Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Rags to Ribbons: Diesel and Princess win AKC Agility Trials!

Diesel's 1st Place Blue Ribbon
Agility is one of the fastest growing dog sports at the AKC and in the U.S.  It is an athletic event that requires conditioning, concentration, training and teamwork.  It is a great way to safely exercise dogs, as well as the humans too!

Two ABC adopted Basset Hounds have recently won AKC Agility ribbons.  Shelly Gordon (Vice Chairman of ABC, runs the Slobber Shoppe AND is ABC webmaster), recently won the AKC JWW Novice Agility run with her adopted hound, Diesel Gustav Gordon.  Congratulations to Shelly and Diesel!  (We were curious about how Diesel got his name.  The only dog we ever knew named Diesel worked in a gas station.  Turns out his name when Shelly adopted him from ABC was Mr. Cheesel.)  Shelly and Diesel train in Buffalo.  They compete against other dogs that jump 8", like Corgies, Doxies and other small dogs.  Amanda Lowery is their amazing instructor.  Shelly also has another Basset, Eeyore who is testing to be a nursing home therapy dog.  Good job Shelly and Diesel, Eeyore and you too Duke!

Diesel's 1st place triple jump!
Look at that face - Diesel enjoys agility as much as his humans!

Shelly Gordon and her adopted hounds, Duke and Diesel with his BIG pink ribbon!

Amazingly, another ABC alumni, Princess, and her Mom, Lisa Lucas, are agility stars as well.  Princess is the #1 Basset Hound in AKC Agility Trials in the country - and, she recently received the 1st ever AKC Basset Hound agility PAX title!  Now, that's impressive!  (Actually, we think it's impressive to see hounds that actually listen to their humans.) 

Princess and her big 1st place agility ribbon
Lisa just adopted another ABC Basset, Bosley.  We're sure there is a super star in Bosley's future also.  It would be great to see all 3 ABC hounds competing with each other in agility!

Congratulations to Princess and Diesel - that's the way to show the world that ABC rescue dogs can do anything!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Clara Belle's Travel North

Clara Belle, a Southern stray Basset Hound, was transported to NY by Julie to ABC Basset Rescue in search of her new furever home.  Clara Belle was an owner surrender to a South Carolina shelter.  Many thanks to Julie for driving, Colleen for fostering and ABC for taking in this beautiful girl!

UPDATE on Clara Belle: From Janet Jesonowski - Thank You Janet!
I just wanted to give everyone a better idea of Clara's past. She is from Virigina/Tennesse border. She was found wandering the streets for a while with no collar, looking for food. Someone finally found her and called the Warden. Clara was taken to a kill shelter on a 5 day hold. On day 5 a nice woman took Clara from the Shelter and made a call to Julie Masterman (Clara's transporter).
Without hesitation Julie made the call to ABC and the rest as we say "is history."
Good luck Clara!

Thank you ABC and everyone involved in saving this beautiful girl's life!


Clara Belle on her long drive North
Clara Belle after her long ride, dinner, and a warm bath. ♥
Now is that a happy houndie or what?  Good luck Clara Belle - ABC will find you the perfect forever home!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Camp Bow Wow's Photos of their Adopted Hounds

Camp Bow Wow's employees and owners adopted Bassets at the Adopt-A-Thon!  Pictures are from  Camp Bow Wow's FB page.  You can check them out on Camp Bow Wow's live webcabs during the day!

Alton, Zach's New Love
Buford, Lauren's New  Love
Chester, Mark and Nanette's New Love
And, as Shelly pointed out - Alton, Buford, Chester - ABC, All Bassets Cherished!  It was meant to be!

ABC Volunteers at Camp Bow Wow

Congratulations to the ABC volunteers on a great job of finding perfect forever homes for all these sweet hounds!


Justin Beabes and 'Carol Ann'




Few more Pictures of S. Bassets arrival at Camp Bow Wow

A few more pictures of the Southern Basset transport arrival at Camp Bow Wow, Tonawanda.

Looking for Belly rubs already?


What a beautiful group of hounds!
I guess that person has treats!


Arrival at Camp Bow Wow - Video!

Following is a video that Justin Beabes shot of the arrival of the Southern Basset transport at Camp Bow Wow, Tonawanda.  Camp Bow Wow sure looks like a wonderful place if you are vacationing in the Buffalo area.

ABC Adoption Event Pictures: 100% Adopted!


View the beautiful photo album of ABC's Adoption Event. I'm also posting pictures here of the adopted hounds and their new families as several friends had difficulty opening the Kodak slideshow.  http://www.kodakgallery.com/gallery/creativeapps/slideShow/Main.jsp?sourceId=533754321803&cm_mmc=Share-_-Personal-_-Email-_-Sharee-_-Images&_requestid=174179

Also, in case you haven't read it here is a link to the excellent Buffalo News.com article (published 1/23/2012) covering the successful Adoption Event: "Mission Accomplished for Local Rescue Group" by Staff Reporter Anne Neville:
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/tonawanda/article715222.ece

HAPPY ADOPTIONS:
Adoption #1 Love At First Sight - Handsome Cooper and his new folks!
Picture of Cooper in his new home in his new bed!  Now that looks comfy!


Adoption #2 Handsome Copper from Belly Rubs Rescue of TN and his proud new family!
Adoption #3 Handsome Simon and his new folks!  Picture Perfect!


Adoption #4 Handsome Alton and his new human, Zach! Zach works at Camp Bow Wow - Alton will be at camp everyday!

Adoption #5 Beautiful Allie of Dakota Rescue of TX and her proud new folks! Allie was rescued from the Montgomery City Shelter by Dakota Rescue.
Allie relaxing at Dakota Ranch before her long trip to TN to meet the ABC transport!
Adoption #6 Handsome Wallace - Proud of his new Mom & Pop!
Adoption #7 Handsome Watson and his new folks, ready to go HOME!
Adoption #8 Beautiful Cleopatra (Cleo) and her proud new Mom and Dad!  Cleo was rescued from a kill shelter by Belly Rubs Rescue of TN.

Adoption #9 Beautiful Carol Ann poses with a happy new family!  Carol Ann was a favorite at the Dakota Ranch.

Adoption #10 Handsome Bufford and his proud new Mom!  Bufford will also be at Camp Bow Wow everyday!

Adoption #11 Beautiful Bootsie and her new Dad!  Now that's true Love!


Adoption #12 Wonderful Winnie and her new human! Watch out son, Winnie's foster Mom said she loves video games - thinks they are delicious!

Adoption #13 Handsome wonderful Quincy and his proud new Mom!

Frodo relaxing at the Dakota Ranch before his long trip to TN to meet the ABC transport!
Adoption #14 Handsome Frodo and his new Mom and Dad! Frodo was another favorite at the Dakota Ranch.

Adoption #15 Beautiful Eggy, short for EggHead (new name they are trying is Maggie) and her proud new Mom! Eggy will be going to school with her Mom, a teacher.

Adoption #16 Handsome Iggy and his proud new parents!

Iggy at the Dakota Ranch relaxing before his long trip to TN to meet the ABC transport.

Adoption #17 Beautiful Vidalia found a new Mom and looks ready to go Home!
Adoption #18 Handsome and happy Chester and his new folks, the owners of Camp Bow Wow!  Chester also gets to spend every day playing at Camp with his new sister, Lily!
Handsome JR in Foster Care until he is healthy.  He will go to a new forever home soon!


Great pic of JR
Frankie (on the left) went into foster care until healthy - his adoption is pending!


Handsome Frankie!

Handsome Curtis from Belly Rubs Rescue is also in foster care.  I'm sure he will go on to his forever home soon too!

Bassets at the Dakota Ranch pond getting their feet wet before their long trip North.
Handsome Frankie and his new furever Mom and Dad who came all the way from Canada to adopt him!

 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon - Huge Success!


Simon and His New Best Friend!

ABC's Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon held at Camp Bow Wow, Tonawanda, NY on Sunday was a HUGE success.  In addition to the 16 dogs that ABC transported from four Southern Basset Rescues (Belly Rubs Basset Rescue of TN, Basset Hound Rescue of GA, N. Texas Basset Rescue, Dakota Rescue of TX) there were also five dogs relinquished in NY that were adopted.  (Three of the Southern Bassets were placed into foster care to work out health issues before being placed up for adoption).  18 homeless Bassets were placed into pre-approved permanent homes!  This was the result of three weeks of hard work volunteers spent to set up and coordinate the transport, review potential adoptive homes and review the Basset's individual personalities with the goal of providing the perfect fit for each approved family.  ABC had received a flood of adoption applications after they transported 5 Basset Hounds on New Year's Eve from a Texas breeder which was widely publicized.  With so many approved families wanting to adopt a Basset Hound in Northeastern NY the ABC board decided to put out the call to Southern Basset Rescues which are overloaded to the breaking point with homeless hounds.  This was a groundbreaking event, the first cooperative undertaking between so many rescues to re-home homeless hounds.  Hopefully, it will be the start of many rescues following ABC's lead in re-homing hounds across the country in the future!

Copper from TN and his Adopted Family

Over the weekend, in an impossibly short period of time, six ABC volunteers made the trip to Maryville, Tennessee to meet the rescue groups at the Assured Storage Facility and begin the 12 hour drive North to Camp Bow Wow.  It was dubbed the Basset Hound Underground Railroad by one Georgia Rescuer.  Round trip for Neil Gates and Justin Beabes who drove the ABC van from NY was 1700 miles, 2 gas fuel ups and only 2-3 other breaks. They arrived at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday in Tonawanda.  Their arrival was closely watched via Camp Bow Wow's webcams in realtime by hundreds of excited folks.  The weather had been snowy in the North, with freezing rain to the West and all involved were anxious that the transport arrive safely.  Southern rescue foster homes watched with great relief as their foster hounds walked into Camp Bow Wow, noting their excitement and relief on Facebook.  The hounds themselves were amazingly calm and seemed to take these changes in stride, a tribute to the great network of support and understanding ABC has for this breed.  Thanks to the Assured Storage Facility that provided a location for the meetup and overnight stay of the volunteers and hounds!  And thanks also to Camp Bow Wow who housed the hounds overnight for free and hosted the Adopt-A-Thon!  (We also heard the owners adopted a hound!)  They provided the perfect venue for this event.  Special thanks to all of the Rescues that gave up their beloved hounds to travel to NY to find forever homes in order that others might have a foster home!

The hounds themselves, groomed and bathed prior to the event seemed to take it all in stride, appearing at least to be picking out their new families!  Following is a touching video Justin Beabes captured of the event:


ABC volunteers posted updates in real time as the hounds were adopted.  The FB comments are a real testament to the commitment and love the foster homes provide for these hounds.  It was really an inspiration to read the excited happiness and tears of joy they posted on Facebook as each Basset was adopted.  In fact, not just the foster homes, but hundreds of others from many states posted their excitement and congratulations on Facebook.  Many noted this was an inspirational event, not just for the dogs and volunteers but for everyone involved in rescue.  This certainly has to be a first for a rescue event of this kind.  Laura Johnson, ABC volunteer, seems to have said it all in her FB comment:  "The dogs come first, and the humans that care for them have a never ending supply of love, dedication and work ethic. Thank you ABC, you make the world a better place, not just for the dogs, but a blessing for those that are given the opportunity to help out."

The world certainly does seem a better place!  The looks on the faces of the happy families and the wagging tails of hounds seems to say it all.  And as Gary Penny, Chairman of ABC, always says,
"It's all about the dogs!"

Stay tuned for pictures of the hounds and their new families.  Please send any individual stories and pictures you have of the hounds to bellaroo@optonline.net.  We will post them here on the ABC Blog.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Watch ABC Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon Event Today


Be sure to watch the ABC Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon Event today between 11AM-2PM EST on Camp Bow Wow's webcams!  Link to Camp Bow Wow's webcam:  http://www.campbowwow.com/us/ny/tonawanda/all-browsers.

We hope all these beautiful houndies go to loving forever homes today!  Such lucky families to be able to give them a home.  Please keep us updated on stories of your adopted hounds, we'll feature them on the blog.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Link to Camp Bow Wow's Webcam

WATCH THE SOUTHERN DOGS ARRIVAL through Camp Bow Wow's Webcam this afternoon at approximately 4:30pm EST: http://www.campbowwow.com/us/ny/tonawanda/all-browsers

Rescued Southern Bassets

WBIR.com News Coverage

UPDATE:  The Rescued Bassets from Belly Rubs Bassets of TN, Dakota Rescue of TX, Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia, & North Texas Basset Rescue are scheduled to arrive at Camp Bow Wow this afternoon at around 4:30pm EST.  Attached is a link to WBIR.com news coverage of the "Basset Undergound Railroad":  http://www.wbir.com/news/article/201645/2/Close-to-20-East-TN-basset-hounds-will-have-new-homes-up-North.

There will be 18 adoptable hounds at the Adopt-A-Thon event today: 13 from the trip up from the South, 3 ABC hounds already in foster care, & 2 new owner relinquishes from this weekend. 3 of the 16 from the South will be headed into foster care for evaluation before they will be up for adoption.

Congratulations to ABC for a wonderful job getting these hounds to loving homes!  Best of luck to the Bassets and their new lucky families! 

"Basset Underground Railroad"

Break Time in Columbus, OH

On the way from TN to Buffalo, NY, ABC Basset Rescue of NY is transporting 20 hounds to NY's adoption event where they have adoptive families anxiously awaiting their arrival.  Many of these bassets are from Belly Rubs Basset Hound Rescue, Dakota Ranch in Texas, and Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia, whose rescues have more hounds than homes.  Due to media coverage of ABC's last rescue of 5 Texas Basset Hounds new prospective families applied to ABC to adopt homeless hounds.  The wonderful efforts of ABC Basset Rescue volunteers frees up much needed space in the Southern rescues for homeless hounds there.  Gary Penny, board chairman for the New York-based ABC Basset Hound Rescue, said about 20 families have already been screened and are now waiting to be matched up with the animals during an adoption fair Sunday.  This is the first time so many Basset Rescue groups have met up like this to move homeless hounds up the coast where there are waiting homes.

Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia (BHRG) and Belly Rubs Basset Hound Rescue met up with ABC at the Assured Storage Facility in Maryville, TN last night.  ABC loaded up 16 hounds there and left early this morning for the 15 hour drive to Buffalo, NY.  Roger Imsande with Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia (BHRG) named it “The Basset Underground Railroad.”  Many thanks to  Kathy Sands, Assured Storage Manager for volunteering their facility for the meeting and allowing these Bassets to get some much needed rest before their long journey North.
Rescued Bassets resting before their long trek to Buffalo
This is a true labor of love on the part of these volunteer rescuers transporting so many Basset Hounds so many miles, on this snowy day in the Northeast to be adopted into forever homes.  Safe journey to the transport on the remaining 150 miles still to go to Buffalo.  These hounds will make a wonderful addition to their lucky new forever families.

Here is a link to yesterday's Daily News article covering this amazing transport: http://www.thedailytimes.com/Local_News/story/Rescued-hounds-rest-in-Maryville-on-way-to-New-York-id-019828.  

Don't forget even if  you cannot attend you can view the adoption event at Camp Bow Wow, Basset Hound Adopt-A-Thon, Sunday, January 22, 11AM-2PM, Tonawanda, NY via their webcam: http://www.campbowwow.com/us/ny/tonawanda/about-us/news-and-events/145-basset-hound-adopt-a-thon-at-camp-bow-wow-tonawanda.