Remembering our Purpose
Unusual Rescue Stories from NGWPR
-Leslie R. Dye, MD, treasurer, NGWP Rescue
Life is so hectic, and it is so easy to get caught up in the details and think about all of the ills of the world. The board of directors of the GWPR is always looking for new ideas and projects to raise awareness and increase donations in order to give more dogs forever homes and reduce the number that go into rescue.
Between liberating dogs from horrendous situations (sometimes, near death), arranging foster placement and veterinarian services, reviewing applications for adoptions, talking to references, potential fosters and adopters, arranging transportation, setting up training, looking for items to purchase for fundraising, doing online fundraising, applying for grants, arranging thyroid testing, writing blogs, making sure all of the finances are updated, keeping the website current, and more, it is nice to take a break and tell some of our wonderful adoption stories, especially the ones that are unusual.
The Incredible Story of Lily
In October, 2021, Suzanne Oslander, our rescue coordinator, received a call about a GWP who was picked up as a stray with another dog at a school in rural Perryville, Arkansas. Because there is no shelter in the area where the dogs were found, the dog was placed in a run with other dogs. Her stray hold had ended and she was in danger of euthanasia, so the MAK (Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas) German Shorthaired Pointer Rescue was notified. They called our rescue, as they have many times in the past when they find a GWP in need in one of these three states, and Suzanne immediately agreed to take the dog. Transportation was arranged and a foster was secured. When the MAK volunteers arrived for transport, they found the dog had been seriously injured by two other dogs placed in the same run and the GWP was in need of emergency medical care. She was taken to the closest veterinarian, who recommended euthanasia, due to her condition. Hoping for a more optimistic solution, the transport volunteers arrived at the doorstep of Dr. McGee, who didn’t hesitate to spend hours cleaning and treating her wounds, extracting two teeth that were broken, and stabilizing her on intravenous antibiotics, fluids, and pain medication.
The dog was 3 years old and not spayed. As more people got to know her, watched her heal, and donated for her care, she became a star in the rescue and at the vet hospital. Her rescue name became “Stella,” Latin for star.
Stella required continued care and monitoring for the drainage from her wounds for several days. A groomer cleaned her further and removed most of the mats. Many of her wounds were necrotic and she suffered from severe leg swelling. Generous donors helped fund her veterinary care, and Dr. McGhee gave Suzanne daily updates until she was released.
A couple of days after Suzanne posted Stella’s story on Facebook, a woman called who believed that Stella was actually “Lily,” her missing GWP. Over one year before Stella was located, Summer Rose Miranda was unable to find the family GWP, Lily. Lily was afraid of thunder and ran through the invisible fence when she heard a storm coming. Summer and her family looked everywhere and constantly monitored for any GWP’s that were located and advertised. When she saw the photos, especially the white band around her tail, Summer was convinced that Stella was actually Lily, and after multiple discussions, Suzanne agreed.
Summer later learned that the day Lily went missing she had wandered onto her neighbor’s property. The neighbor never really tried to locate the dog’s owner, and since the neighbor’s son was interested in hunting, she called him. The son, who lived 30 minutes away, came and got the dog.
Although a foster was lined up for her, when Lily sufficiently recovered, Summer and her family picked her up and brought her home. They missed their girl and were grateful to have her home. I asked Summer if she thought about getting another dog after Lily went missing. Her answer was, “ I could never get attached to another dog and then have something happen to it again.”
Stories like this are not unusual, particularly in rural areas where many people dump animals when they have no use for them. When a dog comes onto someone’s property, they may not consider that the animal may be lost from its home and they often don’t attempt to find the dog’s owner.
“We will never be able to thank the National German Wirehaired Pointer Rescue for their post and all they have done for Lily. She would never be with us today without this group. Also a big thank you to Suzanne Oslander. She puts in so much work for those in need, and we will forever be grateful for her and her mission.”
An Unusual story of rescue-Dillon, another lucky dog
Our rescue coordinator, Suzanne Oslander received a call from a Humane Society that had a GWP in need of a home, but it had to be placed in another state. Sounds cryptic, right?
During the conversation, Suzanne was informed of the background story. Two GWPs owned by the same man kept roaming away from their home and had been captured by animal control multiple times. The dogs had been on a killing spree that included local chickens and a cat as victims. Despite multiple warnings from animal control, the owner did nothing to stop the dogs from running. An order was issued for Animal Control to confiscate both GWPs, who were turned over to the Humane Society. One was adopted immediately and the other went to a local rescue and was adopted.
Sounds pretty straight forward, BUT. The original owner arranged for a friend to adopt one of the dogs from the Humane Society (without them knowing the connection). AND the other dog was mysteriously stolen from the adoptive owners. And, viola, the owner suddenly had both dogs back in his possession, violating the court order. The original owner was then arrested and both dogs were confiscated again. One was reunited with the adoptive owners (from where he was stolen) and the other was placed with the Humane Society again.
All of these shenanigans happened over a 2 year period. 2–3 months after the second dog was back at the Humane Society, they called Suzanne. Despite the unusual circumstances and the requirement that the dog go to another state, Suzanne was able to find a foster and eventually Dillon was adopted.
Not all stories have happy endings, but tales like these make volunteering for this organization very rewarding. We do much more than find homes for dogs. We extricate animals from deplorable conditions, bring them back to health, reunite them with owners, and provide them with the love they deserve, even when they are close to the end of their lives. We prevent them from starvation and being killed on the road or in dog fights. And we do it by ensuring that they are placed in the best homes possible, after extensive research about the dog and the adopters. Many require extensive veterinary care, training, and foster care before they can be adopted. So much goes on behind the curtain and would never happen without the help of our volunteers and our generous donors.
About Us
National GWP Rescue is a nationwide rescue program whose volunteers work tirelessly to provide funding, foster homes, medical care and training for GWPs found in shelters, animal control facilities and to those GWPs whose current owners are unable to provide a suitable situation.
Working hand- in-hand with governmental and local shelters, NGWPR provides a safe and responsible home for GWP’s in need. Placed with an experienced GWPCA member, fostered GWPs that have been neglected, untrained or have medical issues quickly blossom as they are readied for their “forever” homes.
Prior to releasing our rescued GWPs for adoption, volunteers provide obedience, manners, and house training. We hold to the philosophy that a mannerly dog has a better chance of fitting into a new household.
NGWPR believes that Wires were designed to hunt and unlike some other rescue programs, we are happy to place dogs with field experience or bird instinct with potential owners who enjoy hunting behind a Wire. However, NGWPR insists that any rescue dog first be a house dog and companion, then a weekend hunting partner.
Please go to our website to learn more.
National German Wirehaired Pointer Rescue
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