FRENCH BRITTANY
RESCUE PROGRAM
2007 report
Cindy Chase
Rescue Coordinator
History
The French Brittany rescue program began in 2007. During the year, we received over 25 contacts regarding dogs that were supposed to be French Brittany's. Some of the dogs were French, others were mixed breeds or American Brittany's. Our program only accepts purebred French Brittany's,
Although we have had two dogs that didn’t have their registration papers, but were able to track down their breeders and verify their parentage. We coordinated, rehabilitated and re-homed 5 dogs in 2007:
Chase – Texas to Minnesota
Murphy – Iowa to Wisconsin
Ellie – north Carolina to Wisconsin
Chester – Minnesota to Wisconsin
Riley – north Carolina to Wisconsin
we had 2 French Brittany's that were in other rescue programs:
sonny – Arizona (Springer spaniel rescue)
little man – Kansas (golden retriever rescue)
these dogs may or may not have been adopted as follow up with
these rescue agencies was difficult.
We had 2 French Brittany's that were adopted out or returned to the breeders before entering our program:
One in Missouri and one in California
We had 1 French Brittany in new jersey that we found a new home for and the owner decided to keep her.
We currently have 3 people on a waiting list for dogs:
They are from south Carolina, Washington and Oregon.
All in all, for the first year, the program was very successful. The cost to the French Brittany gun dog association for operating the program has been zero. The adoption fees for the dogs were based on the costs to acquire the dogs, plus any money spent on vet bills. Other costs for transportation were either borne by the owner or shared by the owner and adoptee. All of the dogs are doing great and everyone keeps in contact. We have taken in 3 of the 5 dogs for rehabilitation as they were naughty for their previous owners. Their rehabilitation took about 3-5 weeks and they are doing great with their new owners.
For my part – the worst part of being the rescue coordinator has been to say no to the mixed breed dogs. The best part is we ended up with another French Brittany named Chester, who came into the program and never left. It is amazing how uneducated people are about this breed. Some of the dogs that were referred to me for adoption were collies, Springer spaniels, American Brittany's etc. some of the dogs that are in shelters right now are French Brittany's and nobody recognizes them as such.
Hopefully, the year 2008 will be as good as 2007 – finding homes for all the unwanted dogs.
Chase
February 2007
Texas to Minnesota
d/o/b 06/05
adoption fee: $300
arranged between owner and adopter, transported by gary chase, reason for surrender: owner changed jobs – not enough time to spend with dog
new owner: Steve Clarke silver lake mn
Murphy
April 2007
Iowa to Wisconsin
d/o/b 03/03
adoption fee: $525
paid to French Brittany rescue program, reimbursed foster home, transported by cindy chase reason for surrender: picked up from another rescue. dog was surrendered because he was stupid, his owner thought because he paid $700 for the dog he should be trained? He was perfect!!
New owners: bill & carol cote – racine wi
Ellie
May 2007
North Carolina to Wisconsin
d/o/b 04/03
adoption fee: none
transported by air – shared expense, donated air crate to rescue program, reason for surrender: owner changed jobs – dog has seizures and he was not able to spend time to spend with dog New owner: Russell & ann henkel – Medford wi
Now is seizure free
Chester
September 2007
Minnesota to Wisconsin
d/o/b 08/06
adoption fee: $150
arranged between owner and adopter transported by Gary & Cindy Chase, reason for surrender: given away on radio. We knew this was one was trouble !!!
New owners: Gary & Cindy chase
Riley
November 2007
north Carolina to Wisconsin
d/o/b 01/04
adoption fee: none
transported by owner
reason for surrender: owner injured, couldn’t manage riley by herself new owners: ray & Dawn Schroeder – prentice wi
We feel the program is doing very well and the dogs that we have taken into the program have come from a variety of homes. Some of the previous owners gave up perfectly good dogs because they didn’t understand the breed or the needs of the dogs. A lot of the problems they had were remedied by obedience training. We have enjoyed meeting all of the dogs and their owners and have had a blast taking them in and rehabilitating them. It has made our dogs more willing to allow dogs into our home and our dogs are better because of the rescue dogs. They have also taught the rescue dogs good manners and that it’s fun to go hunting and playing in the woods. Many of the dogs we took into the program have never been allowed to be dogs and most of them were never allowed to be off of a leash. Their newfound freedom and ability to learn to be dogs has earned them the right to have a second chance. We are sorry for all of the dogs that have not had this opportunity and hope that the program grows in the future to allow more dogs to have the same successful outcomes as the dogs we have had this year.
Gary & Cindy Chase
Phillips WI