Robie the Boston

[cyrus]

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http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/7132/img1233a5pl.jpg


Sandra wants to call this wonderful little guy Robert or Robie
It's too bad his photos came out blurry, but it was pretty dark in the car.

I'll fill you guys in later.... I don't really want to get into the details right now cuz I don't want to think about it.


Just wanted to let you know that right now, he's being kept in isolation in a nice warm place in a foster home. I'm anxious to find out what condition he's in and how much his vet bill is going to be...

so far, I know that he has to be vaccinated, de-wormed and neutered.
Some kind of fungus is eating away at a small part of his ear and the other ear has had a section of it bitten off.
He might have some kind of knee or hip problem, but it could just be arthritis.

He weighs 20-22lbs and is 3 to 4 years old.

I'll keep you guys posted as I get more info. For now, i'm just happy knowing that he has a nice place to rest and if all goes well.... a loving home to come home to. :)

[Ana-Maria]

Hi Cyrus,

What's this little guy's story? What happened to him and how did he come to you? I'm sensing a good rescue story here... :)

You can email me at btccrescue@dccnet.com if you like :) I'd be happy to offer some help if needed.

Ana-Maria

[Cheryl]

Cyrus you'll have to let us know how things are going with this boy. He's very handsome.

[cyrus]

heheh, he IS really sweet.

I'll fill you guys in by the weekend!

[cyrus]

Hi Cheryl,

no, I'm not involved in rescue... nor do I think that I could be. I didn't even sleep last night because of this little guy. And he wasn't even staying with me... i felt good about what i had done, but I was practically in tears when i came back home.

I have a lot of respect for people involved in rescue, but I honestly don't know how they do it!

I have never been able to "financially" pamper Maya because I know that there are so many dogs out there in need and I couldn't spoil her knowing what those dogs are going through...

but last night was different. i love her, I really do, but it's strange... I saw these poor bostons who were very much like Maya, but younger.... and now I almost kind of feel guilty for taking such good care of her. I mean, what does she have that they don't? what did these poor dogs ever do to deserve such treatment, you know?

anyways, i have to go.

[Laurie]

He's very cute cyrus :)

[Cheryl]

Like Laurie said, dogs like Maya, Nyah, Molly and all the rest were meant to find us and receive the care that we can provide for them. I never feel guilty for the life that I can provide for my girls because I feel I give them the life that all dogs deserve and by doing that I'm doing my part in being a responsible pet owner and I hope setting a good example.
I also make sure that I donate to as many functions as I can, even if it's 10.00 I still give. We'll never stop the over population of dogs and people who regard them as "disposable" but I can feel good that I provide the most loving environment possible for my girls.

As far as rescue, I like to help out and donate behind the scene where ever I can, like you I am far to emotional to see these babies first hand. I have a lot of respect for people like Ana Marie, Shanda, Andie and everyone else who puts themselves on the front line.

[dragnfly1996]

I agree Cheryl. It is overwhelming to witness the power of rescue and experience the sadness of dogs who have not had had lives that our prescious one's have. It is beyond amazing to see a dog with poor health and a pure sadness in their eyes change in front of you and flourish under the love and pampering you can give them. Rescue feels so good. Anything someone can do to help a rescue, be it takeing in a dog in need or donating a few dollars, it all makes a huge difference! Good for you Cyrus!

[nadsuka]

How is this boy doing?????
Is it time for an update????? It's been 5 long days waiting to hear how he is.

[cyrus]

Here’s an update on Robby (guess it’s not “Robie”):

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/1065/rockysit8ws.jpg

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/5133/rocky0032ry.jpg

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/4139/rocky0041bs.jpg


Sandra seems to have a real soft spot for the little guy so if all goes well (knock on wood) I'm thinking of briging him hime next Tuesday. :)

At the moment he’s in the care of animatch.ca. They’ve just done an amazing job of caring for him. He’s slowly being introduced to other dogs, but until yesterday he had been kept in isolation to make sure he didn’t have anything contagious. He’s a little stand-offish and doesn’t take crap from any dog. He mostly prefers the company of the quieter and older dogs. He hasn’t bitten anyone or gotten into major fights so, he’s not dangerous, but he seems to need a bit of space. They leave the door to his crate open most of the time, but he stays in there anyway. When they do close it, it’s really to prevent other dogs from going in there, because he doesn’t like that.

He has no idea how to walk on a leash... he just stands there and looks around. He’s not that comfortable peeing when people are standing close to him (probably because he peed indoors and got yelled at, so he’s learned that when people are around it’s best no to pee).

It least, he keeps his crate clean, and knows how to do his business in the backyard. This means that although he was seldom walked, he wasn’t kept in a crate 24/7 either. He was let out to do his business a few times a day.

I wouldn’t call him “healthy” but he’s OK. He’s scheduled to be neutered and have his teeth cleaned on Friday. A couple of his teeth are broken (how could this happen?)... we don’t know if any of them need to be extracted yet.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, it looks like he might be developing cataracts and there’s something unusual about his stance. He has a grade 1 pattelar luxation on one leg and a grade 2 on the other. It’s hard to tell if that’s the whole story though. From the hair he’s lost on his pressure points (legs and butt), it seems that he’s spent a lot of time in a crate, so his joints are a little stiff and his muscles aren’t well toned due to a lack of exercise.

He still has some kind of fungus in one of his ears, and the other one has had a portion of it bitten off. The vet said she’s seen it sometimes during these “forced breeding sessions” especially if the female is larger and stronger than the male.

Despite what he’s been through, he isn’t at all aggressive with people. He doesn’t bite, snap or complain if you pick him up or touch him. He’s very sweet and quiet.
He’s a little timid though...when he’s in his crate and the door’s closed, he’ll come forward to sniff your fingers but if the door is open, he stays in the far end and won’t come out. He’s like a cute black & white dragon protecting his treasures in his little cave.





As to where I found him...

I got Robby from a back-yard breeder who seemed very eager to get rid of him.

Puppy mills advertize in a few specific places in Montreal (usually, wherever you can advertize anonymously and for free). Then there are some that have no shame and operate their own website ( http://www.vracazoo.com/ ). They sell many dogs to Ontario... some of them used to operate there but then they moved to Quebec when Ontario started cracking down on them,

Anyway... I've been trying to look to find breeders who're getting rid of their old mating pairs for whatever the reason. They don’t keep them (that would be expensive) and they don’t like to give them up to shelters... it's almost a matter of principals for these arseholes... especially in Quebec.

They don’t like to give up their “merchandise” for free, it’s bad for business. They'd prefer to sell the poor dog to a lab for $50-$75 (apparently, not hard to do over here) than to give him up to a decent home.

Anyhow, a few months ago, I saw an ad by someone saying that he had an intact male Boston, and he'd be willing to offer his mating services for $100. I made a note of his name and number.

Last week, I noticed the same person place an ad to sell an intact 3.5-year-old male Boston for $150 (no photo).

I did a quick search and found that he had placed the exact same add a few weeks earlier, where he had been asking for $250 (but it had gone un-answered).

A few days went by... then he put another add... same info, this time it said he'd be willing to trade the Boston for an intact male Pug.

I called him and he seemed very keen on getting rid of the Boston. I had to do something. It looked like he was getting desperate... it also looked like he was setting up to breed pugs instead of Bostons...

I told myself that I would go over there just to investigate... and that I wouldn’t buy him unless I felt that he really needed to be rescued from his place. Just in case, before going to see Robby I made certain arrangements. I didn't know what condition he would be in, so I couldn't risk brining him home with Maya. I called a rescue group (Ani-match) and they said that they would take him in and keep him in isolation for a bit.

I went over to the breeder’s house last week... They live about an hour outside of Montreal... there are some cattle farms near there too.

I was greeted in the front yard. It was pretty cold out but I never saw inside or behind the house. They had 1 female pug and 2 bostons in the front yard. It seemed that they used to have more bostons, but had sold them or something.

These were the last 2 left:
A 20-22 lbs pitiful looking boy who was too shy to even move...
And a 15-month old hyper-active skinny girl who appeared to be in good health, but seemed strangely obsessive compulsive, even for a Boston.

I had brought some toys and balls with me and I gave it to them. The young female boston loved the balls... but she really enjoyed catching snow balls.

The man would throw a snow ball at a tree and the girl kept jumping up and down trying to get it. Her nose reached nearly 6 - 7 feet high! The man was pointing to the spot where the snowball had hit the tree and kept saying “jump,” and she did... He seemed very amused by this so he made the poor girl jump like 20 times in a row... even though I asked him to stop a couple of times.
This wasn’t exactly soft ground and she wasn’t really landing on her feet every time. It looked very disturbing... maybe it looked even worse because she was so skinny. The man kept trying to “educate” us about how he can tell that she has champion bloodlines because you can easily see her ribs when she’s at rest.... right.

He said that he had bought her about 7-8 months ago and he had tried to breed her several times and it hadn’t worked (lucky girl!).

The boy (Robby) didn’t look very good. Both their coats felt terrible but his was especially coarse. The guy claimed that he had bought him in December of 2005. Using the previous owner’s vaccination records, I later found out that his story checked out (the records showed that he was vaccinated in November 2005, but had not been to the vet since). The previous owner probably got Robby when he was just under a year old. I don’t know why, but I have a feeling that at least as puppy he had a good life but things then took a turn for the worse and now he’s pretty much retreated to a shell.

I’ve already described his health problems, so I’m not going to go over them again... but basically, after what I saw, I couldn’t let him stay there, I paid them $100 and took him away. The female seemed much stronger and resilient than he did... so I left her there. But I told him to contact me in case he wasn’t able to sell her within the next month.




At first, my intention was just to find him a good home, but I'd like to adopt him because I think he needs special attention. He’s not suitable for just any home and he needs to be trained. Maya’s very easy-going so hopefully they’ll get along OK.... anyhow, he just seems to be happy sleeping in his crate all day. It’s going to take some time to teach him to go for walks and bring him back to life so to speak.

[cyrus]

I want to see him today and i managed to get him to pee outside while he was standing next to me... of course he got a treat! :)

i can tell when a dog likes me, but he's definitely unsure around me. I'm on my best behaviour (no sudden movements, arms close to body, no direct eye contact, no loud voice, no bending over him, etc.) but he just seems more comfortable around women...

aw well... if things go OK, we'll have plenty of time to bond. In any case, it's much more important to me that he gets a long with Maya and Sandra.

[lucysmom]

Oh Cyrus I don't even know what to say after reading this. My heart is breaking, but at the same time it is exploding knowing what kind of love and care you and Sandra are going to be able to give this little guy. What you said about him peeing and the little girl bouncing at the snowballs really got to me. They just want a chance to play, love, laugh and have fun. Not to be continuously breed!!! They are special!!!! What are people thinking!!! My mawmaw and pawpaw rescued a poodle when we were little and I remember them saying that she never learned to play because she was always having puppies and never got a chance to learn. We loved her sooooooooo much!!!

[Cheryl]

It sounds like you and Sandra will be taking a new family member home shortly. :) You're right about him not going to just anyone, he needs some time and a lot of patience to regain his trust in people. I hope that Robby and Maya do fine together and you're able to give him a forever home. Thanks for the update.
Keep us posted.

[Loves Lucy]

Cyrus
What a sad story, how can alleged humans behave like this, are there no consequences?
Thankfully there are people like you
Good luck and keep us posted

[BarbK]

What a sad story, but with a sweet ending so far due to your generosity and kindness of heart. I'm sure this little guy will warm up to you in no time. You've done a wonderful thing for him by taking him under your wing.

[cyrus]

Robby (aka "little bum") slept in his new home last night.

He got his nickname while at animatch because he usually sits with his back to you... and sometimes he just stands with his back to you so, you often see his little bum. :D

Maya only sat with her back to us when it was hurting her and wanted attention or rubs, so we're going to have to look into this. Hopefully it's just nothing though...

I have NO PICTURES because my camera is on strike (with the famous Error 18 that Canon PowerShots are known for). I'll try to get it fixed, but in the meantime, we'll try to get a replacement. :)

Robby is doing OK. He's going back on Tuesday to get his stitches removed and to get a full checkup from our vet.

He did fine yesterday, and he went for his VERY FIRST ON-LEASH WALK ever! yeay! He likes his kibble so I walked with Maya in the front while Sandra had him on leash, and pretty soon he realized that everytime he took a few steps, he got a kibble.

Before he knew it, he was at the end of the block! We were so happy and we brought him back quickly because his arm hurts and he limps (that's where he got bitten). It's a minor wound, and we're soaking it in a warm epsom salt solution twice a day for the next 4-5 days.

He's OK with Maya, but he gets defeasive when he's on leash or when he's in his crate. You can hear a low growl as Maya passes by his crate sometimes.

His first night went without incident, but i don't know if he slept well... he was coughing half the night (but during the day he's ok).

he marks at home, but he doesn't pee or have accidents. It's literally a droplet in key locations.

not exactly sure how to deal with this yet, but for now I'm getting him a padded "belly band" (custom made for $5!). Plus he gets to go out really often.

any advice on his "marking" at home?

[dragnfly1996]

Oh I am so glad to hear about Little Bum. I am not sure how to work on marking unfortunatly, but I'm sure that some of these types of dominance behaviors will subside once he feels secure and enjoys the feeling of positive reinforcment. What does Maya think of him?

[cyrus]

woops... in my message where it says
"Paddy is doing OK" it should say
"Robby is doing OK"


Little bum is doing fine this morning. :)
For now, he's sleeping soundly.


He's crate trained but not house-trained. On top of that he just got neutered and he's a 4-year-old male in a new environment... so, some marking was expected.

I'll let him be for now and see how he does in the next few days.


He seems to like Maya... he wants to come out of his crate whenever he sees her (he doesn't do that for us).

He pees for her and his tail wags when he first sees her.
She doesn't know what to make of him yet... for now, he's just a "curiousity," but no more. She mostly ignores him. They're mostly seperated for now, and they're being introduced slowly.


Thank you for all your interest and support. I apprecate that you guys care about this little guy.
I'll post an update as soon as I have something. :)

[joyce e]

Cyrus, your love and kindness will be returned ten fold from your new little boy. I hope all goes well, it sounds great so far.

[nadsuka]

Cyrus he sounds like an emtionally shell shocked boy. We all know BT's need and must have good human contact to stay mentally healthy. It sounds to me as though Maya might just be the perfect partner for this boy as she can help teach him to trust again.
I know that you'll change this lucky boys life and give him back some spark so please keep us posted on his progress.
Good luck.

[Cheryl]

Cyrus, I'm sorry that I didn't reply to this sooner. I wasn't on yesterday and today when I tried to post I could open any threads. With that being said....
Congratulations and it sound promising for him and Maya. It's going to take some time but you already knew that and Robby couldn't be with better people. Keep us posted on how things are going.

[lucysmom]

Cyrus, it sounds like it may take Robby a little time to adjust. But he has SO many promising qualities and you's are giving him so much love and care that it's not going to take very long for him and your family to be best buds including maya.:)

[BarbK]

I'm wishing you all the best Cyrus!! It's so great that you've opened your home to this little guy!

[Laurie]

cyrus...I'm so glad that you brought this lil guy into your home, and I hope that it all works out for your family and Robby :)
As far as the marking, I'm going through the same thing with Sir Franklin. I use a belly band, and when Daisy leaves it on him, it seems to work :) Hopefully Maya won't touch Robby's bellyband when she is around him.
All in all, I think that everything will take time, and with the love that you have to offer, it will all work out. Please keep us posted.

[alison]

I think I need a belly band for bos when we board him at either renee's or april's....cuz he marks a lot when he's at their house...unless someone has another suggestion

[Christine]

Congratulations on your new family member. :) He's a lucky dog. Maybe Beef/Buster's adoption didn't work out because you were meant to give Robby a home.

[sissysma]

What a lovely story! God bless you for being so compassionate. My own dear Boston is about 12 years old and I would truly 'walk a mile of broken beer bottles' for her! Hope things continue to go well for you & Robbie.

[lauren]

Cyrus, this is the first time I've seen this post, since I haven't been around much lately. Robby is such a handsome boy! And his story breaks my heart... I just can't stand that animals get treated so terribly sometimes. And like you, I'm way to emotional about it to work hands-on at the rescues, but I help out as much as I can with donations and such. Its great of you to take on Robby and all his problems, and give him a happy, love-filled life.