Dogster Shelter Dog Wednesday: Houndy Waited 10 Long Years But Finally Went Home

Rescue group Four Paws stopped bringing him to adoption events but never lost hope.

For Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, we're featuring shelter dogs rescued by members of our Dogster community. Last week we featured Todd, a Pomeranian rescued from a hoarding situation of 40 dogs. Underweight and sick, Todd was at first terrified of his new home, but quickly grew to love it, just as his family grew to love him. You can read the rest of his story here.

This week we have Houndy, a frosted-face senior who waited 10 years to finally go home. 

Houndy entered a local shelter in 2001 when he was only about two years old. Sporting a black coat, which may or may not have affected his adoption prospects, Houndy waited in the shelter, which unfortunately decided to euthanize him on account of overcrowding. That's when Four Paws, a rescue organization that saw potential in Houndy, swept in and took him on as a foster.

However, it would be a long time before Houndy found his fairytale ending. At adoption event after adoption event, Houndy always wound up leaving without a family to call his own. After not just months, but years of this, Four Paws began to lose hope and stopped bringing Houndy to adoption events. They kept one ember alive by leaving his bio online.

Which is how his forever family would finally find him. His human friend began volunteering with Four Paws in 2008, and when she found Houndy's bio online, she was surprised -- she thought she knew all the dogs at Four Paws! Upon meeting him, she found Houndy drastically different from his photo: Taken when the dog was just a youngster, it did not show the white face he had developed after 10 years of waiting.

But that made his human friend love him all the more, so she decided to foster him. It would be almost a year before she finally adopted the dog after a medical scare that made her realize just how much she loved Houndy. It may have been a long, long journey, but Houndy is finally exactly where he needs to be.

Photos via Houndy's Dogster page 

Read about other shelter dogs and adoption on Dogster:

About Liz Acosta: Dogster's former Cuteness Correspondent, Liz still manages the site's daily "Awws," only now she also wrangles Dogster's social media. That's why she wants you to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and -- her personal favorite -- Instagram. See ya there!

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Isn't It Great When the Bad Guys Lose? Dog-Snatcher Gets Four Years

Christopher Young didn't ask to be caught, but he might as well have. And the Yorkie? Unharmed.

Dog theft is becoming an alarmingly commonplace crime. We keep hearing shocking stories: stolen dogs used as bait dogs, sold to research labs, and held for ransom. One particularly brazen theft occurred just last week, when Actress Tricia O'Kelley, from The Secret Life of the American Teenager and The New Adventures of Old Christine, had her Yorkshire Terrier dognapped right from her yard. Fortunately, the dog was dropped near her home unharmed -- the thieves might have been thwarted by all the media attention the theft had received.

Now, we get a heartwarming story about the other side of dog theft -- sentencing. In the District of Columbia, 18-year-old Christopher Young just got four years in prison for stealing a Yorkie at gunpoint. 

And the dog, thankfully, wasn't dognapped for very long -- he escaped right after the crime and made his way home by himself. 

Here's how it went down: On Jan. 5 at about 10 a.m., Young approached a woman walking her Yorkshire Terrier in the area of Fifth and Kennedy Streets. He displayed his handgun and said, “Give me your dog. Yorkies cost a lot of money.” The woman gave him the dog, and he ran. 

But this was no master criminal -- this was Christopher Young. He dropped his phone when he was running away -- of course he did. Also, Christopher Young was wearing a GPS ankle bracelet, thanks to a previous crime. GPS ankle bracelets allow police to keep tabs on people like Christopher Young. This particular GPS bracelet put Christopher Young right at the scene of the crime and also in the flight path as described by witnesses. 

It was the very definition of an open and shut case. And the dog? He escaped right after being nabbed and simply ran home. Nothing to it. 

Young pleaded guilty in March 2013 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. During the proceedings, Judge Robert I. Richter hefted the book, judged its weight in his hand for a few beats, and then threw it at Christopher Young, giving him four years in prison followed by four years of supervised release. 

Judge Robert I. Richter is our hero of the day. 

Via DCist

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Bad News: Charlie the AmStaff Could Be Euthanized as Early as New Year's Day

San Francisco refuses a rehab proposal for the dog who bit a police horse. David Gizzarelli, Charlie's owner, is fighting to save his beloved pet's life.

It's the end of the year -- but apparently not the end of stereotypes against certain breeds of dogs. The San Francisco City Attorney's Office is refusing the save the life of Charlie, the American Staffordshire Terrier who was sentenced to death after attacking a U.S. Park Service police horse in August. That means Charlie, who had no previous incidents of aggression, could be euthanized any time after New Year's Day.

AmStaffs, as they're known, resemble Pit Bulls, and we'd really hoped that the year after the death of Lennox -- a dog put to death in Northern Ireland only because he looked like a Pit Bull -- would bring a change in government's inability to look beyond breeds and to the individual dogs in question.

On Dec. 27, Deputy City Attorney Margaret Baumgartner rejected an offer from Charlie's owner, David Gizzarelli, to remove Charlie to his Los Gatos home and rehabilitate, train, and practice extreme caution with him. Baumgartner offered no specifics.

"The city will not return Charlie to Mr. Gizzarelli as it does not believe that there are any restrictions that would adequately protect the public safety," she wrote.

Baumgartner and all other city officials have refused for weeks to respond to media questions about the case. The rejection means that Charlie's life can be taken as early as Jan. 1. Gizzarelli and his attorney, John Mounier, will appeal the ruling at a hearing tentatively set for today. 

The case against Charlie is riddled with problems. San Francisco euthanizes only about 10 dogs a year, most of whom have a long history of aggression or have killed another dog or seriously injured a human. None of those standards applies to Charlie, who was 18 months old at the time of the attack, had no history of aggression, and had never seen a horse before. 

In addition, evidence suggests that U.S. Park Police Officer Eric Evans, who was riding Stoney the horse, misrepresented and exaggerated numerous facts during a hearing on the incident. And despite the weak and insufficient evidence submitted against Charlie, San Francisco Police Officer John Denny ordered Charlie's euthanasia without considering any options for restrictions such as "red tagging" the dog, a common requirement in San Francisco that would have required Gizzarelli to place a visible tag on Charlie and post warnings on his home. In addition, Charlie would be required to be leashed and muzzled in public for three years. 

According to Mounier, it is also problematic that Denny investigated the case, presided over the hearing, and ordered Charlie’s death.

“He’s wearing two hats in this case,” Mounier told the San Francisco Examiner. “In every other aspect of society, that’s wrong.” 

Unofficially, the city and county of San Francisco has offered to spare Charlie’s life if Gizzarelli agrees to give up ownership of his dog and pay for his rehabilitation. Charlie now requires behavioral rehab because he has been confined to a small kennel since Aug. 23, surrounded by kennels containing truly vicious dogs. But the city has offered no specific reasons for confiscating Charlie.

Gizzarelli has no history of mishandling or mistreating his pet. He has acknowledged his responsibility for the Aug. 6 attack and agreed to pay the $1,200 veterinary bill.  

The city has not only refused to explain its unprecedented harsh stance against Gizzarelli, but it has also launched a whispering campaign to besmirch his reputation. The city attorney’s office released documents to  reporters outlining an argument Gizzarelli had with his stepfather in July that resulted in mutual threats of violence. Gizzarelli was arrested, but no charges were filed. 

In addition, there are questions about an Animal Care and Control report that claims Charlie showed aggression toward an employee in July, the month before the attack. The report is extremely irregular in that it states in capital letters that Gizzarelli was not to be told of the incident.

If the city failed to warn Gizzarelli about the alleged aggressive behavior, they denied him the opportunity to exercise caution with Charlie -- and then the city might be responsible, to some degree, for the attack on Stoney. 

Gizzarelli said the city’s proceedings against Charlie have been unfairly biased.

“ACC and the city of San Francisco stack the deck against Charlie and any other dog or guardian they take a disliking to,” he wrote in a letter to Mayor Ed Lee and ACC Director Rebecca Katz. “The system is rigged and does not offer a fair and impartial chance to a dog or to a guardian.”

More than 109,000 people have  signed a petition calling for Charlie's life to be spared. Follow the Help Save Charlie Facebook page for up-to-date information; we hope to report back with good news for Charlie and Gizzarelli.

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Dog Waits by Home for Owners to Return -- for Three Years

Chen the Chow was abandoned, but he wouldn't believe it. Now, he has the home he deserves.

Three years ago, Chen the Chow's owners abandoned their house in Atlanta. They abandoned Chen the Chow, too, but he didn't know it -- or he refused to believe it. Since then, he's been living outside the empty home awaiting their return, according to 11alive.com. 

"He was waiting and waiting for his people to come home," Lisa Renstrom of Chap's Chow Rescue said. "He absolutely would not leave that house. The people on either side would throw rocks and try to chase him away. He would not leave." 

Neighbors saw the dog every day outside the Gwinnett County home, and they didn't like it. He slept in the carport. He wandered the yard. He scavenged for food in a nearby Kroger grocery store through the woods, but he always came back to the house. He would not leave. 

Finally, one of the neighbors told Renstrom about the dog, and she took action. Over a period of weeks, she gained the trust of the dog by offering food. Then she took him into her care at Chap's Chow Rescue and set about finding him a forever home. 

It didn't take long. Ben Rupp of Ohio had been scouring sites looking for a new dog. He had just lost his own Chow of 13 years, named Goldie. Ben believes the dogs looked similar, and he felt a connection. He immediately booked a private plane and flew to Georgia. 

"His features are very similar to my old dog," Rupp said. "The pictures and the story, it all came together."

It came together for Renstrom, too. Although she had grown fond of Chen, she said goodbye to him on the tarmac. The loyal, faithful dog, who spent three years alone waiting for his owners to return, who refused to believe he had been abandoned, now has the home and the owner he deserves. 

Via 11alive.com. 

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A Stray Dog in Kansas Finds a Home After Eight Years

Many people tried to rescue her, but one determined woman finally took "Ditch Dog" in.

For more than eight years, a dog roamed on the edge of civilization, in a field in Buhler, KS, unwilling to come in from the cold.  

"It was a mysterious dog that sat in the field, and everyone pointed her out," said the mayor of Buhler, Daniel Friesen, according to the Kansas City Star. 

And many people tried to help her, mostly by leaving food, after they realized that the dog, a blond, wire-haired dog affectionately named D.D., for Ditch Dog, would not let any humans get near her.

"Everyone adopted her," said Buhler Police Chief Bill Tracy. "She was the best-fed dog in town. She never bothered a thing, and that's why she was allowed to stay out there."

"She was a very intelligent dog," he went on. "I could tell if someone was trying to catch her; she would go out in the middle of the wheat field and curl up in a ball."

Her life out there was not without hardship. Early on, when she was first noticed, her paw was caught in her collar, and she could only run on three legs. And she did run; attempts to catch her proved fruitless. Eventually the collar "weathered, rotted, and fell off" -- yet still she ran on three legs for a time, because of pain or habit, no one can say.

The dog was also smart: D.D. stayed on the county side of the road, which prevented her from being picked up by authorities under Buhler's leash law. 

Rachelle Cavanaugh was one person who kept an eye on D.D., feeding her and caring for her from afar. Cavanaugh had three rescues already at home, and she was determined to make D.D. her fourth. After suspecting that D.D. was suffering from arthritis, she began leaving treats with medicine, to help with the pain. She also put flea medicine in the food she left for D.D. 

Finally, after eight years, D.D. had enough of the outdoor life. When Cavanaugh was at the food dish, D.D. approached and let the woman touch her. 

"She was starving for attention," Cavanaugh said. "That forced my hand."

It took some days before the dog was ready to stay with Cavanaugh, and Cavanaugh moved slowly, so the dog would not be spooked. One cold day, Cavanaugh spotted D.D. and opened her car door. The dog jumped in. She took D.D. home and let her mix with her other dogs. Then she took her back to the field. 

"It's been a process," Cavanaugh said of gaining the trust of the dog. "I didn't want my dogs at risk or to jeopardize her. If I was taking her home, it had to work."

It finally did. D.D. is now a member of her family, and she has her forever home after eight long years in a field. Her anxiety is still an issue, but the dog knows how to soothe herself.

"She goes to her pillow," Cavanaugh said. "She knows she's safe there."

As for all the people who fed and wondered about the dog they'd see in the field, Cavanaugh put up a sign in the area. It reads: "Buhler: Thank you for all the years of care and concern. I have found a home and I am adjusting. God bless you, Ditch Dog."

Via the Kansas City Star 

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After Four Long Years, Cassey the Collie Comes Home

After running off one day, Cassey spent years on her own. Last week, she found her family again.

Expecting their third child, Brandy and Dave Metcalf of Wake Forest, N.C., came up with a plan to calm the household during those often chaotic first months with a newborn: They decided to let Brandy's sister, Chelsee, dog-sit.

It was not a bad plan. They had a small house, two other children, and understood that Cassey, their Border Collie, might get shoved to the sidelines in all the commotion. It would be good for the dog -- a short vacation with a member of the family who knew and loved the dog, who could give her the attention she needed. Even if she lived in another city. 

“We just had our third child and we live in a small three-bedroom, so it was close quarters with baby stuff. We were just trying to give the newborn the attention she needs,” Metcalf told ABC News. “My sister was living alone in Charlotte and she’s not good at being alone and she’s known Cassey, so she got a roommate while we got past the newborn stage.”

Dave dutifully checked up on Cassey by phone for months, and Chelsee reassured him that all was fine. The phone calls got fewer and farther apart. After six months, Dave drove over to visit Chelsee and Cassey. The dog didn't run out to the car. The dog wasn't in the house at all. Cassey had run off. 

As Dave relates what his sister-in-law told him, "There was a lot going on at the house one day. Cassey is very intuitive about big noises and is very sensitive when it comes to sounds. Something startled her.” 

They searched for their dog, but she was nowhere to be found. Time passed, and the Metcalfs got on with their lives. Years passed -- four years passed -- but they never forgot Cassey. 

“We gave up hope a long time ago, but every day she was mentioned in our house,” Brandy told CBS 6 WTVR. “My daughter just said two days prior to [finding the dog] that ‘I wish we had our Cassey back.’”

Then, on September 11, the phone rang. Someone had Cassey. She was without a collar or tags, she was covered in fleas, and she had lost weight, but it was Cassey. A microchip confirmed it. The people who had found her -- Cheryl and Scott Smith of Charlotte -- had some trouble locating the Metcalfs, since the information on the chip was outdated, but they kept at it and within a few days had located Brandy's mother. 

(In fact, the Smiths even had trouble locating the microchip, since it had migrated from under Cassey's neck to under her ribs. The Smiths, who had met the dog three days earlier and were convinced she had come from a good home, had refused to leave the vet until it was found.)

The Metcalfs jumped in the car and drove to Charlotte, ecstatic. 

“It was a beautiful experience. You’re just in shock. You feel like this couldn’t be the miracle that you want it to be, that it’s too good to be true,” Brandy told CBS 6.

“When we got out of the car and called her name, and she came running up to us, it let us know for sure that yes, she remembered us,” she said. “She came right up and jumped in the van. She was ready to go home."  

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German Shepherd Stands Watch Over His Owner's Grave -- For Six Years

In Argentina, a dog named Capitan remains his human's best friend, eternally.

A German Shepherd from the Cordoba province of Argentina is setting a new bar for eternal loyalty -- he's kept vigil at his owner's grave every day, lying down in front of the tombstone at night. The dog, named Capitan, keeps a steady watch, never veering far from his duty as man's best friend. 

He's done it for six years.  

“During the day he sometimes has a walk around the cemetery, but always rushes back to the grave,” said Hector Baccega, the cemetery’s director, according to CBS Seattle. “And every day, at [6 p.m.] sharp, he lies down on top of the grave and stays there all night.”

But there's more to this story about a dog who doesn't understand the point, or the need, of saying goodbye. To be sure, Capitan displays an impressive ability by standing guard over his owner. But he displayed an otherworldly one in simply finding the grave in the first place, because nobody took him there. 

Reportedly, his owner, Miguel Guzmán, passed away in a hospital and was taken to a funeral home and then to the cemetery. None of the family members recalls the dog being present at any of those sad places. In fact, nobody even noticed that the dog had disappeared from the home after Guzmán's funeral. 

“The following Sunday we went to the cemetery,” said Guzman’s wife, Veronica, according to CBS Seattle. “Capitan came up to us, barking and wailing, as if he were crying.” 

“We had never taken him to the cemetery, so it is a mystery how he managed to find the place,” she said. 

The dog followed the family home that day but quickly returned to stand watch. Baccega, the cemetery’s director, said the dog had arrived alone one day and wandered around the grounds for a while before finding the grave by himself. 

And there he sat with his master. 

“I’ve tried to bring Capitan home several times, but he always comes straight back to the cemetery,” said Damian, Guzman’s 13-year-old son. “I think he’s going to be there until he dies, too. He’s looking after my dad.”

Via CBS Seattle

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Caught on Camera! Jake’s New Year’s Resolution Too Much; Turns Him into a Blatant Thief

Sure, Jake may have curbed his begging a little, per his New Year’s resolution he reported on a few days ago. But he is now supplementing his caloric intake with a new technique: raiding the compost bucket. Last night I heard him breathing in an odd, hollow-sounding way as he tiptoed past me in the living room as I was reading from my new Kindle. He sounded like a short Darth Vader.

I looked over as he walked by and saw his mouth open to the point that it looked like a shark’s unhinged jaw. In his mouth he held what he surely considered the most fantastic treat ever: the gingerbread house my daughter and her friend Elton put together three weeks ago. It was from a Trader Joe’s kit, and it had been cute, but it didn’t taste very good so we used it purely as decoration, picking off little candy bits as the days of Christmas came and went. Last night, while starting  to dismantle our Christmas decorations, we decided it was time to put the gingerbread house in the compost bucket in our kitchen. Within 10 minutes it was in the stealthy jaws of our ceaselessly food-obsessed yellow Lab.

I had my camera close by and wanted to catch him red-jawed, as it were, but Jake wanted to keep moving toward the backyard with his quarry. So I called for Laura, who ran out of her room and grabbed Jake for his mug shot.

The compost bucket will be on the counter from now on.

I hope the New Year’s resolutions are going better in your household.

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Jake’s Big New Year’s Resolution

I have become expert at requesting food. Not that it gets me anywhere except being told to "go lie down, Jake!"

Hey, Dogsters. Jake here. Maria is making me do New Year’s resolutions this year, but since I’ve never succeeded in any previous resolutions she said one really big one would be sufficient if I can stick with it.

Dogster dogs, do you have to make resolutions like I do? If so, what are they? I think our people should be the ones making resolutions. Here’s one for Maria: “I resolve to always leave meat on the counter and never to suspect Jake when it inevitably goes missing.” Do you think she’ll buy it?

Well as you can tell from the photo above, my resolution is has do with “begging.” Once I lost my extra 10 pounds (and they have stayed off! and it was no resolution, so it goes to show you can lose weight and not have to start on Jan. 1) I started begging more. I prefer to think of it as “requesting.” Begging rather demeans the art, don’t you think?

So, to make Maria happy, I am hereby resolving that in 2012 I will not do this so much:

And I also won’t do this as frequently:

And I especially won’t do this:

It’s not going to be easy, but after I ate the last bite of Maria’s holiday French toast as she was stuck behind the camera taking pictures of my requesting it, she says she fully intends to help me keep my resolution. She said it with “that look.” Wish me luck, Dogsters. And maybe send me your leftovers if you think of it.

(Note: I originally put this in the “Crimes Against Dogs” category, but Maria wouldn’t let me. Now it’s just under “Photo Post” and “Food and Nutrition.” Bo-ring!)

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Some Dog Training Techniques That Might Just Help You Keep That New Year’s Resolution

Happy New Year, Dogsters! I hope for all of you that 2012 brings us all great joy and success, both personally and as dog owners.

Last year, I resolved to take more winter walks with the dogs. Yeah, it’s easy to do that on a beautiful 70-degree day with a soft breeze, sunshine warming your shoulders, but it will be another thing entirely this week, when local temperatures are predicted to plummet to a disgusting 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Experience living in the arctic climate of upstate New York for many winters tells me that probably means our wind chill will hover around minus 10, if I’m lucky. Blech.

Sometimes I feel like Alice in Wonderland — giving myself very good advice but very seldom following it. Most New Year’s resolutions are more fantasy than they are self-fulfilling prophecies, anyway. Why are they so destined to fail?

My winter walking resolution, like many others, was set for failure from the start. Why? Because the alternative (sitting warm in front of the fireplace; not taking a walk and worrying about coming back with fewer phalanges than I started out with, thanks to frostbite) was more attractive.

Thankfully, my career as a trainer has taught me a bit about changing behavior in a positive and reliable way, and my “resolutions” for 2012 reflect that. Here’s how my resolution will change this year.

1. Split vs. lump, or “Every walk begins with a boot or sneaker.”

This is trainer jargon for breaking behaviors down into small, achievable goals. This allows you to create a high Rate of Reinforcement, which is fundamental in building reliable behaviors. Veterinary behaviorist Sophia Yin examines these issues in her blog entry, “Dog Training Tip: Why Cigarettes Are More Addicting than Heroin and How It Applies to Dog Training.” The whole concept of “New Year’s Resolutions” sets learners up for failure — it’s flawed. We need more frequent reinforcement! You may earn an annual salary of $50,000, but would you prefer to receive that income split into weekly paychecks or to receive a lump sum once a year?

Instead of resolving to take a walk this Tuesday, I’m resolving to take off my slippers and put on my sneakers. Once my sneakers are on, I’ll resolve to prepare my treat bag, leash the dogs, and then go outside together. Resolve to put one foot in front of the other — then every step reinforces the previous one.

2. Set yourself up for success.

Oh, to be a dog living with a dog trainer. Certainly, many are the canine equivalent of the cobbler’s children, wearing tattered behavioral shoes. Sometimes I think, “Yikes, you’ve really been slacking lately on the dogs’ training. I think they need some quality time to brush up on some skills or to learn something new.” When I catch myself thinking this, I never “resolve” to spend an hour and a half a day training the dogs. I resolve to keep a few pieces of kibble in my pocket.

If it’s easy or convenient to fit into your day, you’re more likely to do it. I know I’m much more likely to fit a ten-treat training session into my day than I am a ten-minute training session. The funny thing is, when your resolutions are easy to achieve (after all, a ten-treat training session may take less than a minute), you’ll find yourself doing them more often, and without even realizing, you may end up doing ten or more minutes a day over the course of many brief sessions.

Making it easy to be successful also means controlling the environment to the best of your ability. While I can’t change the weather, I can stock up on appropriate winter gear: scarves, hats, gloves, fleece tights under my jeans, wool socks, warm boots, and some YakTrax all help to make an unpleasant experience significantly less unpleasant.

3. Removing distractions, aka “Damn you, Facebook!”

Check out this article by classroom management expert Dr. Fred Jones to learn about “bootleg reinforcement,” which is basically the opportunity to self-reward for “poor” or undesirable behavior. I can reinforce my failure to go for a walk by engaging in a different behavior that is incompatible and self-rewarding, like Facebook.

It’s a lot easier to accomplish something when you remove distractions. I decided to be proactive so I couldn’t self-reinforce for undesirable behaviors (walking leads to freezing, so staying in means avoiding frostbite), so I installed the LeechBlock add-on to my Firefox browser — and now I can’t access Facebook at all between noon and five p.m.

4. Reinforce the desirable behavior.

When I wake up on winter mornings, I like to get out of bed, turn on the heat so that the bathroom warms up, and hop into a nice hot shower. This is another opportunity for bootlegging reinforcement! In 2012, I’m changing the picture — warm showers come after winter walks. Once I’m warm from a shower, I don’t want to go out into the cold. But I’m much more likely to go outside if I know when I get home, I can immediately take a long, hot shower.

We’ll see what happens this week. But I will say that my “resolutions” for 2012 have a greater chance of being successful simply because they are more reasonable. Saying “Every walk begins with a sneaker and ends with a shower” is a much more tangible way to change my behavior permanently than setting a lofty, decidedly ambiguous goal of “Take more winter walks.”

How might these tips change your resolutions this year, Dogsters? Remember, quitting smoking doesn’t begin with a year — it begins with a minute. Living a healthier life doesn’t begin with losing thirty pounds; it begins with replacing a single chip with a carrot dipped in hummus. “Feeling better about yourself” is not an achievable goal, but doing a single nice thing for yourself, like having a cup of coffee with someone who brings out the best in you, is the first step on that journey.

Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.

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Dr. Becker reveals year’s top pet/vet products on ‘Good Morning America’

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

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