Quinn captured our hearts when we saw the photo of his sweet, fluffy, bear-like face and read his rescue story on the SOAR website. We agreed that Quinn could be a great addition to our family and wanted to adopt him. Over the past 20 years, we had two other Airedales in our family. Mactavish was our first Airedale and was a highly intelligent guy and a wonderful companion. He watched over our children from infancy into their adolescence. He loved us and was truly beloved by us. Our second Airedale was Angus, a sweet, loving, and dear friend whose gentle spirit is still greatly missed. Angus was a friend to all who met him. A year after Angus’death, we had healed and hoped to share our home with a third Airedale – Quinn.
After contacting Lynn O’Shaughnessy, and completing the preliminary paperwork, we heard from Eva, who was fostering Quinn. She told us about Quinn’s difficult life prior to his rescue, the effort to transport him to her home and then the care given Quinn to set him on the road to good health. Eva is amazing. She meticulously attended to Quinn’s medical needs and also helped him adjust to living in a home and being part of a family. Eva kept us informed about Quinn’s progress as we went through the adoption process. Quinn couldn’t have had a better more caring soul than Eva to help him adjust to his new life as a rescued dog.
On a cold and blustery day in March, my husband and I met Eva in northern Ohio and we got our first peek at Quinn. He was huge! At 80 pounds, and about 3 feet tall, Quinn was the biggest Airedale we’d ever seen. Quinn was also a gentle and affectionate guy who was still in the midst of overcoming his serious health challenges. After some time talking with Eva and hugs all around, we brought Quinn home with us to Cincinnati.
Over the next few months, Quinn underwent treatment for heartworm disease and was treated for an intestinal parasite. Even though the three shots he received to battle the heartworm disease were painful and took a while to recover from, Quinn was always sweet and loving towards us, our other rescue dog, and the vet and his staff. During Quinn’s recovery, we had to keep him calm and limit long exercise, but Quinn always demonstrated his happy and gentle manner. He’d try to frolic and romp in our yard a bit on occasion and we witnessed his naturally graceful and beautiful gait. Quinn had never lived in a two story house and did not understand how to navigate stairs, so we placed his bed in the dining room in a spot where he could watch and be part of all the comings and goings of the family easily. This helped Quinn because he has arthritis in his hips and stair climbing as well as sitting for long periods of time is challenging for him.
Quinn was born to snuggle. He leans against your leg and presses his head in your hand waiting to be loved. Like most dogs, he adores having his ears scratched and being told what a handsome boy he is. When Quinn was declared fit, my husband began to groom Quinn. What was a shaggy bear-like guy is now a very handsome gentleman Airedale. Quinn is also a character. Being so tall, he is able to sniff out any food or treats placed on the kitchen counter and at times is tempted to give them a taste. He has trained us to keep food away from the counter’s edge!
Like most folks, we see our dogs as blessings in our lives. Even after his hard life, Quinn bears no grudges. He is a gentle dog who just wants to love his family and be loved…and he is loved by us and everyone who is lucky enough to meet him. Thanks to Eva, Lynn and all the volunteers at SOAR for saving Quinn and allowing us have him join our family.
Gerry, Matthew, Alex, James, and Grommit