In November 2018 Jennifer from Town and Country Animal Clinic reached out to DSDA about a stray dog that had been living at their clinic for the past two months after being found running loose at the intersection of Inwood Road and Forest Lane in Dallas.
Jennifer had helped wrangle the loose dog off the busy road which also happened to be the same location as their vet clinic at that time (which has since merged with another office and moved). They had tried everything to find his owner to no avail and now needed help rehoming him. They had appropriately named the dog “Oliver” after the orphan Oliver Twist. He was in need of a forever home and they were out of ideas on how to find it. Over time the clinic staff had grown attached to Oliver. Dr. Middendorf had even taken care of all his medical needs including his neuter. Oliver was a happy healthy boy who needed a family to call his own.
At that time Oliver was estimated to be about 2 years old. Our volunteers met him several times over the course of a few weeks. We introduced our own dogs to him and observed his life in the vet clinic watching as he loved on the staff and even the clinic cat, Merry, who came to stay the year prior right before Christmas. We found a loving foster home for Oliver with a nice couple, their two teens, their own dog a female retriever mix named Izzy, and two hamsters.
Time elapsed and DSDA was having trouble drumming up any interest in Oliver. Being an adult pit bull mix in a land full of homeless pit bull mixes that Dallas is notorious for, is not an easy task. So in January 2020 the Facebook page Oliver’s Big Adventures was created to help engage more potential adopters. We set up Oliver’s activity schedule that involved the volunteers taking him on daily trips to parks and restaurants to help feed his daily posts and stir up interest.
We were so excited in May when an application came in that seemed the perfect fit. The family even had a little boy named Oliver!
After several visits with the family including an overnight stay a decision was made by them to formally adopt Oliver, although his name had to be modified due to the confusion it would cause having both a child and a dog in the same home with the same name. So Oliver was renamed “Odie Dog”. On May 17, 2020 Oliver’s adoption was finalized! But sadly, the family’s routine altered after several months into Covid Times and in October Odie was returned to us. Big tears were shed by both sides. We were fortunate that he could return to his original foster family that he had grown to know and love for the 18 months prior to his adoption.
We do know more about Oliver than ever before after having the experience in the adoptive home and having him in our program for the past two years. He is a love bug with people but can be protective of small children in the home. He is frightened of some strange noises and fast moving objects that he does not understand like certain toys. He also likes the furniture arranged just so in the home, however, he is able to be desensitized to these changes. He loves Izzy, the dog in his foster home, but we think he would be happy as an only dog.
What does Oliver need?
Oliver needs a loving understanding experienced dog owner who is home more than not.
A home without small children with unpredictable toys.
He loves going for walks and playing so someone who enjoys throwing balls for him to chase- his favorite activity!!
A fenced in backyard to watch and chase birds and fluffy tailed squirrels
Someone who doesn’t mind a clingy dog...he thinks he is a lap dog so snuggling on the sofa, sleeping in your bed and following you around is his thing. You must be ok with this!
Would be best as an only dog...even though he loved his foster sister Izzy...it takes time and dedication and a strong leader to make sure everyone is happy.
No kitties....Even though he did great with a volunteer’s kitties he does have a prey drive and will chase anything that runs so no kitties.
He is great in the car and loves car rides. Car rides are a must!
Oliver is not a high maintenance dog. He just wants to be loved and be around his people all the time.
To arrange a meeting with Oliver in person please visit us at www.dsda.org/adopt and complete our on line no obligation adoption application today!
Don’t forget to follow Oliver on his own Facebook page at Oliver’s Big Adventures!
We first heard about this handsome 3 year old stray in early April after everything was just shut down from COVID when Ashley McClavin, a saint for the animals at the Corsicana Animal Shelter, reached out to DSDA. She said he had been there at least a week and no one had come for him or shown any interest due to his injury. He was not able to weight bear without pain on his right front leg. He seemed like a sweet dog, was good around the other dogs and the people working there. She sent photos of a beautiful stoic looking dog from behind his bars in the kennel, holding up his injured leg …with pleading eyes to save him.
We knew we had to move fast if we were going to try and save this sweet dog and his leg.
We named him Whiskey after his gorgeous silky whiskey-golden colored coat. Not only was his elbow dislocated but he had multiple wounds on his legs on head. We can only imagine what could have happened to him to cause the dislocation as this type of injury requires a lot of force. He was immediately seen by orthopedic specialist, Dr. Lang, at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center. Since it was the beginning of Covid times and we did not know Whiskey that well, there was concern about sending him in to the hospital with strangers but that turned out not to be a problem as he was fine with the entire scenario.
Dr. Lang explained he hoped to save the leg with the use of an external fixator. It would be a risk since we had no timeline on how long the elbow had actually been dislocated and there was a possibility the surgery might not hold but he was a young dog who deserved a chance to keep his leg. Fortunately, we had an amazing medical fosters lined up, Debbie and her neighbor, Cathy, who cared for Whiskey during the weeks post op and later took him to and from biweekly trips to water therapy.
Once Whiskey recovered from his surgery and physical therapy was completed we moved him to a more active foster home with Dave and Dori who have two of their own dogs so we could learn more about his activity level and personality so we could gauge his needs in a Forever Home.
Whiskey is definitely the epitome of quirkiness but his foster dad says he is a “100% a great dog.” At first glance he looks like he may be a Golden Retriever but we wanted to be sure so we ran a DNA test to check it out. The results came back with Australian Cattle Dog, Australian Shepherd, Chow, Great Pyrenees and a sprinkle of extra things - but no retriever. Even though he underwent surgery so that he could keep his leg he does have reduced range of motion, a noticeable limp and will requires anti-inflammatories for life. But he doesn’t let it slow him down.
He can be hard to get to know at first but once he knows you he’s your buddy. He likes being pet but he is not a snuggler. Whiskey loves a game of fetch and he likes to ride in the car especially if we are talking McDonald’s drive through for a cheeseburger! He enjoys exploring walking trails but is also happy to come home and relax by his foster mom’s side-who he also follows all over the house.
Whiskey is a special boy and requires a specific home:
He will be best as only dog (as he is not great at sharing treats and some toys).
An experienced dog owner/adult only home (small children are too unpredictable).
Someone that works from home or is home a lot.
He prefers women over men, but a home with a mixed couple would be fine as long as the woman is home a lot and the man is patient.
A fenced yard is a must and a house without a lot of stairs.
If you are looking for a gorgeous dog that has all the quirks and will keep you on your toes then Whiskey might just be the dog for you!
To meet Whiskey in the fluff visit us at www.dsda.org/adopt and complete our no obligation adoption application.
Hope to hear from you soon!
Sometimes we get it wrong. A placement we felt was the perfect match turns out not to be that perfect after all and that's what happened to Ringo.
In March 2018, we found Mama Andrea and her sweet tiny pups living in a junk yard hidden tucked inside a trailer park in south Dallas. A resident guardian angel contacted us about a pitiful dog that had been left behind several years prior when her family moved away, and she was producing litter after litter of puppies that would often - just disappear.
But this time would be different. We were determined to help the newest litter of pups and “Mama Andrea”, too, in effort to stop the cycle of unwanted puppies. And because we had a veterinarian (named Andrea) who offered to board the poor mama dog for a bit we had an immediate place for her to go once rescued. The poor dog had grown untrusting of people over time, as one would expect, but with some coaxing she was caught, placed in a caring foster home, treated for heartworm, spayed, and eventually adopted to an amazing lady! Slam dunk!
The pups were found under a rotted-out car laying tall weeds, dirt and mud. One even had his head stuck in the wheel rim of the old car. They were spread around and not old enough to even walk with eyes barely open. All the pups were rescued.
They went to wonderful foster home and named after the 80’s band-Duran Duran and became the Duran Litter. Ringo was initially named Roger, before his adopter renamed him. Because he was used to "Ringo" and it fit him we kept it.
Ringo’s original adoptive home had small children and another dog. An older dog that apparently picked on him constantly without intervention over the near two years the family had him. When we were finally aware of the situation Ringo was returned to us covered in puncture wounds. There is more to this story, but we will spare you the details. How does the saying go…all that glitters is not gold? What we thought was the perfect home was not. So, we started from scratch with an adult dog who over time had developed some fear of other dogs and even men.
But, as always, our volunteers were up for the challenge. We knew Ringo had enormous potential as all his litter mates have grown up to be amazing dogs. With lots of love and an amazing foster home Ringo was nursed back to the kind of dog we expected him to grow up to be. Ringo has been back with DSDA for six months. He has been on so many adventures in different homes, with different types of people, to restaurants, parks, dog parks, department stores, daycare, more places than most any loved dog will go in a lifetime. He is even a big fan of the Puppuccino! Yes, maybe a tad spoiled no but very deserving! He is a GREAT dog and he is ready for a forever home who will treat him like the amazing dog he is.
Ringo has his own Facebook page called “Ringo’s BIG Adventures” where we chronicle all his fun trips around town with the volunteers. Please check him out and follow him. Ringo is a busy boy as he is a cattle dog/shepherd mix. So, he needs an active owner who will commit to continuing his outings, adventures, and long walks. Because Ringo is 2 years old now, he is well trained and not destructive. No puppy antics. He would be happiest in a home as an only dog and he prefers women over men but is fine with men, just aloof. A young couple would be ideal for him or a woman only home.
Would you like to meet Ringo? Please visit us our website and complete the no-obligation adoption application and we will be happy to coordinate a personal meeting with our Super Star.