Follow iwantapounddog on Twitter

Despite the furrowed brow, Rowan is a very good natured dog. I think she was giving me her serious pose because she doesn't want people looking at her picture thinking she's a softie - which whe kinda is.

Rowan was left tied to a tree in a park in the east end of Toronto. She had a bad ear infection when she first arrived but it's clearing up now with care and the right meds. I think she's still a bit on the skinny side, though, so a little indulgence in the snacks department wouldn't hurt.




For adoption information on this dog and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.



9 Comments to “Rowan - Rhodesian Ridgeback Masitff mix”

  1. A similar thing happened to Zack (link below) on Saturday. He was left tied to a pole in a dark parking lot close to our condo (Strachan and Wellington area) on Saturday night with nothing more than a coat and a note saying "His name is Zack, he's 5 years old. I can't take him with me please give him a good home". Heartbreaking stuff but that's the case. Some neighbours found him and took him in for the night before he froze to death from snow and rain. Who knows how long he was barking for before he was noticed?

    http://www.petharbor.com/pet.asp?uaid=TRNT4.A580297

  2. Nicola (TAS) says:

    A small, though important detail: Rowan is a girl! :)

  3. Nicola (TAS) says:

    Just looked it up: The name has Celtic origins,is unisex, and means little red (or ruddy) one. So, it's befitting, save the 'little' part. Rowan is not small in any way: big dog; big heart. As it should be...

  4. Biscuit says:

    She's gorgeous. Has she got a ridge?

  5. Fred says:

    No, ridge that I noticed. Maybe if she gets really really angry (joking). BTW, did you know that ridged Rhodesians are less healthy than unridged (http://sloughi.tripod.com/sloughiworld/geneticsridges.html)?

  6. Biscuit says:

    Wow, that's interesting! I didn't know much about dermoid sinus before. Now I'm googling it. What a bizarre condition.

  7. Anna says:

    What happened to this dog, has she been rehomed I don't see her on the website anymore.

  8. Fred says:

    Hi Anna, yes, she was adopted out in March or April. Thanks for inquiring.

Leave a Reply



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------