Welcome to our NEW SSRR BLOG

Welcome to our new blog.  Along the way we will have many Rottie related articles in this new journey that we have just started. Once of the most important groups of our rescue are our Foster homes. Many of our Rotties would not be alive today if they did not have a foster family that made a small sacrifice, a small adjustment to their routine and welcomed their foster Rottie in to their home. We could not take any Rotties in to SSRR without this incredible group! We thought it would be appropriate to start this blog off with some information about a few of our fosters, including how they got started with SSRR and the things they have learned along the way.

What is a foster home?

SSRR is a foster based rescue, meaning that since we do not have a facility, we rely solely on foster homes for our Rotties. A foster home is a temporary home for one of our Rotties until SSRR finds a permanent home for the dog. A foster home provides the love and shelter for the dog while SSRR provides and pays for all medical needs. 

Being a foster home is not easy. Taking a Rottie into your home, caring for him, loving him, and then letting him go to a new forever home can be very difficult. But, fostering can also be the most rewarding and fulfilling thing a true dog lover can ever do to support dogs in need.

If you are interested in becoming a foster home, please fill out a Foster Volunteer Application.

Pam and Mike (Elijay, GA)

“We (Mike and Pam) adopted Piper from SSRR about 2 years ago.  We already had Louie (a mixed breed dog.)  When Mike brought Piper home, Louie and Piper were immediate friends.

Dazz

We began working with SSRR processing applications, and helping with transports.  We saw a photo posted by Bill Lawton of a rottweiler in Virginia that needed fostering.  She was under weight, had sores on her face and head and was believed to be 9 years old.  We decided to foster her thinking she would be with us forever.  Her name was Dazz.

After consulting with several veterinarians, it was determined that Dazz was about 4 years old, not 9.  She had lived a hard life, outside most of the time without shelter, and not properly fed.

We tried all the "right" things to introduce the Dazz to our two dogs...in a neutral  location, etc.  Things did not go well.  Dazz was very friendly with Louie and Piper, but they were not happy that another dog was coming into their home.  I talked with several experienced rescue people about how to handle the situation. 

Dazz, Louie and Piper

We were told that these are large, powerful dogs and we had to introduce them carefully to avoid any problems.  We began by keeping Dazz separated from Louie and Piper.  We put her in a crate and covered 3 sides.  Louie and Piper could sniff the crate, and could see her and there wasn't any growling or problems.  We began walking Dazz separately with each dog.  We would walk her with Louie, starting out on opposite sides of the roadway and gradually let them get closer.  We would repeat this process with Dazz and Piper. 

Each day we would uncover another side of Dazz's crate so the dogs got  used to her being in the  home.  After about 4-5 days, all dogs were able to be in the same room without restraint (no toys and no food in the room).

The entire time we had Dazz we fed her separately from our two dogs since we were trying to  avoid any food aggression problems.  Dazz had no food aggression with either of us but we were not sure how she would react around Louie and Piper. 

Eventually, all the dogs enjoyed playing together, sleeping together and were great friends.

Dazz found a wonderful home in Atlanta (we almost foster failed!)  We still think of her every day, and we are so happy she found a home where she is loved and spoiled. 

Fostering a dog was one of the most rewarding things we have ever done.  It just feels good to help save a life!”

Katie (Hampton, VA)

Piglet

"My journey into fostering started in January 2014 when I was playing on Facebook, and a friend had posted about a local Rottie who was heartworm positive. Now I knew nothing about heartworm positive dogs other than care is super expensive. There was no PayPal account or any link to send money to, but there was a link to the SSRR website. So I clicked it and I ended up on the application to foster page. I figured what the hell, I probably won't be approved since we don't have a fence as I had been denied previously (without a home visit) from another rescue. So I applied and waited. A few weeks went by, and finally I received an email that my application was being reviewed. Oh crap! I had to think long and hard about who I listed as a reference, and let them know. My sister was excited, my grandmother's only thought was what if you have a baby and I don't remember my third. A few more weeks went past and I thought for sure I was denied since I had not heard anything.

Finally Bill contacted me to schedule the home visit. He explained his busy schedule and we attempted to schedule a time when both myself and my husband would be home. After a few weeks of sending emails, text messages and missing phone calls, we were finally about to schedule a visit in May. We were approved after the home visit and few words from Bill about losing one of his dogs. Now it was just the waiting game since we already have a male Rottie and we have cats. In June Bill shared a local boy who had been abandoned at the shelter by his original, and only, owners over a misunderstanding (details are still confusing to me). I saw his picture, I saw his eyes. He was so confused and scared. I fell in love immediately. His name was Piglet. I hated the name but loved the dog. I took my Rottie, Wickett, to meet him at the shelter. After a tense little bit, and one issue (water), we left. My heart heavy, as I was not sure of my decision.

Leia

After thinking about it, I decided to foster him and Piglet entered our home on June 21, 2014 as our first foster. He was a learning experience, a hard one. A few fights, lots of love, he went from being a confused, unhappy dog to a happy and loving boy. He was adopted on October 23, 2014, 4 months after he entered our home. On November 8, 2014 we got our second foster, an adorable little girl, who we named Leia (was a stray with no chip) estimated to be 2 yrs old. Not house broken, she was high on the defensive side, and scared for where she was going, she began her life with us. Leia and our boy Wickett are now two peas in a pod, best friends, and we would love to foster fail with her. As we tried to make our decision about her, another boy was picked up in Norfolk (what is going on over in Norfolk?) who appeared to have been starved. He looked so depressed, so scared, and so hungry. Estimated to be 5 years old, and looking like death was ready to come.

I agreed to take him on too, bringing our home to 3 rottweilers, 2 of which are fosters. He was going to be put to sleep but instead he lived by coming home with me on November 25, 2014. He was given the name Han (get it? You know you want to laugh about Han and Leia!). He had Hookworms and had recently been neutered. He was also very hungry. Oh so hungry, since he weighed a mere 67 lbs. Han is a beautiful boy, with a beautiful heart who appeared to not only have been neglected (severely underweight and covered in sores) but is scared of loud voices and raised hands. Our house is loud, always messy, covered in Rottweiler fur and we are always tired but I would not change it for the world. Being greeted by their wonderful faces and loving kisses is the best way to end a horrible day, and the best way to start a new day. Fostering hurts sometimes as you must say goodbye at some point.

Han

We said goodbye in October and then said our final goodbye as Piglet crossed the Rainbow Bridge on Dec. 2, 2014 due to cancer. With Leia we will cry and say goodbye when she is adopted in the coming months. I will cry when Han is adopted, as he has turned into a wonderful and loving dog who does not take the house for granted. My dogs are my life, my world, and I will never give up on them. Making the difference, saving them is what its all about. While you may not change the world when you foster, for that particular dog, and the next dog that enters the shelter after you save your foster, you changed their worlds. Who really rescues who?"

Emily (Cornelius, SC)

"We considered fostering some time ago, but never acted on it because of our young kids.  We saw Elsa's picture on the SSRR news feed on Face Book in mid Septemeber of this year and my husband and I both knew INSTANTLY that it was time.  She was so pitiful and needed so much love and medical help.  The thought of letting her miss out on a family and a great life was too much.  I contacted SSRR and, since I had adopted from them previously, within 4 days I was on my way to pick up our new addition.  She was dirty, smelly, scared, and weak when I picked her up.  My heart broke!  I got her home, gave her a bath and a hot meal.  It was like someone turned on a light inside of her.  She was a puppy again!  Once we got her used to our dogs and kids, we just absorbed her into our lives.  She played and ate and got tons of love and attention from all of us.  Her heartworm treatment has gone smoothly and now she has a family on standby.  We would do this again in a heartbeat.  To take a dog from pictures number 1 &2 all the way to the next two pictures in such a short time and already have a family that wants her, is one of the most rewarding things we have done.  I feel like we helped give Elsa exactly what she was supposed to have. We are going to miss her dearly, but I'm sure we will see her and her new family often.  They are GREAT and are already thinking they might like to foster one day as well."

    

(Renee Pouvreau & Amy Knost, Pensacola, FL)

Beauregard

“I think the origins can be originally traced back to Amy’s love for the breed, and specifically for the love she had for her first Rottweiler, Rex. She still grieves for him after all of these years. When we met she talked of him and we talked about getting a dog of our own. She wasn’t sure she was willing to get another Rottie, no dog could ever take Rex’s place, so we talked of Goldens and Danes and Labs. Well, I had finally had enough of talking and decided to do a search on Petfinder for Rottweiler puppies. There was one showing in our area and, after a bit of prodding on my part, Amy gave them a call. Well, the puppy was no longer available but the woman that she spoke to (Amy loves to talk and they were, by that point, very good friends!) told her of a litter of puppies that had just been picked up by a local rescue that may be Rotties. We called and found out they were just a day or two old and being cared for by a woman 20 miles away. We were in the car in less than an hour, pulled up in front of her house and were shown the tiny little balls of nothings that had been left in a box on a vet’s doorstep the day before. We knew that one of those pups was to be ours. We stayed and talked to her for a long time, got to feed the babies and discussed what we needed to do to adopt. Amy also asked if there was a way to bring him home right then. Well, that wasn’t going to happen so we finally left with the understanding Amy would be back the next day after work (she worked a few blocks from the woman’s home).

Jezebell hanging out with the cat

Later the next day I received a phone call saying she was not coming home alone! She had arranged to “foster” one of the puppies until he was 8 weeks old and we could legally adopt him. I work from home and spent the next few weeks bottle feeding, nursing, burping, cuddling, pottying this little bundle. We were there when his ears opened, his eyes opened, he took his first steps. Beau has never known a single day without us, without love and adoration from his pack.

Priscilla (adopted from SSRR) with Beauregard - Best Friends

The next stage in our foster journey came when I saw a Rottie girl posted on a local lost & found Facebook page. She had been picked up wandering the street, taken to a local boarding facility which could only hold her for two days. Her two days were up and they were going to take her to the shelter (we still have a kill shelter here). I knew she would be done for there so I offered to foster her and help to either find her home or find her a new home. We had not had another dog in the house and didn’t know how Beau would do but he was amazing. Her took to her like a long lost littermate and they were thick as thieves in no time. She stayed with us for 3 weeks and I was finally able to locate her owner and she happily went back to her family. Beau was so sad that his friend left and, it was at that point, I seriously thought about signing up with a rescue group to foster. Amy contacted SSRR and we went through the process to be added to the list of foster homes.

Magnolia

Fostering has been an amazing thing for our entire family. Beau has found his calling, he is our therapy dog for dogs, specifically girls. He teaches them that humans are good, that they can be trusted, life is good and fun and it is all about love. Our kids have learned to be gentle and kind, to understand that there are bad things in the world but that everyone can do their part to make it better. And we have all learned to love and let go. Our job is to take in the sick, scared, untrained dogs and teach them to be good companions, to trust and love, to become healthy and strong, and then to let them go to a home where they can share what they have learned.

I love these dogs. I love their intelligence, their strength, their joy and goofiness. They have brought so much joy and laughter into our home and I believe they have given me so much more than I can ever give them.”