Our Volunteers and their Boxers

As a child I did not grow up with dogs.  In fact when my husband suggested we get a boxer I thought he was crazy.  I always imagined myself with cats or a little foo-foo dog.  My husband encouraged me to do some research on boxers.  After researching them on the internet and visiting millions of sites I decided we could get one but I only wanted a fawn with natural ears.  I did not like the "stripy" ones.  Brutus came along soon after.    Brutus was a crazy little puppy.  He was what most trainers call a "challenging" dog.  I thought all puppies chewed things, bit, jumped baby gates and jumped fences.  We entered training with Bru to get him under control.  Bru flunked his first obedience class and the other student enjoyed his antics.  We kept at it though- I knew he had potential.   When Bru was 9 months old my husband said we needed another dog to keep him busy.  I reluctantly agreed.  Boxers were beginning to grow on me :-)  This time I wanted a brindle dog and we ended up with Amaya.  She was the opposite of Brutus.  She is a sensitive worrier who would never dream of doing something like jumping the fence :-)  My trainer said it was a good thing we had Bru first and not Amaya.  If we would have had her and then got Brutus we would have been convinced that he was broken!   I have continued to train through the years.  Once Bru and Amaya were reliable on pet commands I decided to get into competition obedience.  In competition there is a set of exercises at each level and assigned scoring.  If you earn 3 valid scores at 3 shows you can earn titles.  So far I have a AKC Companion dog title and UKC Companion dog title on Brutus.  We are working for our next title right now.  I also got involved in agility training and flyball.  We are just starting to compete in agility.  I enjoy working with the dogs and watching them learn new things.  I guess I am a bit of a nerd but I told everyone I knew about the first time Brutus retreived his dumbell for me.  Non-obedience people just do not understand!   I had read about boxer rescue on the internet and wanted to help out.  In 2000 I joined the local boxer club and began do homevisits and fostering for rescue.  I enjoy fostering the most.  It is very rewarding to see the dogs grow, learn to love them and then see how happy they are in their new home.  I have had a number of fosters and each one was special to me.  I keep a scrapbook of all my dogs and enjoy hearing from their new families.   It was been a great learning experience working with rescue and I loved every minute.  There have been times I was shocked, sad and happy.  I have seen bad situations but also seen the good in people.  Working together we make a difference.  LIke the starfish story---there are so many to help you cannot possibly save them all---but I can make a difference one dog at a time and will not quit trying.    Becky

Bru Amaya

 

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