The PANHANDLE 6-PACK

The Panhandle 6-Pack included Mamadale Jenny, two boys Snoopy and Duke, and 3 girls, Macey, Cheyenne and Julie.  In late June we were alerted to the fact that there was a 6-pack of Airedales, Mom and 5 puppies, who were in need of rescue up near Pensacola.  Their owner was moving and taking all of them along was impossible.  Fortunately he called us rather than giving them to unqualified homes or inappropriate owners.  And since most of them were   suffering from eye, ear and flea infections, they all needed immediate medical attention.  In addition none of them were spayed, neutered or microchipped.   Rich Miller, our Panhandle hero, picked them all up (yes, all 6 of them!) and took them to the vet to get all their shots updated.  He then filled up his garage with X-pens to keep the boys separate from the girls.  A relay was set up with Rich handing them all off to Susan Harris in Tallahassee; then Susan and her husband Lynn traveled to Ocala where Ron Bunch and I met up with them to bring them down to Lakeland and St. Petersburg.  Macey stayed with me, Cheyenne went to Carol Farmer, and Ron took the two boys with him to Lakeland.  Norma Ragsdale fostered the Mamadale until she was adopted by Patricia and John Martin in October 2007.   Here are a few 6-Pack stories. 

Rescue Macey  

 I fostered Macey and got her to the vet.  She was a delight in every way while she was here.  She got along with my “pack” and even made friends with Stellacat.  This is a good thing, since her new family included 5 cats!  We had her spayed and micro chipped and she was pronounced healthy and ready to be placed.  Jan Bednar had an application in to us and sounded like a good bet for Macey.  Here is Jan’s glowing report:   “Macey is doing GREAT!  She is housebroken -- maybe because she lived outdoors she knows that is where she is supposed to go?  She sleeps upside down like a baby.  Dives into her water dish for ice cubes.  Loves her 5 cats and 3 dog friends.  Best car rider I have ever had.  Catches balls on a fly, bounce or over either shoulder.  She has a spring in her butt.  Goes into the shower by herself and stands there waiting for something to happen? She is a sweet doll baby and already knows the words ‘wait/stay’ when I open the door to go outside to the yard. She is so smart. She knows I am coming back when I go out the door and tell her to stay because she sits or lays down about 5 feet from the door and waits.  What a hoot!  She is a great fit for my household.”  Of course, Jan’s not biased or anything!

Rescue Luke (formerly Duke)

Luke was a member of the Panhandle 6-pack, and is the larger of the two boys, weighing in at approximately 67 pounds and 14 months old.  His new owners, Sherri and Rich Graham, wrote us:
“Luke has made himself right at home and is doing wonderfully.  He can catch a Frisbee that’s thrown high into the air and he will take a flying leap to snag it.”  When he first arrived at the Graham’s, he created his own doorways as he pushed through several sections of screen.  However, he has learned now that screens are not to be taken down, and he gets the message that he can’t be doing that!  Sherri says if more people knew what great dogs Airedales are, they’d be beating a path to our door.” 

RESCUE SAM

Sam (aka Snoopy – whoever heard of an Airedale named Snoopy?! says Pat Weinstein, his foster mom.)  She said he is a love but a little skittish as he is getting used to being in a real home for the first time in his life.  He is a 57-pound, energetic guy, only 14 months old. He has learned to sit and is heeling on the leash when he gets his evening walk.  He’s a very sweet, gentle boy, a bit on the skinny side, but Pat was determined to fatten him up.  Sam was adopted by Brenda and Howard Sheridan who also have another Airedale named Grizzly. Now Sam  goes for car rides and takes walks, and at last report, Grizzly was trying to teach him to go swimming in the pool.  The family travels to Montana in the summers and the boys will have the wide-open spaces to run and play. 

Rescue Cheyenne  

Carol Farmer met me that Sunday afternoon, and took Cheyenne home to foster.  Cheyenne was suffering from the same things as the other puppies, eye and ear infections.  Her spaying was delayed as the vet wanted to give her a chance to recover from the infections before he operated.  But she is doing fine now, loves to romp with the big guy, 85 pound Newton, Carol’s other adoptee.  Carol reports, “When we first got her she would sit at my feet like a ‘little lady’ and I was so happy to get such a sweet girl.  Then I took her to the vet for her first check up, he said  ‘just wait until she’s feeling better and healthy, she’s liable to change on you’ (referring to her gentle personality).  Well, sure enough I have a ‘tomboy’ on my hands.  She’s not at all intimidated by Newton’s size or the dogs on the other side of the fence.”  Carol says, “now I have a dog I can walk while Steve is walking Newton.”       

Submitted by Cindy Trumble

HAPPY ENDING FOR JEDDA! (aka Hope)

By Cindy Trumble

"The Aborigine legend of Jedda, which means little wild goose, is that her spirit lives on and I really think Astro sent Jedda to me considering that he was only in Doggie Heaven 3 hours when Sally called to offer her to me,” writes Stanley Rura of Miami. This 4-month old charmer was given up by her previous owner because she was unable to care for her.

Pat Griffin of Tequesta, one of our rescue coordinators, fostered Jedda for a short time. Stanley, a member of our group for six years, had called Sally to notify her of Astro’s passing. Sally called him back a couple hours later to say there was a 12-week old puppy needing a home and was he interested? Stanley took a day to think about it and began preparing his home for the terrorizing only a young Airedale puppy can do! According to Stanley there hasn’t been a dull moment since!

Jedda has one of those personalities you simply can’t resist and exercises her charms to get out of many mischiefs. “She’s only 4 months old now but sits, stays, speaks, gives paw and is totally housetrained,” boasts Stanley. He tells us she spends quiet time in her crate, but when released, the little wild goose in her comes out! Stanley writes “A big thank you to Sally and Airedale Rescue for all the fine work you do and also for the opportunity to adopt Jedda and help fill the void from the loss of Astro.”