We Rescued a Starving Breeder Female in Alaska - Our Story - Page 1

This is the Story of Rabbit, a Belgian Malinois that we rescued 2 days ago.

I volunteer at an animal rescue in Fairbanks, Alaska. I've been doing feline rescue, and behavioral/physical rehabilitation for years in the lower 48. I have never had a dog. The few things I know about dog care or rehab I have picked up from fellow volunteers over the years. Alaska is a whole new breed of animal neglect. Where we are in interior Alaska there is no SPCA or animal police. You cant call in the owners of a yard full of freezing-to-death sled dogs. Its only us. A few people

**this is a continuation as I accidentally posted the first time....

A few people do what they can but for the most part our work up here is hearbreaking. This past weekend Loving Companions Animal Rescue hosted a SNIP clinic north of Fairbanks. One lady brought in a malnutritioned and breastfeeding purebreed Belgian Shepherd and a bundle of her half starved husky mix puppies. Some had suffered cold injuries. The mother was too weak to stand up and had frostbite on her feet. I had to look this monster of a woman in the face and talk to her like she was a real human being just to get the details out of her of this poor dogs plight. She had had the dog for 4 years. It had never been inside in its life. She only had time to pet it for perhaps 30 seconds every morning on her way out to work. The dog had been living on a 10 foot chain since it was a puppy. Its name was Angel but it didnt respond to her when she called it.

I told the woman I understood how she felt just to keep her talking. Some russians had sold the puppy to her and told her in broken English that the dog was a purebreed russian hunting dog. She had seen the mother and father of the puppy and they looked beautiful. Pronounced Belgian MALINA by the russians. The woman could not understand why her dog was so thin and ragged. Never in FOUR YEARS had the dog been brought inside, I repeated? No she said, her father was allergic. Alaska is routinely minus 40 and 50 degrees in the winter and I asked how it had survived. She shrugged. At this point I told her I would be willing to take the dog off her hands. She was so greatful. It was afterall a stupid dog and it had not produced very useful husky puppies.

Rabbit is home with us now. She came off her spay meds yesterday but she was too confused to eat anything. She only started eating today. She is terrified of everything. Cats, dogs, people, loud noises....being in the house. She is extremely intelligent though as she has only been here a few days and already knows she must pee outside.  She looks exactly like all these pictures of beautiful dogs except tiny, thin, frail and obviously nursing.

I hope I can see dignity in her face soon. I hope she trusts us too. This is a beautiful breed and I just want her to be everything she can be without the terror of having to survive on her own at the end of a chain.