Rescue Dog

[MeridasMum]

Why, when you have a ‘rescue dog’, do you feel the need to refer to it as your ‘rescue dog’ or your ‘rescue’ for the rest of its life? Surely, after you’ve rescued it, it’s simply your dog?

Am I missing something? Prepared to be told I am - I don’t have a dog

All of the dogs that I have owned have been rescued , one way or another , either from a dogs home or directly from someone that was mistreating them .
The ones from the dogs home were never referred to as rescued , more 'we got him / her from x dogs home '

The one I got from the git that was mistreating him , I did refer to as been rescued , partly because that is what I did , I recued him from yet another beating , and also as way of explaining why the pathetic , cowering skinny thing on a lead was my dog but I was not to blame for the way he looked / acted .

Once he grew bold ( and boy did he ! ) and filled out nobody questioned me or outright accused me of animal cruelty , which happened a lot at first , I stopped calling him my rescued dog

I understand why people would refer to them as rescues in the first few weeks but no longer than that

I don't regularly refer to mine as a rescue but people often ask what breed he is, which usually ends up with me explaining that we have no idea.. he's a mongrel.. we got him from a rescue centre and don't know what his parents were. But other than that I don't ever refer to him as a rescue. I think if people don't get from a rescue and buy from a breeder then they tend to choose what breed to by for particular reasons, this maybe why I explain my dogs background.... I love him to bits but he is a right scruffpot and certainly doesn't look like any particular breed which someone might choose to buy !! I've never seen another dog that looks much like him!

My old girl was a rescue.

It was useful to refer to her as such as she’d been terribly beaten, starved and neglected and even after gaining weight she still looked physically ‘broken’.

She would sometimes flinch from others or react to a certain breed.

But sometimes when people commented on her, the word rescue would stop the worried looks or muttered comments.

She grew to be loving and trusting at home and was my absolute world. And yes she was MY dog.

@SheldonesqueIsAlmostHuman
It sounds like we were both in the same kind of situation , I hated the looks and comments that I got of people that knew absolutely nothing about my new dog or me .

We have a greyhound/saluki Cross but she mostly looks like a greyhound. We often simply get asked if she's a rescue due to her breed which she is.

She also still has a few issues from poor socialisation so we often explain to other owners why we are watching her/close eye on her behaviour especially around other dogs.

I have a rescue dog. I don’t explain this immediately but usually end up doing so for a variety of reasons - it explains why I don’t really know how old he is, or what breed he is. It also explains his odd behavioural quirks - we know something bad happened to him but not what, and that’s why he’s always on a lead.

AlCalavicci

Aye - it sounds similar.

I was always worried that people might think I was responsible for her injuries/appearance. I’m sure some did if I never got the chance to explain.

She forever looked a little broken physically and so she was my ‘rescue dog’ to outsiders for most of her days, but my biggest triumph in life was making her a trusting happy loving soul in the safety of her home.

She had a lot to overcome and her happiness was hard won. And so richly deserved.

We found eachother at the worst of times and ended up having the best of times.

I’m so glad your boy filled out and found his bold.

It is amazing what love and care can do

🐩🐕‍🦺🦮 @SheldonesqueIsAlmostHuman🧡🧡

Right back at ye AlCalavicci
🐾 🐾 🐕 🐩 💜 ❤️

Thanks all, I understand now. It makes sense.

The reason I asked is that I see people on fb, after having their lovely dog for years, refer to it as 'my rescue', not 'my dog'.

I'm only seeing photos of the dogs looking happy with their owners, I'm not seeing frightened or cowed behaviour that you'd maybe witness in person. The description must answer a lot of questions without having to go into detail.