Have A Great Success Story?

Do you have a great Rotti story that you'd like to share?  Something funny, adorable, unforgetable?  There are thousands of stories, we know, since we have our own.  This is your chance to share yours with the world?  This is your chance!

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Bertha and David getting COMFY!

As you can see, Bertha has moved right on in.   ;)   Jim snuck this picture the other night.    I was watching a movie and Bertha snuck up for a snuggle and a snooze... she's so sweeet! A great pic of a Rottie like they really ARE, at home.    No one who hasn't owned one would guess.   Dave and Bertha

From misery & abuse to a permanent HUGE, loving family for APOLLO

HEY, here I am!   if you couldn't see me with my family!  

I drove to Portland to meet Toni and Apollo with a couple of my kids, the new Golden Retriever pup, and Jackie.    Jackie sees herself as the Matriarch of the canines so we knew she would have to approve too.

My cousin, who lives in Portland met us there for lunch and to meet Apollo.   I was quite frankly  SHOCKED  and a bit disillusioned by the appearance of Apollo.   I knew he had been through a lot in his short 6 months, but I was unprepared for how skinny and hollow he would look.

Even after drastically improving in the care of Toni and Dwight, he had a long way to go.   My cousin saw past the obvious, and helped me to see his potential.

Even after the abuse he had endured, Apollo was the most gentle, loving young man you could care to encounter.   He had a heart of gold, and wanted nothing more than to love and be loved.

We took him home and it was love at first bite.   The minute he took my hand gently in his mouth and wagged his body to tell me thank you, he and I were  soul mates.   Apollo has totally blessed my life.   He is a big, silly, opinionatedly confident Dog who has MORE than met my expectations.   It took him months to get that confidence, but he knows we love him and has trust that we will never let him be hurt again.

Apollo has shown how smart and sensitive he is on many occaisions.   I was crying one day over something and he went to my daughter's room to get her.   He scratched on her door, took her hand in his mouth and brought her to me so she could comfort me.   He is VERY vocal and does not like it when I get frustrated with the six kids.   If I raise my voice he gets in front of me, wags his body and howls at me, as if to say,   "Chill out, Mom.   Ya don't have to yell."   He is non-threatening about it, but respectfully puts me in my place.

Apollo, as well as all our dogs, is wonderful with even the youngest of our kids, aside from being clumsy and accidently bumping them over on occaision.   He also makes a GREAT speed bump!!!!! When the kids run in the house, Apollo just lays there and waits for them.   As they run by, and I yell to "STOP RUNNING IN THE HOUSE!!!!!!!" Apollo sticks out his foot and grins as they trip over him.

We now have the  "lap dog" too.  He is Maltese/Lhasa Apso and is all of 10 pounds soaking wet.   You should see him and Apollo play!!!   Angel teases Apollo and entices him to chase him.   Angel will skip across the kitchen linoleum and Apollo hot on hit tail, circle the dining room table, run back to the living room and UNDER the coffee table.   It's about then that reality sets in and Apollo remembers he is about 100 pounds now and DOESN'T fit under that table.   It' really entertaining to see the furniture fly as the two of them get their indoor exercise!!!!!!!

You know... if anyone had asked me, 2 years ago what kind of a dog I would like to have, I would have said,  "Anything but a Rottweiler."  I had no idea what a wonderful family member they could be.   And all the stories you hear about mean Rotties?????   Well, those are the ones who were abused, mistreated, and MISUNDERSTOOD.   It seems you only hear about those dogs, so I'm here to tell you about the OTHER Rottweilers.   They are an amazing breed of dog, who has far more to offer than most people can imagine, and I can't imagine ever living my life without at least one.

Linda & Ken Johnson, Centralia, Wa

Ask KIDS how Rotties are to live with

Here is the photo FINALLY!   Sorry it has taken a little while longer.   In the photo are Macauley w/Abbey, and Joshua w/Nahlla.   Abbey has adjusted quite well to our family.   One morning, she followed the boys onto the Minibus as they were leaving for school.   Abbey gave the driver a big ol' kiss and all the kids wanted to pet her!!   She doesn't get too far away from the boys' side.   She has a regular routine of playing ball with them and at night she prefers to sleep upstairs, next to the boys.   Nahlla and Abbey have become alot closer.   They are playing together and are inseperable!   We truly are blessed to have her ~ and thank you both for making that possible!   Marty, Suzanne, Macauley, Joshua Homan

Toni can't resist just one more last hug and kiss for Sampson before he leaves, is THAT a happy face?

         Samson arrived home with us without incident.   We stopped 3 times to let him get out on leash and give him water.    He got carsick near the Dalles and lost his breakfast but has had no repercussions since.   We have an appointment with our vet tomorrow for a checkup, rabies shot, tag, license and whatever other shots the vet thinks are appropriate.

We have changed his name to  "Sam".   He has already learned  'come'  and  'sit'  to which he responds about ninety-five percent of the time.   He has his own  16 x 12  covered kennel outside with three inches of cedar shavings.   He shares a common wall of his kennel with our 2 year old female Rotty  ( "Rosie" ).   They have bonded to each other very well.

She is dominant at the moment because he is so mello and because he hasn't figured out that he outweighs her by 25 pounds.    They run and play together on the 2.5  fenced acres during the day when we're outside.   We still don't trust them alone outside yet.    Maybe in a couple of weeks.    Sam has bonded to me primarily and follows me everywhere; often a pain if I'm trying to get some yardwork done.    Rosie is primarily Jimmie's dog and wants to be wherever she is.

You were right about Sam's intelligence.    He is very smart and very loving.    He loves human companionship and is not hostile or agressive toward the neighbor's dog or his cows & horses.    He's more curious than anything.

In short, we love Sam and we're so happy to have him as part of our family.   Thanks for rescuing him.

BOB and Jimmie, Oregon

Sigi's  Tail   Antics

     There was nothing different about that January day to make any of us think that this long awaited rescue run would finally be a go, after so many other cancellations.    Dozens of volunteers would be lined up ready to spirit those guys to freedom only to have everything cancel at the last minute because the worthless human brute  "owner"   chose to stay home instead and harm some other creature more helpless than himself.

Many, many times we were all on pins and needles wondering if today would be the day, and the poor gals trying to negotiate the freedom for these boys was excruciatingly painful for them.    One day yes, the next day no and so on for months.....when that day finally came we all breathed a cumulative sigh of relief....and disbelief!

Months of negotiating with the owner who purportedly killed over 100 Rottweilers was agonizingly slow and fraught with frustrations of when or even whether the animals would be released to a rescue group in another state..    That cruel monster toyed with everyone, slobbering over his prize Rottweilers, now that a rescue group has discovered them.    After all the owner was a breeder and had to maximize his "investment", but these tiny, pathetic creatures were becoming a burden to him, while court dates for animal cruelty charges were scheduled and cancelled.    In the end it took several months of some tough negotiating with this sadistic moron..

The mother of these 4 brothers had already been shot and killed by the owner, other pups had been shot and killed and our concern focused on the remaining 4 boys and their poor sister.    All spent their entire 6 month lives, chained neck to neck with logging chains, in utter conditions of despair, unsocialized, untouched, underfed and without minimal shelter for a Pacific Northwest winter   But early one morning confirmation came that the 4 boys had been released and were hurriedly packed into crates, thrown into cars before anything untold could happen, and hit the road with various guardian angels!

This was truly a team effort and had it not been for those before us there wouldn't have been any of these guys alive    First seeing them shocked us, all 4 were frightened, unhandled, filthy, half starved.    They had never ridden in a vehicle, didn't know what crates were, obviously didn't know homes existed, and had no idea that humans could be other than neglectful and abusive.    They had been on the road all day by the time they reached us and I'll never forget, how pathetically orphaned and frail they all appeared....

Sigi was the tiniest of the  ChainGang Four,  a bedraggled, undersized, filthy fellow, all bones and barely more than a rough, patchy coat with missing fur around his tiny neck.    Huddled and shivering in the back of a pick up that cold winter day.    The crate more befitting a cocker than a 6 month old Rottweiler.   We'll never forget the instant of bonding eye contact as we extracted him from the crate pulling him into the safety of our arms and a new world and chance at living.

As the smallest and completely without the concept of an appetite or sufficient food, we cared for him for months by hand feeding him   ANYTHING   edible, 1 kibble at a time, a tiny piece of cottage cheese, anything to activate his little taste buds...    Sigi would go to the office with me so he could be encouraged to eat, he enjoyed the socialization of people and other dogs and finally developed an appetite where he would almost finish a half bowl of dog food,  WE CHEERED!    And then one day we noticed he would finally eat without us begging and pleading and we knew the battle was finally won!   Of course by now with these intense intimate interaction, we were hooked and so was he.   He now has food 24 hours a day, nibbles at his pleasure, plays with other dogs, and has surprisingly grown to normal size and is very handsome, totally loving and sweet   Like most Rotties he is a lick monster and has a stubborn streak.    His only flaw is his warped sense of humor he occasionally displays.    The horses aren't as alarmed as we are, but those tails took a long time to touch the ground.    Sigi, will get a glint in his eye and get a running start to launch himself airborne and attach himself to a horses' tail.   The horse will then take off running and circling, literally catapulting Sigi airborne, as he flies around the horse, you can see him grinning while he's clamped onto the tail, Sigi likes it too!

NO, we don't have any photos, we stop the procedure or try to prevent it, if we catch the glint in his eye in time.

Dan still uncertain with Repo's affection

Repo, formerly Dakota, was with us almost a year, he failed three interviews because he was so fearful of strangers that he would stiffen up, growling and snapping at them if they approached within 50 feet!   As you can imagine, that did little to win anyone's heart.   Dakota was terrific with us, but clearly he wasn't ready to accept any more humans into his life, at least until he met Astride.   It was love at first sight with the two of them and he later accepted Dan, her husband.   The photo above shows Dan's surprise at Repo's acceptance and joy, but look at that smile!   Repo now has 4 humans in his life and fits in nicely with the limited interaction he has with public.   Here's Astride's letter shortly after taking Repo home, BEFORE he learned to allow other people into his life.  He was very protective of Astride, but her note does have an amusing side, doesn't it?  AND more importantly, this beautiful animal had potential that needed work, lots of work and Astride and Dan were ready to provide him an opportunity to be a valued family member, and it's worked for all concerned!

" I am so sorry I haven't written for a while but I have been laid up for a bit...   a week ago, i went to the lot ( automobile lot )  early to let Repo back into his pen, but i was being pushed by two of our workers to hurry up, so i wasnt thinking like i normally do...  anyway I got in ok but didnt completely latch the gate...  I went inside the office with Repo, got him leashd up and started outside...

Well, it was very, very icy that morning, and our lot is laid in gravel and rocks, we started out but Repo noticed the gate had come open and he bolted for the gate pulling me behind him really fast...I slipped on the icy gravel and went down hard!!!

I kept my hold on him because by then the two workers had come to see what was taking me so long...    When they showed up, Repo wanted to go after them...I was on the ground crying from the excrutiating pain in my left knee, hip and elbow...thinking I had broken bones...my left hand was all bloody...I was crying my eyes out holding on to him so he wouldnt charge at the workers and then finally he quit looking at them and was all over me on the ground licking my face from the salty tears and stepping on me where it hurt...he was protecting me!...

After I calmed down in a few more minutes, I decided that I had to crawl back to the office and get him inside because I didnt want him to alarm the workers, so in all my pain I held on to him and crawled back into the office, managed to close the door and laid on the floor for 50 more minutes until Dan came to the office..

No one could help me because they were all scared of Repo and Repo just laid by my side and licked my tears...I couldnt get up or do anything but I knew by then that I didnt have broken bones...finally Dan came and took Repo to his pen, helped me get up, went to get bandaids, first aid and wrapped my knee...I was a mess... so for a week I used a cane to help me walk...now my bruises are better and so are all the abrasions...

I finally was strong enough to go back into Repo's kennel by myself...I love that boy...he is such a sweetie...I dont blame him one bit for the accident...it wasnt his falut...I shouldve locked the gate in the first place and never put him on a leash as he would have followed me to his pen anyways...

He is doing great, he loves Dan as much as he loves me..we are now introducing him to a new salesman, who raised Dobermans...he is not afraid of Repo and feeds him and talks to him...even while Repo is growling at him from behind the chain link and baring his teeth, he will still SIT when Roy tells him to even as he growls...it is a sight to see

Yesterday, Roy went in the pen with Dan, and Repo nipped him on the arm..but Roy was not afraid and told him NO!   and Repo backed down...Roy likes him and it will be a matter of a few more days and they will be friends..the other two people are so scared of Repo that we gave up trying..we will keep the circle to me, Dan and Roy.  ROY used to train Dobies and says Rottis are dobermans with steroids...hahahahaaaa...

I will write more later...how are you doing? I think of you often...glad you like the jokes... Hugs," Astrida

"Arnold" had been left to die, tied at the bottom of an irrigation ditch with another dog.  He was petrified for the first hour with us and took about 15 minutes before he would get out of the jeep.  His new name is MOOSE and he LOVES his new family, as you can tell from these photos!  Some shelter workers were afraid of Arnold, he was very aggitated and acting quite aggressive.  Had it not been for the shelter director, who owns Rotties herself, telling me that she "thought" he would be OK with work and time, we would not have taken a chance with him.  Thankfully we took that chance, saved his life and the letter tells how he's integrated into his new family.

"  How Moose joined our family:  We had two male Rotts and lost one of them in December 2001 to uncorrectable hip dysplasia, joint deterioration.   Our remaining Rott, Cuda who was also adopted our of Deer Lodge Montana, became depressed and lifeless.

We could no longer leave him alone at home as he would claw the doors, windows and screens.   Cuda just could not understand what had hapened to his playmate.

I began looking for another Rott to rescue which took a few months since we had criteria to meet.   We had another male dog, a cat and two very small children.

My search led us to Toni, who had a very special dog named, Arnold.   He was given to Toni by the Idaho Humane Society.

A local man had found him tied up to the bottom of an irrigation ditch with another female Rott.   They were left there to die with no food or water.   By the description Toni seem to know her dogs very well.   She assured us that despite what he had been through he was an incredible dog and all he wanted was love.

Arnold seemd to be everything we were looking for.   Together we all decided he was the one for our family.

Toni was incredible herself!   She agreed to bring him all the way to Montana, where we live.   We arrived home with him at 11:30 pm on July 7, 2002.

He was fearful of all men, including my husband, but it only took him a day or two to realize he was our new son and he wasn't going to leave.   Within the month he was my husband's best friend and followed him everywhere he went.   I still take priority with him because of course I am his mama!

I took him to Obedience Class, not because he needed it but because I thought it would be a good bonding time with him.   He graduated top of his class and was the only one to advance to the next level!  What a boy!

He is a rather large dog and has been a great deterent for anyone thinking of entering the yard.  Which is great with our kids playing around outside.   I call my boys my  " Security alarm ", they sound off if someone comes near the fence yet they let the kids roll all over them.  They can't seem to get them wet enough with Rottie Kisses. 

I tried calling him Arnold, but always referred to him as Moose, because of his size.   The deciding factor for the name change was seeing him run...if you have ever seen a real moose run, that is exactly how he runs.  It is a crack up!!

Toni was right, he has been nothing but a super boy and a delight to have in our family.   He is the biggest teddy bear you will ever see.  You can truly see how grateful he is every time he looks at you with those big brown eyes."   Tammy in Montana

    " Baby Moose "  on the left with new family..

Hi Toni,

I wanted to thank you and I'd love to send a thank you to the neighbor that rescued Moose as well.   We adore Moose.   We have had him so little time and already he is becoming a member of the family.

He has a big overstuffed dog bed, right beside my bed and we are both happy with that arrangement.   We were all so tired after our long trip Saturday that everyone slept well.   I wasn't sure what Sunday night would bring, he was just as good, he laid on his bed and went right to sleep.   He gets up with me each time I get up during the night to go to the bathroom and he goes right back to his bed.   He hasn't needed to go out during the night and has been a very good boy.

He found the indoor doggie toybox right away and loves his tennis balls. He hasn't discovered the outdoor toybox but I'm sure it's just a matter of time.  We are already working on  " sit "; he really likes to jump up to get treats and I want to break that habit, it's cute now, but won't be as he gets bigger and jumps on people.   He is responding remarkably fast.

This morning before I left for work, he saw me with a treat and ran over and sat right in front of me, without me even saying  " sit ". I'm confident he will be very easy to train as he is so eager to please.   We have a very active home with lots of friends, family and other dogs coming by often to visit, he already met a few friends and is timid right at first but quickly warms up to them.   It is actually cute, he runs to Don and I for reassurance and once we say they are " okay ", he goes back to sniff and check the new folks out.

We went to the local ranch store yesterday and bought him a new blue collar and his own new food and water bowl.   He and Sadie ( my female rottie )  know who's bowls are who's and they make sure the other knows it too.

We are delighted how well he travels, as I told you, we travel with our dogs and take short trips to the coast, Whidbey island and the mountains.   We are hoping to introduce him to the beach at the Pacific ocean this Spring.   I can already imagine he and Sadie running together all over the beach.   There is something very rewarding about seeing a dog that's tired at the end of the day from playing and walking on the beach or along a mountain trail.   We work all week long and our dogs patiently wait for us at home so when the weekend comes, it's time to do things with them.   Of course we walk them during the week but we like to take them out and do more on the weekends.

I will send you pictures as we take them and as he grows.   Thank you again and again.   He is the dog that I was looking for and had prayed for.   I truly appreciate all you did and all that you do for the good of the dogs.   You are a wonderful person and you will be rewarded over and over for the goodness you show all these rotties in need.

Sincerely,  Ronda O'Brien


Lots more stories to be posted, more to be written, we appreciate updates, photos and news.  Eventually, we'll get many more updated.

Reading thoughtful letters from new  "parents"  makes our efforts so worthwhile....it's not just saving the dog, but knowing that we've sent him onto a permanent, home where his arrival contributes so much to the totality of the family picture and where the thought of his absence would mean such a huge Rotti shaped hole in the heart!

Thanks for adopting!   Toni   &   Dwight

And this is the before picture of the ChainGang 4

these poor guys are tangled up so close to each other, do they look 6 months old?

You can see all 5 pups, with one shelter not big enough for one

You can see the ribs and sunken tummys

tiny guys with heart breaking chains on thin necks, travel companion another starved Idaho Rotti, Sadie

Not sure if these were beds for them or nests for chickens

Please visit our wonderful ADOPTABLE ROTTIES

   Just one click below on "Petfinder Pages" and you'll conect to all current listings!  Thanks for your visit, please stop by again!

Petfinder Pages

What if Happy Tails Rescue earned a penny every time you searched the Internet?    Or how about if a percentage of every purchase you made online went to support our cause?    Well, now it can!

   GoodSearch.com   is a new Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate.    Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and watch how the donations really add up!

  GoodShop.com   also offers a new online shopping mall which donates up to 37 percent of each purchase to your favorite cause!    Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, ebay, Macy's and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop and every time you place an order, you’ll be supporting your favorite cause.

Since it doesn't cost anything and you get proven search results, there's no reason not to use it!   We hope you'll not only use GoodSearch as your main search engine from now on, but will also tell your friends, family and co-workers so they, too, can start using GoodSearch to support their favorite cause!   Every little bit really does add up and can make a big difference for Happy Tails and the animals it supports.  Why wouldn't you do it?   Every little bit really does add up and can make a big difference for Happy Tails and the animals it supports.

Custom Search

   Donate Online, please will you help fill our bucket?  If you visited our site and were moved by it or the stories of the Rotts, or have a fond Rotti memory or your own, then your spare change can literally help save lives.  Most people don't give because of a lack of generosity, but because they feel their gift is insufficient.  Every little drop of even $1.00 or $2.00 is very important would help fill and eventually over flow our bucket.  Our growth has been overwhelming, we NEED to build a 80 x 120 foot enclosure for the Rotts with large outdoor runs, will you help?  

We promise not to "hound" you for greater donations, but thank you for your participation.

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There seems to be thousands of books about every aspect of dogs that anyone could imagine, we've chosen some of our favorites about various training techniques, agility, tracking, learning to bond, silly dog tricks and lots more and made them available to you.   These are grouped on a separate page where you can easily purchase them if you find them interesting.  Buying from our link will not cost you a penny extra and Happy Tails will earn a few cents from each purchase that helps support our rescue efforts.  In fact, I guess you could say that we've saved some of your time by doing the searching and picking some of our favorites that should have a broad appeal.  At least we give them a PAWS UP!   Or you can easily search on your home.  Enjoy your reading!

Click here to check out these great training books!

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If you are unhappy with the health of your animal friends and are thinking about herbs, essential oils, clays, homeopathy or other natural therapies, there are thousands of books on each of those very interesting topics and it could take quite a long time to get up to speed on them, to save you some time, we've chosen some of our favorites and made them available to you through Amazon, and it won't cost you a penny extra!   These are grouped on a separate page where you can easily purchase them if you find them interesting.  Buying from our link will help Happy Tails earn a few cents from each purchase that will be used to help support our rescue efforts.  In fact, I guess you could say that we've saved some of your valuable time by doing the searching and picking some of our favorites that should have a broad appeal.  At least we give them a PAWS UP!   Or you can easily search on your home.  Enjoy your reading!

Click here to check out these great books on Herbs, Essential Oils, Clay Cures and more!

Happy Tails Newsletter will be offering exciting training tips, educational, natural health information and specials on our WildCrafted & Natural Farmacy collections, formulated for Mutts & Men, Nags & Hags, Fillies & Friends & Ewe Too!

Experience the fragrant botanical and gentle herbal Tinctures, Body Butters, Essential Oils, Salves, Coat Spritzes, Bio Magnetics and more, all with zero harsh toxins and synthetic ingredients.

Find out what your dog might really be saying to you?   Can he trust and believe your body language?  If you were a dog, would you pass a  "temperament test' ?   Does your dog respect you or treat you more like a chew toy?   Can you really share your Mango Orange Extreme Body Butter with your pooch?   Will be share  ( or resource guard )  his Yuppy Puppy Coat Spritz with you?

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Happy Tails until we meet again!

Happy Tails Rescue Association Goldendale, Wa 98620 Please EMail us for quicker contact. toni@happytailsrescue.com

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