“We named the dog Indiana“… anyone with familiarity with the Indiana Jones series would understand this reference.

Roughly a year ago my missus (Sara) and I decided it was time to add to our family.  Our fur baby as she calls it was going to be a new dog and we had a decision to make… new puppy or rescue dog??  The decision was a tough one with pros and cons on both sides of the argument… although there was no argument between us.

A new puppy would provide us with a platform to mould the dog into our own little minion; to do deeds and cause havoc upon the world. While in puppy mode this dog would require a lot of training and attention to make sure he/she would grow to be the best possible dog.  The rewards would obviously be great.  A companion for life… or at least for their life.

The other avenue we wanted to consider was rescuing a dog… preferably one that was still young enough for us to have some quality years with.  The pros were the fact we were helping out a dog that for whatever reason had no home to call their own.  Given the chance and correct training I believe any dog, no matter their circumstance can live out their life in a good loving home.  Doing a little research, it’s not hard to find some facts about the number of rescue dogs up for adoption in the Australian system.

Just alone at the RSPCA in the year 2014-2015, of the 133,495 animals they cared for 34.9% are dogs.  That comes to 46,595… and of all those dogs/puppies 6,765 will be humanely euthanased.  Facts and Figures at RSPCA dog stats

Having all the facts and figures Sara and I decided to rescue our little furry friend.  The process wasn’t hard and just like scrolling through carsales.com we scrolled to find a black and white Staffy x Boxer from Forever Friends

An informal meeting with her handlers at a park we got to meet our little nugget that sounded like miss piggy when sniffing the grass and a horse when talking to inform us that there are other dogs around her haha.  For those who don’t have a Staffy they are politely called the talking dog… with her unique sound that sounds more like Chewbacca then anything else.

After being accepted by the handlers and by paying a $450 fee to rescue the dog, we had our 1 month trial to see if she was suited to our lives…

Don’t let the droll look on her face fool you, she is a loved and happy dog albeit without her quirks… like most rescue dogs there can be an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.  Indy has separation anxiety and gets over excited when meeting other dogs/animals.  With that in mind we had no hesitation in keeping her… another alarming fact/stat we found was that almost 70% of dogs are euthanased because of behavioural issues which include severe anxiety and aggression.

Courtesy of RSPCA

   Of dogs euthanased, the majority of cases are because of severe behavioural issues (67.81%). This includes aggression and severe anxiety that the RSPCA is not able to or has not been able to treat through behavioural modification programs. Such issues can compromise the dog’s welfare and quality of life and can be a safety risk to adults and children and other animals.

With the right training and being persistent we knew she will live a long happy life…

Once adopted there was one thing to figure out… how old she was??  yep that’s right, we were puzzled with some of the documents, vaccination and vet papers we were given.  Some said her birth date was from 2009 and the other (which we had thought) was from 2013… so was she 2 or 6 years old??  A very big difference in doggie years… she acted at times like a puppy but had the zen like attributes of an adult…

Born in 2009 is what we found out… we still don’t how the mistake happened and were told that some vets without having any papers will figure out an age by the look and demeanour of the dog… so the way we look at it, is that she’s young at heart with plenty of years left.

Sara and I are not fazed and are happy with the fact that we have saved a dog from potential euthanasia…

Stay tuned for Indiana’s adventures!!