a rescue take on a lazy attitude about their foster dogs that do nothing to get them homes.  If you build it they will come.  Not in today’s world, not while millions of dogs sit and wait in kill shelters!   We can’t save them all, but surely we can work hard for the ones we have saved!

The photos below are a very small sample of what I believe is a Dog Liberator Dog!

 

Everything in rescue is subject to change.  The more fosters we can identify that can help our cause, and the more transporters we find, we are always flexible to what’s waiting around the corner.  Personally, I’ve always wanted to launch other breed-specific rescues, but I guess the time isn’t right.