My wife and I are hoping that you may be able to assist us to send a wonderful pet, Ranger to a great home from California to Spain. Ranger was adopted through the County Shelter system in our attempt to foster him as an effort to find him a new home. (the County does not have a foster program). At the time that we made this decision, it was based on Ranger being euthanized in the next days.

We have been looking for a forever home for Ranger for over a year. We now have an opportunity for a wonderful home for him in Spain. Even though this may seem like a far distance ship a pet, in the last year, we have exhausted resources in several states, shelters, and rescues. The cost of the flight for Ranger is high but he is worth it. He is a wonderful dog and deserves to have a home that fits who he is in every way. Below is the background to Ranger’s story to date with a treasured story to come as he finds a perfect home and a family that he will treasure. The link below includes several videos and pictures of Ranger as well as Jet and Honey.

We would appreciate any assistance that you could provide for us to send Ranger to that great home with space, exercise and lots of love that he will return so many fold. Thank you in advance for your help.

Omar & Savanah

BACKGROUND STORY

Ranger was adopted from the Riverside County Animal Shelter. This County Government Shelter is a facility to address the animal control issues in Southern California. On average, the County has over 500 dogs and cats housed looking for adoption. Even though California has passed a no-kill law over 25 years ago, the practice by government run shelters is that dogs are euthanized for several reasons including overcrowding of facilities.

Ranger along with two other dogs, Jet and Honey, were adopted by my wife and I from the County “Red List”. This list is a designation for dogs that have are at risk for immediate euthanasia. Once a dog is on this list, their stay is typically days to weeks. Unlike a Rescue Organization, which focuses on the well being of the animals in their care and takes the time necessary for placement of the dogs in the best suited homes for the both the families and the dogs, the county is focused towards processing as many animals in and out of the facility. With that, we made a decision to take three dogs on the Red List with a decision of less than 10 minutes with each dog in a crowed facility.

Although we have had several dogs with our family and with the knowledge we had in having dogs as companions, we made this decision with full knowledge that the environment from which we adopted them was poor at the shelter (stressed condition) and with very limited background on their history. At the time of the adoption, Ranger was around a year old. He is currently a bit over two years old. Jet was around 8 months old and Honey was around 8 years old. All three are seen in the pictures.

All three settled very well at our home with a small back yard. It was quickly obvious that Ranger and Jet were high energy dogs and Honey was more of a home body with low energy, however, did get along with the boys. My wife and I were expecting our first child at the time of the adoption and have subsequently become advocates to work with the county government to end the practice of euthanasia. We organize events and do videography to assist in the adoption of as many dogs as possible.

Within three months of the adoption, we began to see more of the three dogs personality traits. Ranger and Jet liked to play extensively in the back yard and remained very high energy and we were eager to see them grow, improve their training, and have them settle into our new coming family. Honey, although connected to the boys was more on her own as we realized that she was in need of less energy and a quieter location. With the very different energy levels, we decided that Honey would need a more suitable home to her temperament as the boys energy ramped up. The County does not have foster care program, so we took on the adoption of the dogs as a way to give them the chance that they deserved for a good life with us or a family for them. Within xix months, Honey found an amazing home with another female dog and retired owner. She had the love and peaceful environment she deserved. She remains a very sweet old girl with a wonderful soul.

At this point, we invested in Ranger and Jet with their training professionally. This was about developing a great family pack with our son to be joining us within a couple of months and us being ready to be home with all of us. Ranger was the proficient student and an exceptionally intelligent learner. It was following his training that we noticed that he was a bit jumpy being easily startled. This included times when we accidently walked near him without him noticing to the sounds of fireworks or the bug zapper.

He became very attached to my wife and connected with her specifically. When our son was born we expected that bond to carry over to our son. Jet, our goofy dog, that would chew everything was our concern at the time as we needed to focus on our son coming home. Within the first two months of our son’s birth, we noticed Ranger’s anxiety increase significantly with the noises of our son particularly crying. Over a period of time of trying to address anxiety with additional attention, walks, and natural anxiety relief supplements, we realized that his anxiety was not diminishing, and we knew it was only a matter of time when our son would be moving more contributing to Ranger’s anxiety. Jef, our troublemaker dog, became immensely calm and attentive to our son. We had not expected this change in behavior; however, we knew that we needed to start actively looking for a suitable home for Ranger as we could no longer meet his needs.

Ranger is a fantastic companion connected to his person. He absolutely loves all the affection that you can give him. In many ways, he is a cuddle bug which is difficult as he is 83 lbs. He is a great companion for an active person that enjoys running or hiking. He is best suited to have space to run in a big yard and loves his daily walks. He connects well with other dogs but would suggest that introductions are made more carefully with males than female dogs. He appreciates dog time but his favorite part is being with his person. With a family, he is likely to bond with one member and will stay connected to them all day if possible. He needs his energy to be put to use to be in his best state. Regular exercise is the key to helping him release his nervous energy and he would be great given more training and a “job”. In the right home, he will absolutely flourish.

RANGER TRAITS

• Loyally connected to his person. He has a sweet but serious soul.

• Walks perfectly on a leash and has very good recall to be off leash.

• Enjoys long walks and is a perfect running companion for an active lifestyle.

• Play energetically with other dogs.

• Loves being around adults of all ages and young adults (the age of the young adults is dependent on how gentle they are with him)

• Enjoys exploring nature and trails.

• Comfortable in car rides

• Enjoys dog parks and is very social with other dogs

• Rarely barks.

• Loves treats and is very food motivated (He eats around 4 cups of dry kibble daily)

• Very good with basic and intermediate commands – sit, stay, place, heel, leave it, lay down

• Fully house trained

• Details – Weight 83 lbs., height to shoulder approximately 24 inches, lean and muscular build, short coat (black and tan), one ear floppy.

RANGER CHALLENGES

• Nervous around sudden noises such as storms, fireworks. Startles easily.

• Not comfortable around infants and young children under 4 years old.

• Has a high prey drive and will hunt small animals such as squirrels.

• Not good around cats as they seem to be in the prey category

• Enjoys eating irrigation and a little bit of digging in the yard.

• Afraid of water.

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