Have you ever dreamed about having the ideal dog as your families pet? This past October we decided to contact SOAR about adopting an Airedale as we had been without a dog for about two years. Previously, we had owned a wonderful Airedale, Windy, whom we acquired while living in Little Rock, AR, one of many cities corporate America allowed us to live in. We started out with a six week old puppy that was full of life. Housebreaking was an absolute breeze with Windy. Obedience training was a different story. Every obedience class has a dog who wants to play with the other dogs all the time. That was Windy. She was also the one dog you could count on piddling on the floor as she became so excited to be around more dogs. We never mastered the eye contact thing with Windy. She just was her own dog, on her own terms. We enjoyed her for over 12 wonderful years in Arkansas, California, Ohio, and finally Connecticut. During the time we had Windy, we acquired a Pomeranian, Timmy, who was with us for 14 years. A couple of years after Timmy’s passing we decided we were ready for another Airedale and thus our contact with SOAR. One day, I went on the SOAR website and there was Ginger, waiting for adoption.
Without knowing anything about Ginger other than her age and a brief description, I immediately contacted SOAR and expressed an interest in adopting Ginger. We had never actually worked with SOAR before so we had to fill out our application to adopt and be reviewed and visited by a SOAR volunteer. This gave us a sense that we were dealing with a quality organization that really cared about the individual dog being placed.
Ginger was being fostered in Little Rock, AR by a wonderful family. We were able to contact them and learn a little about Ginger and her current situation. After the contact we were more certain that we really wanted Ginger to join our family. After SOAR finalized the adoption, we made a fast trip to Little Rock to meet Ginger and pick her up for the trip to our home in Marietta, OH. Upon first meeting Ginger it was apparent she was an easy going Airedale with good manners (she did not jump on anyone). She readily got into our pickup and started her life as our new family member.
Since joining us, we have learned that Ginger was well trained. She sits on command, shakes hands, will speak on command, will lie down on command and walks without jerking on her leash. We have commented many times that we would love to know her story as someone took a lot of time and care in training her. She is a true joy to have around. In general, Ginger is the ideal adoption. The only downside is that she is six plus years old and not one year old. We are going to truly enjoy her for as long as we have her. She does exhibit some signs of being neglected but not abused as she has exhibited occasional rear joint pain if she exercises too much. I guess we all suffer when we don’t work out regularly and then decide to overdo it.
If you have never adopted a rescue dog and wondering if it is for you, consider that you will be obtaining a dog that has already gone through a degree of socialization and is probably totally house broken. I am convinced Airedales are literally self house broken as Windy and both of my daughter’s Airedales were house broken in a couple of weeks compared to other breeds that seem to never be totally house broken. Airedales are active dogs with playful personalities. They thrive on daily exercise and are excellent walking companions. They enjoy a few toys but are not pushy or pests when playing with their toys. As the SOAR’s site says, Airedales need a job. They are exceptionally intelligent canines and will steal your heart in an instant. Ginger sure has done that to us.
I’ve Got Big Mean Cat
