We recommend checking out the following links: Petfinder.com (a site that lists rescue groups and shelters throughout the United States) www.AKC.org (the American Kennel Club) www.ukcdogs.com (the United Kennel Club) A Few Articles Debbie Had Published (many more have been published in other publications but don't have active internet links) : http://www.phillyfit.com/Articles/5-09/30-32%20PhillyFIT%200509.pdf http://www.phillyfit.com/Articles/5-07/finals/the-games-dogs-play.pdf http://www.phillyfit.com/Articles/1-08/ChoosingCanineCompanion.pdf NEW 2020: Some RECENT articles (2020) Debbie's written about dog training are published on the great website www.labradortraininghq.com Articles Published About Her Dogs: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/43158757.html Philadelphia Inquirer Posted on Fri, Apr. 17, 2009 Annette John-Hall: Most important: A loving home for your pet By Annette John-Hall Inquirer Columnist Let me just toss this out like a used-up chew toy: My dog is not a rescue dog. Nor did I adopt her from a shelter. No, I bought Angel, my heavenly, year-old puggle, from a backyard breeder. Paid good money for her, too. But before all of the Oprah-lyte anti-puppy-mill crusaders chain me up to the doghouse next to Michael Vick, let me say my guy is reputable; he doesn't run a puppy mill or a breeding assembly line. You could tell he loves his animals. Really. After I decided on Angel, he grilled me so hard you would have thought he was the reporter. Gave me her shot card, showing me the puppy vaccines he had already administered. And did I mention that it was Angel who chose me? The thing is, with animals, as with people, we don't get to choose whom we fall in love with. It just happens. Am I proud that I didn't adopt a dog? Not necessarily. But at the same time, I don't get the righteous pit-bull indignation over the choices people make. Which is why I refused to follow the lead of all those off-the-chain animal activists who protested that Bo, the First Dog, was not a shelter dog. Boy, did people have their tails bent out of shape this week. President Obama reneged on his supposed pledge to adopt a rescue or shelter dog, they growled, some going so far as to say the donation the Obamas made to the Humane Society was blood money. Puppy love God forbid the Obamas would just get the dog they loved, the one that Sasha and allergic Malia fell for. I mean, really. Does everything have to be so doggone political? (Though I have to admit an ebony-and-ivory puppy was truly unifying.) West Chester dog trainer Debbie DeSantis is too diplomatic to step into the mess. "I don't think there's anything wrong with buying from a breeder who cares," DeSantis says carefully, "but at this point, I just want to be able to rescue one so the shelter will be able to take another one in." DeSantis has been on an awareness-raising mission for years. These days, she says, you can find any kind of dog - pure- or designer-bred, like my Angel - in a shelter. And she uses the Internet to help dead-dogs-walking connect with foster owners through rescue groups. Which was how DeSantis came upon Mikey. Seven years ago, the SPCA in Media, where she used to volunteer, called. It had an abandoned Lhasa apso scheduled to be put down. Could she take him? Bitten and matted "He had been bitten by dogs on the street. He was matted from head to toe," DeSantis remembers. "He was making this raspy sound; I thought he had been de-barked. But he had a cold, a runny nose." Talk about issues. Three years ago, Mikey, whom she guesses is about 9 years old, was attacked by a dog running loose. He was bitten again and went back on antibiotics. Later that year, DeSantis felt a lump on Mikey's foot. Cancer. "Radiation three times a week at Penn," she says. "I don't even want to tell you how much it cost. We didn't take a vacation that year." Mikey had plenty of behavioral baggage, too. Today? Mikey is the prize of her pack, which includes two Shetland sheepdogs, another Lhasa apso, and a golden retriever. And a husband, of course. Mikey's not just well-behaved. He has also won a slew of awards in obedience competitions. And he has a bag of tricks that would make any mommy proud. Strutting his stuff at a strip mall in Broomall, Mikey lets out a dramatic wail and falls dead when DeSantis points and "shoots" him. "They're just blanks," DeSantis teases. Which is Mikey's cue to pop back up. He can also "say his prayers" with paws together and bowed head. When DeSantis ends with an "amen," Mikey lifts his head with reverence. He's 15 pounds of pure performer. I can hardly get my Angel to sit. But I wouldn't trade her for the world. Just as DeSantis couldn't be happier with her precious find regardless of his hard life. "He's such a special little character," marvels DeSantis. "All I did was rescue him." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact columnist Annette John-Hall at 215-854-4986 or Ajohnhall@phillynews.com. Read her work: http://go.philly.com/annette |
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