BRAVEHEART
aka MEL
was shot on the head!
Gulfstream
Rottweiler Club
offers its website space to MEL
hoping to find his Guardian Angel
His story below, but the latest
update
/ 12/15/00 is at the bottom
MEL NEEDS A HOME
I recall the day I visited the Agoura Hills shelter. I
was walking down the dog section and came across this tremendous Rottie...they
had a caution sign up and I noticed blood on the floor of his cage. I
looked up and
saw the bullet wound in his temple. I summoned Laurie the wonderful woman
that worked at the shelter. She said that this boy was brought in the
night before in Topanga at a horse farm...He had been shot in the
head...Needless
to say, nobody had any explanation! Laurie explained that she was unsure
if anyone had x-rayed him but gave his chances at the shelter to be slim
to none. Barbara
And Judi Becker sent the following recollection....
AC received a call to "come get a dog" on a ranch in Topanga
Canyon (just up the mountain from Malibu). When they got there, they found
this dog, who had been shot in the head
(you can see the bullet hole in the picture above). He was taken to
the shelter, they didn't do much for him, a lady who does a daily shelter
visit emailed me and asked me if I could help this dog, as the shelter
people fell in love with him. Apparently he let them poke and prod the
wound and wasn't nasty with them. One of the shelter volunteers took him
to her vet and that vet x-rayed him, decided to leave the bullet where it
is (lodged in the jaw), determined that he had no brain damage, and kept
him there for several weeks until his wound was completely healed. And
THEY fell in love with him. An anonymous benefactor (I don't even know who
this is) paid for his vet care. I then pleaded and begged on the list for
help with transporting this guy... oops, let me back up....
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MEL
IS A GORGEOUS MALE!
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Diane Silver, on rottie-l, went to the vets and
"evaluated" him, and she and another lady on rottie-l, Jeanine
Daynes, transported him to a "temporary" foster home. This
foster is not really one of our foster homes, the people just happened to
hear about Mel and offered to take him in for a while. The lady has been
ill, off and on, and she and her
husband will be traveling and they already have 3 or 4 other dogs and its
time to move Mel.
For some strange reason, no one is interested in adopting him. He gets
along with other dogs, but NOT cats from what she can tell, he knows a
little training, likes people and loves to ride in the car and go places
like Petsmart. He does require daily eye medicine in one eye due to the
gunshot wound.
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"I'm
looking very hard for my
GUARDIAN ANGEL!
I promise to be a good boy."
Mel
Look at the
bullet hole!
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Actually, Mel is sort of "my" rescue, as our
regular foster homes were overloaded when I decided to help save this boy
and so I knew I was "on my own". I have been fortunate that I
have had the help of all these people in California, being that I am in
Arizona . A wonderful couple near San Diego, members of the Golden State
Rottweiler Club, have offered to temporarily take in Mel (they have 4
canine girls, so figure he won't be a problem), but again, it will be only
temporary.
I would love to find this boy a wonderful home. We received two apps that
were interested in him, but the people wanted an "outside only"
dog and I refuse to let Mel go to an "outside only" home. I know
some people might say "well who cares, its a home", but MY dogs
come and go as they please and I wouldn't want any less for our rescues.
Oh! And he got the name "Mel" because we needed to think up a
name and the lady who originally contacted me about him said how about
"Braveheart" because he has been so brave and then since Mel
Gibson was Braveheart, we nicknamed him Mel!
Please, if Mel's story touches your
heart, it may be God speaking to you! Don't close your heart and
have Faith. With every rescue God sends His blessings.
For information on how to become Mel's
Guardian Angel
please contact
Judith Becker at judi.becker@home.com
BUT
GOD
HAD OTHER PLANS...
READ
Hi
again Grace --
I was in kind of a rush this morning
and didn't have time to say what especially I'm thankful for about you
this day. (Besides all of the hundreds of things you do all the
time.)
I'd asked Judi Becker to leave our
name out of the information about Mel. She was kindly understanding
of our feeling that, since we've only been around for a couple of years
and have been able to learn so much but contribute so little, we'd serve
best from the sidelines.
When it became necessary for him to
find a new foster home -- and no one was able to -- Barb and I talked
about possibly stepping in for a short time. Having the two Grandmas
living with us, as well as our other four canines, meant that we'd have to
be cautious. (I often think of the Johnny Mercer song "Fools
Rush In". I keep reminding myself = ) )
I first got to meet "The
Boy" in mid-August. He was certainly not a wiggle-butt, but we
seemed to strike a chord. (I must admit that I was not quite
prepared for his caved-in skull & cruddy eye, but he seemed healthy
otherwise.) I allowed him to size me up as I chatted with Blair.
She sat on the end of a lounge chair on the patio while I crouched
about 8 feet away. He was so aloof, walking past me without making
eye contact, circling casually and then walking over to Blair and lifting
his leg on her chair! (As if to say "I'm not going to
acknowledge that you're here, but this is MINE.")
Barb and I made arrangements to pick
him up on August 23rd. (We'd bought a kennel and put it up on the
patio outside our bedroom and planned to keep him separate when we were at
work. We figured that if our fostering experience was a success, we
might need the kennel for future dogs. Sound like a big
rationalization?) Everything went just fine. We'd taken a
blanket with us in the car (which the girls had used) so he could get used
to the scents. He was great on the drive home (about 45 minutes) and
when we were about four houses away from home he perked up and started
air-scenting at the window! Now that's a nose!
Slow introductions with the girls were
made -- adjustments in the pack followed over a couple weeks -- and he
began to capture our hearts.
Judi sent me a link to the page you
had made. She said that the response to your efforts usually results
in an adoptive home in just a few weeks. THANK YOU for your help!
I must admit that, as I began working with Mr. Mel, he really
started to form a bond with us. Judi would reply to my reports by
saying "it's going to be hard to find a better place than the one
he's at right now..." and I had to admit that I agreed. But we
kept thinking "God's going to find just the right home for this
wonderful boy, don't get too attached.
To make a long story just a little
longer ...
By the time we'd had him for nearly
two months we began to wonder if we'd be able to let him go to someone
else! His training has been going so well, he sleeps in the bedroom
with us and the four girls, and we've planned to take him and Majik with
us on a little vacation in the RV.
A couple days before we left, we drove
to L. A. to pick up a crate & x-pen from Jill Kessler's house. We
decided to take Mel along for the ride. Well, Jill wanted to meet
and evaluate Mel. After about 30 minutes of observing him in her
yard (I had him on a flexi and he walked around sniffing, subtly posturing
at the fence when her dogs greeted him as he passed, IGNORING Jill, pissing
on me as I crouched in conversation) Jill had basically two things to
say:
1) "He's a lot of dog" (I bet she said that a dozen
times)
2) "Are you planning on keeping him?" We finally admitted that
we just might. Actually, we hoped so. There, we said it!
= )
Jill replied "Good. Because
if I was evaluating him for rescue, I would probably say that he's not
place able. First, because of his age (which she estimated to be
about 6) you wouldn't get too many calls. But more important because
he has a correct Rottweiler temperament and most first-time owners -- and
many others -- would not know how to work with him. And they'd push
and get pushed back. Not a dog for a family with kids. Not a
dog for most people. He needs a firm but fair, loving owner."
OKAY, God. We understand. You
found him his home two months ago and we just didn't know it was us at the
time. = )
Well, Mel has been here for three
months TODAY! What a joy he is. And how Thankful we are for
this gift!
Thank you for what you did to help
find him a forever home. And so many others like him! I'll
send you a photo and a couple stories about his adventures.
May your day be filled with the joyful
knowledge of yet another success story.
Barb
& Bret Gross
(
bspamb@aol.com)
And
look at Mel now!
He has a family of his own.
BRAVEHEART
is his name
This
had a happy ending!
Mel,
aka Braveheart
lives
with
Barb & Bret
Gross
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