The Hydrant Blog

Once again it is the end of hunting season and this is when abandoned hounds turn up after being lost and abandoned in the woods. These two hounds are both described as very sweet dogs and deserve a chance at a life where they will be loved, kept warm and safe. Please network to your contacts. We are trying to find foster homes for them or a rescue who has space to take one into their program. The female hound needs to find rescue as the family is not able to hold onto her much longer.

Female Hound – Located in Cooper, ON

From the people who found her:

We named her Tashi which is Tibetan for “good fortune”. She has had that in abundance!

On the weekend we were at out Buddhist temple which is located in the middle of hundreds of acres of woodland. Another couple had arrived very upset over finding a dog wandering along Highway 7. They corralled the dog and called the owner from it’s ID. The owner didn’t seem to be particularly concerned that his dog was out. In fact, he blithely informed them that his dogs had a habit of getting run over on the highway! Hunters!

Imagine our surprise when during meditation we hear what sounds like a dog howling…just one howl. I went out to investigate and this starving, emaciated dog comes towards me. She was so weak she couldn’t walk more than a short distance. We brought her in and fed her. She didn’t have the energy to stand up so she ate lying down by sticking her head in the food bowl. Pretty much all she had left in her was that one weak howl to say, “Help, I’m here.” With temperatures getting colder at night, I think she would have been dead of starvation and hypothermia within a day or two.

She had no ID, which is another wonder. Because both the temple and my house are in the woods, we get a lot of animals dumped by idiot owners who think that they can just toss a domestic animal out in the woods and it will miraculously survive on its own. But dogs follow a pattern. Abandoned dogs have no collars. The culprits don’t want to be identified. Lost hunting dogs always have tags (half the time, big enough to look chick on an elephant ) so it’s easy enough to locate their owners. The only “abandoned” hunting dogs we’ve seen are dead ones. Sadly, hunters seem to think that killing unwanted dogs is perfectly okay. I can see where Tashi might have been a “failed” hunting dog. She is very intelligent. She follows her nose readily enough. But when she sees raccoons and other wildlife at close quarters, she makes no attempt to chase or tree them. She just stands and watches them and then goes on her way.

So the fact that she survived her owner and found her way to a Buddhist temple with just enough energy to let out one little howl for help makes her a fortunate dog indeed. Hence the name Tashi which we hope will stay with her in her future home so that she can continue to be a dog with “good fortune”.

Now I hope that Tashi’s good fortune will stay with her and help her find a new home. She’s being housed in the temple’s guest house kitchen. She’s not house broken so keeping her there makes it easier to clean up after her. But she is smart, and I think she is beginning to learn that she needs to do her business outside as the number of “accidents” are becoming fewer. But she is becoming antsier from being confined. We take her out every couple of hours for a good walk but don’t want to overdo it since she is still very thin and it’s been cold. But, bottom line is, she can’t stay here for much longer. I worry that she will start getting depressed or develop behaviour issues, things she doesn’t need right now.

I realize you’re doing what you can for her. The only reason I’ve told you all this is so you can get a better idea of what she’s like. I could tell you more about her. She’s the type of dog that quickly wins your heart. If it should turn out that you are unable to help her, could you please point us to another rescue who might be able to. We can’t take her to the local animal pound because they’re run by hunters who would know she’s a hound and she would be grabbed up again and be put back to being chained in the backyard and hunted or bred to death. Or shot. We can’t take her to the shelter because we’re afraid they would just kill her, deeming her to be “unadoptable”. So we’re caught between the rock and the hard place.

Tashi has made it this far. We want to do everything we can to make sure she has a happy ending.

Tashi

Male Hound – Located in Parry Sound, ON

From the people who found him:

Thanks for the help. The longer I have him and hear about how some hunters treat dogs, the more I want to ensure he gets the best home. I am hoping a home can be found soon as I would hate to see him have to go through other transitions.

He is about 2ft high and 3 ft long from butt to nose. He is not neutered. He is not microchipped or tattooed. The vet clinic thought he was 3-4 years old and teeth were in good shape. He is black, brown and white with ticking.

He settled into being inside our house as if he had some experience being inside but he walked into the sliding glass door.

He is house trained and eating and drinking well. He is extremely quiet; I have only heard him whine once. He appears afraid of the dark as he will not go outside at night or in the morning when it is still dark. I had to go out with him this morning. Not sure if he is afraid of being left behind.

He has established a spot in the eat in kitchen as his sleeping spot. He certainly has slept outside though as he curled up in my garden in a sunny spot with his back against the fence.

He is timid with new people and skittish to noises. He is starting to warm up to having his ears and head rubbed. He perks up when he hears other dogs in the neighbourhood; and it is the only time I have heard him whine. But we haven’t had the opportunity yet to see how he interacts with other dogs or children. He does well on walks with a leash; walking with his nose to the ground.

Please consider helping one of these sweet hounds.    Contact Jean at houndrescue@yahoo.ca if you can help.

More Information on Ontario hound adoption:

GENTLE JAKE’S COONHOUND RESCUE

COONHOUND RESCUE NETWORK ON FACEBOOK

COONHOUND COMPANIONS

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