HARLEY

Harley is a handsome 120lb Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. He was rescued and placed by Animal Avengers in 2002, and in 2005 was returned to us after an attack on a postal worker. Harley was taken to a behaviorist who assessed him and told us that he had severe dominance issues as well as being very territorial. He was also very stubborn. This didn’t bode well for him being adopted, and especially with one biting incident behind his name, he needed rehabilitation. He went through a training “Boot Camp” at the training facility and then stayed there as part of a training program that is meant to reinforce the new learned behaviors. During the course of his stay there, we received a couple of applications to adopt him and used the trainer as a consultant to help with the placements. On both occasions, and after many hours of consultation, Harley was returned after only a few days each time. According to the trainer, the adopters were not able to give him the necessary reinforcement and structured environment needed, and as a result, Harley ended up being very territorial with other dogs, as well as over protective of people. This caused consternation with their visitors, as he is a large dog and has the potential to do harm. We continued to try and find the perfect person for Harley, and had to keep him with the trainer all the while, so that he could get the reinforcement needed from a professional. We brought him to adoption events on weekends, but Harley still remained with us. In April of 2006, we were contacted by a gentleman named Matt, who had seen Harley on our website. He had a wife and two young kids, and he had lost his dog to cancer a few months before. He really missed his dog, and when he saw Harley, he knew that he was the dog for him. We arranged for a home visit with one of our representatives as well as Brandon, the behaviorist, to see if this was a workable solution. Matt and his family loved Harley, and he seemed to be very fond of them. We spent hours going through all of Harley’s issues and needs, and gave the family all the necessary materials that every adopter receives. They are very knowledgeable about dogs and we were confident that they would continue with the reinforcement that Harley needed. Brandon has done three follow up consultations, and everything is going well. Harley is now a well-adjusted family dog and enjoys hiking, off leash, every day at Runyon Canyon.

JACK

In September of 2005, Animal Avengers was made aware of a dog that was hit by a truck in the San Fernando Valley. The incident happened in the late evening and Animal Control officers from the East Valley Animal Shelter had been notified and took the dog back to the shelter. An Animal Avengers volunteer witnessed the dog taken by the officers and contacted us immediately. We began the process of adopting the dog from the City Shelter the next day. The dog, a shepherd mix who we named Jack, had a fractured hip and had we not been made aware of this situation, he invariably would have been euthanized in the following days. We pulled the dog from the shelter and immediately took him to one of our veterinarians who then referred us to a specialist orthopedic surgeon. Because of his condition, he had to undergo an emergency procedure called a Femoral Head Ostectomy. Essentially, this means that the femoral head had to be removed and he would need long- term recovery. One of our rotational fosters immediately came to the fore and took Jack in to begin the long recovery process. This process included constant medications and a slow regimen of exercise to strengthen the leg enough so that Jack would regain the use of his leg. After months of rest and therapy with his foster, he completely recovered. Almost a year after his accident, Jack was adopted to a fantastic family in Culver City!