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Please help if you possibly can.... I've been in touch with a young man, that is a friend of my sons, whom lost his father & is unable to care for his fathers two dogs. He has given me a good bit of information & will do all he can to help place these pups. I told him that with such short notice we most likely would not find a permanent home for them but are praying a safe haven can be found until such time that Akita rescue can place them. He understands & finds this agreeable. This is urgent, he needs to leave St. Louis on 8/12 and return to military duty and the dogs must be placed before then. If homes can't be found, he will be forced to take them to the vets and PTS. From my phone conversations he is a caring person and is caught between a rock & hard place. I don't know the whole story but his father died in his home, in his sleep and it took a bit of doing for the police & others to enter the home. I've put together his emails into one, his contact info is included. Please post this where ever it might help.
Thank you
Christel Ausman
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----- Original Message -----
From: "Jeffrey Voelpel" <fastregalwe2>
Sent: Wednesday, August 02, 2006 10:09 PM
Subject: Re: Akitas, Greta and Minnie in St Louis
> Thank you.
> Lets see if I can help with some of the questions.
The 2 dogs are Greta and Minnie.
Minnie is the white one. Both are about 10 years old, they are slowing
down but still in good health. I have a folder my father kept with all their
medical information. Neither dog has ever bitten anyone but Minnie is very
timid. My father rescued her when she was a pup from a man that beat and
starved her severely. They are both very intelligent, with Greta being the
Alpha as my dad always put it. They have to stay together though since they
grew up together and especially now that they are grieving together.
We are in St Louis, driving them somewhere is not a problem within 300
miles or so. They play with the grandkids, the youngest being 9 yrs old.
They are very friendly to those they know but are also very protective. It
took awhile for the police to enter the house because the dogs would not let
them in. They spend the majority of the time indoors. Greta likes to
mutilate stuffed animals, stuffed Barney dolls being her favorite. When they
were smaller they did claw the doors but I did not see any recent damage to
the doors that wasn't there 3-4 years ago. I'm pretty sure they grew out of
that. If they are left alone in the house too long, they will wet the floor.
My Dad worked 12-14 hour shifts so he had to put newspaper down. They will
not mess in the house though unless they have been home quite awhile with no
one there. We have had to leave them overnight, I wont stay in the house
now, and 1 of them made 1 pile but she went into the basement to do it. My
Dad used to take them for walks on the leash every other night. He did have
to put a chest harness on them though as they are quite powerful. Minnie CAN
NOT be put on a chain in a yard, due to what happened to her as a pup, but
she will walk on a leash. Let me look in their med folder on the shots, I'm
pretty sure they a re both spayed, but not positive, I will have to look on
the shots too. Just have to find the folder now in this large mess of his
things. He kept soooo much stuff. I have never seen them around another dog
but his ex wife did have a rather large cat she took with her when she moved
out. They didn't kill or mutilate it, if that helps. Today I was painting the
garage and 2 small kids, maybe 6 and 11 or so came up in the driveway,
apparently my Dad used to let them pet the dogs.
I will try and relocate the girls med folder.
Forgot, Minnie has a condition where her eyelashes are rolled under which
causes her eyes to water constantly. I'm not sure why, but my Dad had told me
it was due to the lack of nourishment when she was a pup. She was a skeleton
when he found her. She was chained in the mans backyard and she chewed
through the steel chain to get away. The man lived down the street from my
Dad and saw her in my Dads backyard and had the nerve to knock on his door
and demand the dog back. My Dad, a policeman for 24 years, told him he
better leave before he got hurt and my Dad has had her ever since. She is
much happier and much healthier now, as you can tell from the pics.
I have to leave St. Louis on 8/12 and return to military duty. I hope to be
able to place the dogs by the 10th at the latest, otherwise I will have no
choice but to put them down. I am not in a position to take them with me.
My cell phone is 757 678 3578
Looking forward to talking to you
Jeff
Poor old gals. Just not feasible in a small house where I've already got one female APBT, one female mutt guest who could try the patience of a corpse, and one cat.
