11/16/2024
Have you ever heard of a Black Russian Terrier? Me neither. Buckle up, this is going to be long. If you’re not one for novels or rants, skip down to the donation links at the bottom. That’s the part that will make a difference for the sweet boy in the pictures.
I’ve seen so many things in rescue. Horrible, sad, terrifying things that humans inflict on animals. You would think those things are at the top of the list of what makes me angry and keeps me up at night and believe me they do. What makes me so angry that it’s hard to find words though are the many dogs we see like this poor boy. A direct result of irresponsible breeding. Intentional. Unnecessary. Just for the sake of the almighty dollar. It's like the rescue community is fighting this huge monster and we just can't win. We cut off one head of the hydra & 5 more appear.
This is Samson. He is 1.5 years old and he’s spent his life in a muddy pen, alone with his deformities and pain, fed and watered by kind neighbors because his owner couldn’t be bothered due to his “imperfections”. Those neighbors cared for him and fought for two months to get him into rescue so he could get the help he needed. It was the neighbor who obtained the surrender document, met me at that pen and cried when he put him in my car. The owner’s concern? Getting money back from a breeder across the country from whom he bought a puppy sight unseen and had shipped.
I just can’t. Insert bad words rolling in my head here. It’s hard to say what pi**es me off more. The owner who didn’t care about his dog any more than a broken piece of equipment he ordered off of Amazon, the breeder who is knowingly creating and selling animals whose bodies are broken or an irresponsible government who will legislate a boarding facility to death but allows breeders to create, house in horrific conditions and sell animals to an oblivious, uncaring public with only the warning of buyer beware and zero concern for the suffering or fate of the animals caught in the crossfire.
WHAT ARE WE DOING FOLKS?!? When will we learn to make better choices? Is this an indictment of all breeders? No. There are good, ethical breeders out there who care about their animals, who don’t over breed their females, who do health testing and all the things that preserve the welfare of the breed they love. Do I want you to buy from them? No. Because I believe in rescuing animals who deserve a second chance. Do I judge people who buy from ethical breeders? No. Because I love all dogs and if you’ve made an educated decision and done your research to get a well bred dog that’s right for you, good for you. What keeps me up at night are the people buying from unethical breeders and perpetuating this nightmare of pain and suffering. The rescue community is overwhelmed on every avenue and yet people are buying and abandoning these “pure bred dogs” in droves, adding to the already overwhelming crisis of animals in need. It. Is. Maddening!
I digress. Our poor Samson is the focus of this post and he needs help. Samson is a genetic disaster. Thanks to our good friend Bex he is no longer a matted, stinky mess but as she shaved him down, with tears streaming down her face, his issues and the magnitude of his pain was revealed. Dr. Glenn confirmed for us yesterday what we already suspected. Samson will need both hips and knees repaired; his front leg will need to be stabilized with a brace of some kind until we are able to address possibly fixing that as well. He has cataracts already. So, you might be thinking why? Why do all this for a dog with so many issues? Easy answer is because he didn’t ask for this. He didn’t deserve to live the life he’s had so far. He deserves better. And maybe his story will stop someone from choosing to support a breeder that is knowingly selling dogs like him. Maybe his story will be the one that changes people’s hearts from looking at buying an animal as if it’s a fashionable purse and instead looking at it as a life, as a responsibility, as someone to love who will love them back 100-fold. Maybe his story will affect another dog in need when a neighbor chooses to intervene and fight for them. Maybe his story will encourage even one person to say YES to fostering.
Samson is the sweetest, gentle giant. Everyone that meets him says “What is he?” quickly followed by “Omg he’s so sweet!” Samson is a leaner, he’s a lover, he’s playful as much as he can be and he’s getting stronger each day he’s eating good healthy food. He deserves to live a healthy, pain free life for however long that may be, and we are committed to giving it to him. You’ll be hearing more about Samson in the coming weeks. I will be sharing videos of his journey, and we will be bringing him out for you to meet because everyone needs a kiss from Sammy.
Samson needs our help, and we will be fundraising for him to get started on the surgeries he so desperately needs. Please share his posts!! It’s going to be a long road to raising the funds he needs but together we can change this boy’s life! When we all give a little bit, big things can happen! Over 20,000 people follow us on social media. If every single person gave nothing more than $1 we could cover the majority of Samson’s needs! Wouldn’t that be amazing?!? Please help us help him! He deserves a chance to live pain free! Thank you, thank you, thank you. It means so much to us to have the support of so many dog loving people who help us help them.
www.venmo.com/u/southcharlottedogrescue
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