Frisky Paws Rescue: All-Star Dog Rescue Celebration Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
See below
This grant helped Frisky Paws save a regal, giant-breed dog by providing the training he required to be placed in a great home successfully.
How many pets did this grant help?
This grant helped Rufus, a Great Dane mix
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
Our group rescued Rufus, an extra-large 1 1/2-year-old Great Dane mix, from Animal Control, where he had come in emaciated and with a wound from an embedded collar, on the day he was scheduled to be put down. Rufus’s crime, even though he was very a sweet guy, was he was way too big, too wild, and too out of control for any of the kennel attendants to handle. Our rescue knew he was going to need more than just basic obedience to succeed in a home, that no one was going to be able to control him by sheer strength. We wanted to place him in a board-and-train facility. But we also knew we didn’t just want him in a kennel environment; we wanted him to learn how to live in a house, how to walk peaceably along a sidewalk shared by other people and dogs, how to ride nicely in a car, and so on. We found an incredible facility that met our goals for Rufus, but it was very costly. The grant money was applied towards Rufus’s board-and-train for a month at this fabulous training facility; our group funded the additional two months that he stayed at the facility.
Rufus’s transformation from giant 135-lb. wild child to model citizen has been stunning. He walks with a totally loose leash, no matter what distractions may be around. He waits at curbs before proceeding into a street. He waits for his cue to exit his crate. He focuses on his person when he is out. Rufus goes to outdoor, dog-friendly restaurants, where he is totally well-behaved. Rufus goes to work sometimes, where he knows to stay in his person’s office and not cross the threshold without permission. Rufus is a happy, confident dog now. This is reflected not only in manners but also in his interactions with other dogs. Being confident and secure also makes him a dog-friendly dog. When Rufus started his training, he was insecure and uncertain of everything. Now he is happy, secure, and confident. He is a showstopper, drawing admirers daily due to his incredible good looks and wonderful demeanor. Rufus will be going to his new home soon. His new pet parents are in the process of learning the advanced training techniques that Rufus knows.
