Maggie is our 15 year old darling.  Let me tell you, she is one unbelievable Chow.

Believe it or not, this girl was on the very last day in an animal shelter.  Nobody knew it at the time, but she was about to whelp five puppies.  A friend of a friend rescued Maggie on Valentine's day 1990.  She was the be a Valentine's Day present but the intended recipient declined the offer and as a result, Maggie had no place to go.  Long story short, we took in Maggie and her puppies with the intent to foster her until a suitable home could be found.  While the puppies all found great homes, Maggie ended up stealing our hearts so she became the third Chow of the pack

Maggie suffered from a host of ailments when we first adopted her.  She had an ectopic ureter, constantly dripped urine and was severely malnourished while weighing in at a mere 20 pounds.  In addition, she was extremely territorial and resource guarding made life a little bit more than challenging.  Although the ureter was surgically corrected, she continues to experience periodic incontinence and you know, it really is a manageable thing with proper supportive care.  As for her temperament, I can tell you that with lots and lots of positive reinforcement training using a clicker, Maggie's temperament came well under control and today she is an extraordinarily safe and well balanced dog who weighs in at a very muscular 70 pounds!.

 

 

In retrospect, it's difficult to believe that this girl came one day from being destroyed.  One has to wonder what is going on in the world today where so many animals end up at the shelters.  Sometimes it seems like the world's gone mad.  For the last 12 years, Maggie has been our protector, our friend, our reason for feeding raw food and the alpha member of our pack.  She is appropriately protective while having that sense of balance which instinctively tells her that the friends who visit our home are friends indeed.  She is a VERY smart dog, almost too smart, and age has not slowed her down one bit.  She relishes her bones, she's in fantastique health and we honestly don't know where we'd be without her.  All this from a shelter dog.  For those of you who are reading this and considering taking a new pet into your home, I would strongly urge you to visit your local animal shelter.  It doesn't get much better than this!