JD is house trained, cage trained and doing fabulously well in foster care. He is friendly, playful and 3000% different than the sickly Pointer we brought in last May. He has tons of hunting potential although we have not worked on his ground game yet. Follow up tick panel shows he was infected with Ehrlichia, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever and most likely the main reason he was dumped into the southern Illinois shelter as he had no hunting instincts due to the infections. JD has a nose for birds now and he just needs a family willing to work on his obedience and recall work. We can not be more thrilled with his progress in foster care.
May 2013: Little JD is actually BIG JD and a purebred Lemon and white American Field Bred English Pointer that was surrendered to a shelter in southern Illinois. From his foster mom, " From Pam, "So Little JD is doing so well!! He is finally starting to recognize his name and will (sometimes) come running across the yard when I call him. He loves Dash, though I am not sure why, as Dash is obsessed with the dominance humping thing while they are playing like wild children. Ursula had become more tolerant of him, and hasn't snarled at him for a few days (not that he really cared anyway!) With this rain, and my muddy back yard, he is extremely tolerant of getting a big paw wiped own,every time he comes in from outside. He usually licks my face once or twice while we are doing so. He is now going into his crate a lot better. I no longer have to shove him in from the back end. I have a feeling little Josie has tried stealing food out of his crate (the little sneak!!),as he has growled at her a few times when she has come to close to his crate while his food bowl is in there. But, he had never displayed any dislike if her when he is out of the crate. When in the house he is spending a bit of time in the crate, as he had lifted his leg a few times , so we continuing to work on housebreaking. But, he gets couch time with lots of lovin, which he seems to like. He saw a squirrel on one if the big trees just outside the fence yesterday, and suddenly I see him standing up against the fence, watching the squirrel scamper up the tree. He could get over that fence easily if he wanted, as he is do tall! So now I am watching him like a hawk when he is outside. All in all, he is doing well though, and getting more comfortable in his surroundings."
Due to the fact that these dogs have come from shelters or abuse or neglect situations, and unless we have tested these dogs on upland birds and feel they are confident and ready to work as a hunter with families where they will be trained with kindness and patience, we will only adopt to pet homes.
All adoptions include vaccinations, fecals and deworming, microchips, spaying or neutering, collar, leash and an information adoption packet. All dogs and puppies are also tested for Lyme Disease, Ehrlichia and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever via a $100 blood test. On average nearly 83% of our incoming dogs and puppies from the Midwest are testing positive to one, two or all three tick borne illnesses. If caught early- these diseases are highly treatable. Infected Dog and Deer Ticks are all over the Midwest and United States and these diseases often go missed yet are epidemic. Left untreated- dogs may suffer horrible painful joints, brain damage, chronic allergies, and if the disease progresses- death.
All IBR dogs in foster care are learning to be crate trained, housebroken, socialized with other dogs and loved on by their human foster parents. Adoption fees are used to cover vetting expenses and special need dogs' vetting care. Our adoption guidelines also require non-smoking homes and safe fenced in yards.
If you are interested in adopting this pet through our rescue organization, please fill out an online adoption application.
Others Ways You Can Make a Difference
Shop for custom calendars, mugs and T-shirts at our Café Press fundraising website and choose merchandise featuring Pointers, Setters, Hunting Dogs or Friendly Mutts. All of our calendar stars are rescued dogs that would have been euthanized in shelters across the Mid-West had IBR not stepped in to save them. Your support does make a difference!!
Help offset the high cost of our vetting bills via the Petfinder.com Sponsor-A-Pet link. Illinois Birddog Rescue has always prided itself in not turning away any sick and injured dogs; animals that most shelters would have euthanized. We have saved many dogs with heartworm, tick borne illnesses, broken legs, missing legs, blind dogs, a new deaf puppy, dogs suffering from Parvo and especially senior dogs that may need expensive health care to help them get ready for adoption.
Your donation will not go unnoticed. In addition to helping save lives, when you donate your name will be added to the Illinois Birddog Rescue Donations and Rescue Sponsor List.
Become an IBR foster home and help give a rescued dog or puppy a second chance at a new happy life. The work and dedication of the current IBR foster families can be seen by clicking HERE! You are not just fostering a dog, you are joining a birddog family! If you would like to become a foster home and join our enthusiastic group of birddog lovers, please fill out an online foster home application.
Shop and search the Internet using iGive.com and iSearch.iGive.com - Two great ways to help us raise funds while using the Web. It's free and there is no limit or hidden fees. Give them a try here:
Up to 26% of every purchase through iGive.com is donated to Illinois Birddog Rescue. Membership is free and over 700 online stores are registered through the site, including eBay, JCPenney, Land’s End , Drs. Foster & Smith, PETCO and Petsmart.
iSearch.iGive.com is a fun and easy way to raise money while searching the internet. The donation is $0.01 per qualified search (no limits) and if you are logged in as an iGive.com member (membership to use iSearch is free and optional) you can keep track of your individual contributions through searching and shopping. $0.01 per search may not seem like much, but with our combined efforts it can add up very quickly and make a difference for our rescued dogs. iSearch.iGive.com is powered by Yahoo! search engine. Start searching the web and download the iSearchiGive toolbar to earn every time you search by clicking here:
Monetary donations can also be mailed directly to IBR, PO BOX 364, Wood Dale, IL 60191.
Illinois Birddog Rescue, Inc is a 501c3 not-for-profit charity licensed by the Illinois Department of Agriculture.
