If you can read this without getting teary-eyed, you have no soul.

[draggar]

Plain and simple. Yes, I am the one who pulled this guy out of the shelter when we fostered (and everything else) for Malinois rescue.

http://www.malinoisrescue.org/fostering-jax.shtml

My wife doesn't know this, but my first impression was the same has hers. I decided that if he showed any agression, I would have rejected him, but seeing him happy and wagging his tail with the family who wanted to pull him from the shelter made me realize how special he was and how much he deserved a second chance.

[Pedersen]

My wife doesn't know this, but my first impression was the same has hers. I decided that if he showed any agression, I would have rejected him, but seeing him happy and wagging his tail with the family who wanted to pull him from the shelter made me realize how special he was and how much he deserved a second chance.

Draggar: Thank you. I'd never heard of a Malinois before. It was a totally wonderful story to have shared, and definitely brightened my day a bit.

[lordlundar]

A noble dog without a doubt.

You did good, you should be proud.

[Acolyte]

I have nothing but the utmost respect for people who make it their work to rescue pets. Thank you. And Jax is lucky to have both found you and an excellent home.

[draggar]

Draggar: Thank you. I'd never heard of a Malinois before. It was a totally wonderful story to have shared, and definitely brightened my day a bit.

Typically Malinois are NOT good family pets nor are they good dogs for people who have no experience with them. They are very intelligent (one of the smartest breeds out there), powerful, and very "primitive" (wolf like). I would not recommend one to anyone on this site (get a good GSD). Malinois are the easiest breed to "ruin" if you are an inexperienced trainer (in other words, they never forget what they can get away with and will try it).

As stated, my wife would not normally foster out a malinois to a family, especially one with little to no malinois experience. Jax was an exceptional "beginner" malinois, despite his size (think gentle giant).

One thing I forgot to mention is that he was slated to be put down TWO days before I pulled him, they held onto him just for us (because we had already pulled 4 or 5 malinois from the shelter and were reliable). If I didn't pull him, he would have been put down. If anoyne is familiar with the Miami-Dade SPCA shelter (in Hialeah), they have the highest euthanasia rates in the country. Not because the shelter doesn't care or that they want to put them all to sleep, it's just that there are so many irrisponsible breeders in the area that just dump their unwanted puppies on the front door (one was even reported left there just before a hurricane hit). They were the most accomidating shelter for us to work with (Broward shelter was a pain in the rear to deal with). Say the average shelter euthanises 100-200 dogs a month, the Miami-Dade shelter goes though well over 1500. The average span in this shelter is 2 weeks while other shelters will hold onto good dogs for months (due to overcrowding). The good news is that every day, there is a line of people out the door wanting to adopt animals (so there is hope out there for a lot of them) plus they work with a local vet (a few, actually) who will spay or neuter any animal from the shelter for $25.

This story is the reason why I would recommend a rescue organization second (next to a reputible breeder) for when someone is looking for a pet. Malinois rescue is hitting some hard times. (If you want to help support them, use the Amazon.com link, anything you put into your cart though that link and purchase within 24 hours Malinois Rescue will get a 4% referral credit).

[Boozy]

What a great story! I have one sort of like it.

A few months ago, my dad was coming back from town in his pickup. He decided to take a side road home so he could check on the crops. As he's driving by this wooded area (he's got his window down, elbow out, cigarette hanging from his mouth - you know, the typical farmer ) he hears this heart-wrenching squealing sound. He pulls over, gets out, walks a few feet into the bush, and sees this emaciated Rottweiler puppy sitting on top of a bunch of garbage that someone had dumped. This puppy was only a three or so months old - too young to have run away. It looked as though someone had literally taken her out with the trash. Heart breaking.

My dad took her back to the farm. She drank about four bowls of water and ate three bowls of food, slept for six hours straight, and then got up to romp around with our farm dogs. The next day, Dad called a friend of his who has three Rottweilers on his farm. This guys is just nuts about Rottweilers, and does rescue for the breed. He planned on taking care of the puppy until he found her a home...

Except last I heard, he now has four Rottweilers on his farm, and refuses to listen to anyone offering to take her off his hands (she's absolutely beautiful). He just fell in love with her.

[Reyneth]

Wow draggar. What an amazing dog, and what amazing and wonderful work you and your wife do. A big thank you for all of the dogs you saved and all of the ones you tried to save. People like you make a huge difference - even Jax's new family has been forever changed in a good way. I wish something could be done about the so-called "breeders" down there that are contributing to this problem, but until something is, many wonderful animals are alive because of your work.

[sportsmom]

That is such a great story!

My dog (a very large Collie/ German Shepherd mix, think about 100 pounds, large for either breed) had those same kind of "Protect my kid" instincts. My niece and her mom were staying with my parents and I when niece was about 16 months old. Well, my wonderful (that is sarcasm you smell, BTW) sister-in-law took niece outside and then didn't keep an eye on her. We lived across the street from a large farm and semis ran up and down or street all the time.

My daddy was sitting in the kitchen when he heard Niece screaming outside. He ran out the front door to see the dog dragging niece away from the road by her diaper. She had apparently decided to wander too far in that direction and he didn't like that very much. He wasn't hurting her, he didn't leave a mark on her, she was screaming because she wanted to go in the street.

He also slept under my window every night since he was an outdoor dog. He had a very nice house, he just preferred my mom's flowerbed under my window. She finally gave up planting anything there. My brother's favorite story is the time that he came over and I was on one side of the house playing and my dog was on the other. Brother decided that he needed to tickle me and I started screaming bloody murder. My dog came flying around the side of the house barking and growling at my brother. Brother dropped me and backed up into the house rather quickly, and he never tried that again.

[Acolyte]

Every pet I've ever owned has been adopted-there's just so many unwanted animals out there that need good homes. Currently, the total is 2 dogs and 3 cats. The dogs being Jessie, a shepard/lab mix who I grew up and just passed away a few months ago, and Bailiee, a black lab pup my parents just adopted. Then there's the cats-Foster, my parent's Garfield-esque tabby and Max and Tucker, the Plague Kitties . They're the Plague Kitties because they both had lung disases as kittens which left Max with a permanent sinus problem (He wheezes and snorts a fair bit now) and Tucker rather undernourished (Although that problem has been well taken care of now-a bit too fixed, actually).

I'd never buy a pet from a breeder over a shelter.

[justZu]

Draggar, that is a wonderful story. I love the pictures, Jax is really smiling at the camera, what a sweetheart.