Gabriel 07-175 [1]

Sponsored by: Golden Retriever Rescue, Inc.,Pleasantville, New York 3/25/07:  Gabriel is a North Dakota puppy mill dog that was transported in a truck with 80 plus other dogs from Bismarck to Hastings just yesterday.  He is about 7, maybe a little younger, and weighs 73 pounds - just about right for him.  He is probably the sire of many of the dogs transported yesterday (just doing his job!) and he's just an absolutely beautiful dog.

Out of all those dogs, how did we end up with Gabriel? The puppies were processed first and those of us taking adults had a chance to check out the adults in their crates. All the dogs were tired, hungry, a little dehydrated on what had to be the most terrifying day of their lives. I noticed that whenever anyone walked by one large plastic crate, there was a "thump thump" of a tail wagging against the crate.  Instead of shying away, he rubbed his head against the gate to get his ears scratched. I decided that any dog that could be so friendly under such circumstances had to be a special boy - so he's here.

He's only been here for 12 hours but he's already made amazing progress.  He had a chain collar that I had to cut off with a bolt cutter. We gave him a bath at 2am this morning (he was ripe! - fortunately he was easy to bathe) and he slept in a crate, still wagging his tail at us when we walked by.  We don't have a fence so he went on his first ever leash walk at 2am and, while he's very tentative about new things - he's already better on a leash than our freight train of an Irish Setter.

He was fairly shy and tentative with us as well, at first reluctant to come out of his crate.  But then we introduced him to our dogs and they have already taught him how to go up and down stairs, that the stainless steel water dish is really ok, and that the railroad tracks down the road are not barriers that can't be crossed (on a leash with a human of course).  He's also met our 4 cats and everybody seems to get along just fine.  Right now, he's out of his crate, sleeping with our dogs - if I even look at him, he wags his tail and walks over for an ear scratch.  That is awesome for a puppy mill dog just off the truck.

He's only eaten a few pieces of kibble since his arrival - I'm guessing the dogs were fed by just having food thrown on the ground - Gabriel knocks his bowl over before eating anything.  We are going to pick up some magical food that dogs can't resist - wieners!

Gabriel has a lot of adjusting left to do, and he needs to be examined by a vet, neutered (and maybe have his teeth cleaned while he is under the anesthetic), but he's making great progress and will make some lucky family a great dog.