Rider’s Rescue Story
One of the most joyous and enriching roles of my life is being a dog mama to our beagador pup. Like so many of you, I have always been hooked on dogs, grew up with dogs, and wouldn’t give up on pushing to get one as an adult. After incessant requests, my husband finally wrapped up a dog bone for my 30th birthday and said “let’s do it.” It was the best birthday gift of my life. We got our sweet rescue dog, Rider, on February 26th, 2019. I get asked regularly where we got him and what his story is, so I am finally writing it all out here!
“When the world around me is going crazy, & I’m losing faith in humanity, I just have to take one look at my dog to know that good still exists.”
Why We Decided to Rescue
I’m not here to get on a soapbox about “adopt don’t shop,” although I am very supportive of rescuing dogs and don’t think our family would ever buy a puppy from a breeder or pet store. Our biggest reason for rescuing was that we knew there are a lot of great dogs out there who need to be adopted and need a good home. Beyond that though, we decided to rescue because we were pretty open to any non-aggressive dog! We don’t have any allergies that would make us need a hypoallergenic breed so we were open to many breeds, we weren’t set on getting a puppy, and actually preferred a little older dog, and the idea of spending thousands on a purebred dog just didn’t feel like a fit for us. Those were the main reasons we decided to go through a rescue.
Our Adoption Process
“Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.”
We started researching online and asking our friends and family for recommendations for reputable local rescues. If you are looking to adopt a dog, do your research. Make sure the places you are supporting are respected for their kind care for animals. We heard wonderful things about many rescues in the Denver, Colorado area including MaxFund, Summit Dog Rescue, Bounce Animal Rescue, Dumb Friends League, Golden Retriever Rescue of the Rockies, and local humane societies. I think any of those places would have provided a great adoption experience.
We started reaching out to a few places and seeing what dogs they had available. I had always been interested in shepherds, so one of the places we reached out to was Western Australian Shepherd Rescue. At the time, they had a few shepherds who honestly needed more care and training than we felt we were ready or experienced enough to provide. At that time we also lived in a small space with a small yard, so we realized we weren’t able to take on a dog that needed acres of land to explore. We quickly learned that maybe the most important thing to consider when adopting a dog is being realistic about what kind of dog fits your lifestyle. If you don’t like to run or don’t have a yard, don’t get a high energy dog that absolutely needs space and constant exercise. It’s simply not fair to the dog. We experienced that most rescues were wonderful with advising if a dog was a fit for our family, as they usually have recommendations if a dog is comfortable with other dogs, children, what their energy level is, etc. So talk through with the rescue to make sure you are on the right track.
We started to think a shepherd wasn’t going to be a fit for us, but that’s when I like to think fate stepped in. The amazing owner at Western Australian Shepherd Rescue asked us if we would be open to other breeds because they had a sister rescue in Texas that saved dogs about to be euthanized there and found homes for them in other states. WASR coordinates their transport here to Colorado for people who have agreed to adopt these dogs. She sent us pictures of a red and white beagador (beagle mixed with a lab), and we instantly fell in love. We then were able to have a call with the rescue in Texas, who was fostering him. They were also incredibly helpful and told us that Rider (then called Audio) had been found on the streets as a stray and had been in a shelter when they rescued him and took him into their care to prevent him from being put down. My heart still hurts a little every time I think about our boy being euthanized before we got to him. His foster mama said Rider was a sweet, timid boy who just needed a good family.
It didn’t take more than that call for us to say we’d take him. The rescue came to our house to do an interview and check that we had a good and safe home for him, and then they scheduled Rider to be brought to Colorado in a van with many other dogs.
A couple of weeks later, we arrived at the PetSmart parking lot in Denver where they said we meet the driver to collect him. So to be clear, we didn’t ever meet Rider before we already agreed to adopt him. This is of course not the right choice for everyone, but we were willing to take a chance, and it worked out better than we could have ever hoped! The van stopped, the driver opened the doors, and one by one they brought out the dogs to meet their new families waiting for them. We put our terrified, too-skinny, exhausted pup in the car and headed home.
“Once you have a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.”
Welcoming Rider Dog Into Our Family
What a gift this sweet dog has been to our family. Rider was very timid when we got him. That is part of the rescue process, you don’t really know what the dog has been through. He was way too skinny, had some skin irritation all up and down his front legs, and was very skittish. He was afraid of having the leash put on him, and cowered his head anytime we reached out to pet him. He was crate trained, and even the first night we had him he slept quietly in his crate the entire night and never made a sound! It was amazing was how fast he transformed and warmed to us. If you rescue a dog, just have patience. Meet them where they are. Go slowly. Let the trust build.
Within a few weeks he was eating well, his skin was clearing up thanks to our amazing vet, and he was getting more and more cuddly. Instead of curling up on one end of the couch while we sat on the other, he had inched closer and closer until he let us sit right with him and pet him and hold him. We did have to work with him a little bit of course, particularly getting him to walk well on a leash, but we were so lucky the rescue that fostered him had done so much training with him already. We did a puppy training class, even though Rider wasn’t a puppy, just to help us work on some basic commands with him and I highly recommend that to anyone who is getting a dog for the first time.
Since then, Rider has become more social, playful and adventurous. He has driven across the country with us, moved houses with us, been a part of our wedding, and has been a trooper through it all.
As they say, the rest is history. We got so incredibly lucky with this dog. Rider has never been even slightly aggressive with us, any person, or any other dog. He is kind, quiet, and loving. He loves to hike and has learned to accept the Colorado snow, but he is always happiest curled up in the house with my husband and I on either side of him. He has brought immense joy to our life and our home, and now we cannot imagine life without him!
If you are curious about adopting a dog and would like to talk further, please reach out to me. It’s truly the best.