07/06/2023
We have put a lot of thought into how to properly share Hank’s story with everyone. There are many layers and detours but in the end, his story can teach us all about compassion, forging human connections and our ability to to figure out how to make things work when it may first seem impossible. We were first contacted by Hank’s owner in January of 2023. She was dealing with the aftermath of a traumatic event that tore her world apart as it would anyone who had to try to live life following a situation like hers. If we didn’t know it actually happened, it would almost be incomprehensible but it did and Hank’s mom was having trouble functioning in every day life. After speaking with her, it became clear how much she loved Hank. She had him since he was a puppy and he was one of the few stabilizing things in her life. She needed to go away for a few months to try to get some help. We asked if we could figure out a way to have someone watch him for that time, would she want him back. She was elated at the possibility. We worked behind the scenes to figure out if there was a way for us to do this. We had started to line some things up and then she stopped responding back to us. Fast forward too May. She reached out saying that a neighbor, who she was close with, had offered to keep Hank while she was away but when she got back, it appeared that his back legs had been bound. It was very distressing. Our intake/placement coordinator asked if he needed immediate vet care and if so, did she want to keep him but just couldn’t pay for it as the coordinator was willing to pay for vet care for him out of her own pocket, knowing all this woman had gone through. She said that as much as she loved Hank, she knew that she could barely take care of herself and wanted him to just have the best life he could for the rest of his and that she couldn’t do that for him. We reached out to our friends, Chris and Gordon, parents to Blue Ridge alumnus, Amber, to see if they could go over to meet Hank and see if he needed medical care immediately. It was urgent but not emergency. We tried calling several vets and couldn’t get him in that day but thankfully Chris and Gordon found a vet hospital who could see him the next morning. Gordon picked Hank up that morning, took him to the vet hospital where they sedated Hank and debrided the wounds. While they were working on Hank, Gordon called our intake/placement coordinator to say that when he picked Hank up that morning, his owner tearfully said goodbye to him as if he was not coming back after the vet visit. She was called to clear things up and remind her that we were working on finding him a home but didn’t have one lined up yet. She then said that she was going back for further life help at 3 pm that day and would be there for another few months. We did not want to impede her getting help so after a few minutes of panic, we contacted a local friend, Melinda, to ask if she and her husband Chris could take Hank immediately for a week or two. Without hesitation, she agreed. Gordon brought Hank over to Melinda and Chris’s home where he was loved on, went on group bully walks and had some quality attention. All the while, we were working on finding him his furever home. Melinda and Chris had plans to go away for Memorial Day weekend so we knew the deadline we were facing. We did have several people contact us about possibly taking Hank home. However, for one reason or another, none of those seemed to be quite the right home. We soon learned that Linda Duncan, president of the Miniature Bull Terrier Club of America (MBTCA), had seen the post about Hank and felt a connection to him. You see Linda had recently lost her senior red bull terrier Frasier and previously had a miniature bull terrier named Hank. This was music to our ears, knowing Linda wanted to bring Hank home was the best thing we could have heard. There was no doubt that she would be the best home we could find for Hank, however, Linda could not get Hank until after Memorial Day weekend because she had plans to be at the Bloomington, IL dog show that holiday weekend. The problem we had was that Hank was not up to date on his vetting and when he was brought to the animal hospital for his debridement, we asked if they could also update his vaccines but they said they didn’t do general vetting there just urgent care and emergencies. Since COVID and understandable so, it has been a problem in a lot of areas getting a dog into a vet as a new patient and in a reasonable time. The issue facing us was what could we do with Hank until Linda could get him. We couldn’t board him because they require certain vaccines. Linda lives in Missouri and had offered to drive to Nashville, TN, to get him the Thursday after the show. Our coordinator laid awake all night, trying to think of how to make the situation work, she had made a solemn promise to Hank’s owner, that she would find him the best home and that he would be taken care of and loved. Early the next morning, she reached out to Aubrey, former foster mom to Blue Ridge alumnus, Miley Evolved - Adopted. She knew it was a lot to ask but could she possibly take Hank for the next week and a half. Again, just like Melinda and Chris, no hesitation and a yes. We worked on setting up transport and with the help of some great people, Hank set off to Aubrey’s house in Nashville. We weren’t quite sure how Aubrey’s senior bully Quinn would react to having Hank there as she wasn’t the best of buds with Miley when she was there. However, Hank being Hank, one of the coolest, mild manner bullies out there, instantly had Quinn under his spell and she quite enjoyed having his company. Things were lined up for this past Thursday when we hit another bump in the road, one of Linda’s mini’s needed emergency surgery on Wednesday. In spite of that, Linda said if she absolutely had too, she would drive over 5 hours each way the next day to get Hank but if there was any way we could put it off til Monday, June 5th, that would be ideal. Aubrey graciously agreed to keep Hank til then. We decided to try to shorten Linda’s trip so she wouldn’t be away from home for over 11 hours and luckily Alexis, the wonderful volunteer who had driven the last leg to get Hank to Aubrey’s offered to drive Hank to Paducah, KY to meet Linda, shortening her trip to 3 hours each way. Hank made his way to his retirement home with Linda a few days ago and has been settling in.
So what have we learned and what have we seen with Hank’s story? We have seen that people in the bull terrier community are wonderfully, kind hearted human beings who will drop anything at a moment’s notice to help a bull terrier in need. Over the years, we have been lucky to forge relationships with people in different areas of our community, including other rescuers, reputable breeders, people involved in performance with their bull terriers, some others who live in various locations, love the breed and help any chance they can. We have seen more and more reputable breeders help rescue, even though they do not have to. As we have stated previously in other posts, reputable breeders will take their dogs back regardless of the issue going on with the family the dog was with or how long it has been since the dog left for that home. Rescues like ours, exist solely because of backyard breeders, a term which encompasses many different types of people. Some of those people provide AKC registration for the bull terriers but will sell their dogs to anyone and don’t take the dogs back if there are any issues and don’t try to help resolve issues the family might be having with the dog. Some are people who just bred their own bull terrier because they wanted to make some money, and others have unknown reasons but the common thread is that if things don’t work out with the family they sold the dog to, the bull terrier ends up under our care, in rescue, leaving us to act as a cleanup crew. On the other end of the spectrum are reputable breeders and people who continue look to the betterment of the breed including Linda Duncan. Part of the mission of the MBTCA is to promote high standards in breeding practices and increase the number of responsible breeders. It is always moving as a rescuer, to have responsible breeders help rescue when they truly don’t have too, it isn’t their dogs who end up in rescue. They make a conscious choice to help because they love the breed and want what is best for them. There is no ulterior motive. We shared a post about Hank, a senior bull terrier, who needed a new home and amongst other people, the president of the national miniature bull terrier club raised her hand and opened her heart and home. Working together can make differences in the lives of both dogs and humans. Although we are two different worlds, we have the same goal, we want the best for bull terriers and miniature bull terriers. We want people to see the beauty and mischief and silliness and unique characteristics and loyalty and loving nature of the breeds. We hit lots of bumps in the road with Hank but working together, we got it all sorted out. Let this be a lesson for all of us and let Hank have the storybook ending he deserves.
You can like and follow Hank’s adventures on his page, Hank You For Loving Me.
