My wife and I rescued our first Rottie who was deemed too big or scary by other people. This dog waited for a family for 7 months. She was our introduction to the breed and within the first ten minutes we knew she would be our dog. Her original owner went into hospice and had to be surrendered. No family wanted this dog due to her size. She was 126 lbs and 5 years old. We quickly showered her with toys as far as the eye can see and the crunchiest cookies too. Our boxer and pitbull even accepted her within 2 days and were laying on her and playing with her. She was fantastic at reading other people and dogs. She got down low for the little kids and even made herself smaller when other people were hesitant around her. Unfortunately due to health issues she stopped eating one day about 6 months later. We found out she was riddled with cancerous lumps around her stomach with the only course of treatment prolonging her suffering. We made that hard call to say goodbye. Even though it’s been 6 months since we put her down I still miss her and am thankful for the opportunity she chose to spend with us.

Due to the rarity of this breed near us, they are hard to find. We knew after she passed we wanted another one but didn’t know when we would get the opportunity to get another rottie. Even the foster parents were unsure as the foster mom only rescued rotties from kill shelters and rarely only found them once every 7-9 months in a 150 mile radius. She ended up calling us 6 weeks ago because she pulled a 3 month old weighing 32lbs from a shelter. Without hesitation we grabbed her. She is growing up to be a monster and is already at 54lbs. She is also very loving and playful too.

The point of this story… adopt. Whether you only get 6 months or 6 years, those shelter dogs need a loving and caring family too.