Dante’s Happy Ending

Another day at AAS, another call for help for a neglected dog...

Dante's leg before surgeries

A beautiful Doberman cross pup was being kept in a yard at a drug house. When he escaped from the lonely yard, he was kicked and finally moved into the garage. He was no use as a guard dog, he was still just a baby, and in the dark garage he just cried non-stop. He was let out of the garage for short periods and they could see that his leg was broken from being kicked It was painful and without any vet care, it was setting awkwardly making it hard for him to walk. The SPCA said, as always, that there was nothing it could do. The neighbours were frantic. That's when AAS got the call. We were asked if they removed him, would we take him. The answer is always yes. If someone is brave enough to risk rescuing a dog, AAS will pay for the dog's rehabilitation and recovery. This puppy got lucky when the neighbours found AAS, and this time AAS got lucky when Valerie found the pup. For once, this puppy's rescue cost us nothing but the fear that he might be harmed again before he could be rescued...

My husband and I were thinking of adding another dog to our family and I have always been interested in having a Doberman and felt I was finally up to the challenge, so when we heard about Dante it seemed like it was meant to be. Despite all he had been through, his picture from AAS displayed him as a goofy, curious personality that made him hard to resist - and best of all, he still had his natural ears - no mutilation! (although, unfortunately, his tail was docked).

After second surgery

When I went to meet him and take him home, he ran over to me and put his head in my lap and "claimed me" - it was very humbling! When he arrived with us, his previous abusive home had resulted in a broken leg that caused irregular bone growth resulting in severe twisting of his joints and his elbow to have grown completely up and out of joint. He was already developing serious arthritis that would have crippled him in that leg within a year. Since coming to live with us, Dante has received 2 separate surgeries to repair some of the damage to his leg. He will always have a limp and a slightly deformed and shortened leg - but his elbow is back in place and hopefully we've saved him from any serious problems happening too soon. He went through his surgeries like a typical, stoic Doberman and he's running and playing in the forest as though nothing ever happened to him!

As only a puppy can sleep, with his toy in his mouth

Dante and Theo on a walk

In addition to his physical condition, he had obviously received no early puppy socializing and is having to learn all of life's lessons the hard way. Fortunately, Dante has a wonderful, loving temperament and faces life's challenges with curiosity, confidence and no fear whatsoever. He has kindly agreed not to hold a grudge against any of us for his rough start in life and he is turning into a loving, quirky and intelligent dog with a fun sense of humor. Everyone who has gotten to know him agrees that there is just something special about him. Dante lives with his 2 canine sisters: Salem, a 5-year old Husky cross who is one of Annie's pups from Animal Advocates - rescued with her family when she was 10 days old; and Casey, a 9-year old Retriever cross who we got from the Okanagan Animal Welfare Foundation - her family decided to have her destroyed at 4 when she was no longer able to produce puppies for sale. Dante is also learning to live with 4 cats rescued by the Pacific Animal Foundation as kittens from a feral mom and 1 outdoor, feral cat, who we neutered and released and continue to feed every morning (Cleo, Oscar, Bear, Brie and Winter).

More happy sleeps

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