I can't believe it's taken me this long to find out about these. Eldad Hagar, co-founder of Hope For Paws animal rescue, has been retrieving abandoned dogs for years now and he takes videos and posts his retrievals online. For me, these are better than any reality TV show and I've spent the better part of the morning going through his whole library.
Here are my two favorites so far. In the first one, Eldad rescues a very scared Pit Bull who has been living in a ditch.
This second one is not exactly a rescue but shows Eldad interacting with a terrified dog who has just been pulled from a pound an hour before its scheduled euthanasia. This shows how easy it can be to misjudge a dog in a high anxiety environment like a shelter (or, in this case, a vet's office).
You can see the rest of Eldad's videos here on Youtube. I hope you've got nothing to do for the next hour or two.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
· [Print]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search this blog
Toronto area animal shelters
TAS South on facebook
2012 Pound Dog Calendars
Archives
-
▼
2011
(406)
-
▼
December
(36)
- City dog, country dog
- Update on Barley
- Husky puppy mix
- Skipper - Terrier mix
- Hercules - Mastiff
- Three attempts at a Christmas photo
- Merry Christmas everyone!
- O'Malley
- All 600+ seized Paws R Us dogs have been saved
- Rescue videos from Eldad Hagar
- Tucker - Brittany Spaniel mix
- Jazz - Black German Shepherd
- Chad - Chihuahua
- Eclipse - Cane Corso mix
- Unnamed Jack Russell Terrier
- Momo - Poodle
- Anishnabe puppies
- Update on Rusty
- Doll - Lab mix
- Fern - Beagle
- George - Black and Tan Coonhound
- Lewis - German Shepherd mix puppy
- Foster failure
- "Man up"
- Can't get no satisfaction
- Myths, misconceptions and plain old stupid
- Road trip 9
- Road trip 8
- Road trip 7
- Road trip 6
- Road trip 5
- Road trip 4
- Road trip 3
- Road trip 2
- Road trip 1
- Plug
-
▼
December
(36)
That first one should be sent to everyone who supported Ontario's anti-Pit Bull laws. So, where, exactly, is the monster in this video? (Hint: he does not appear on screen)...
I stumbled across Eldad Hagar's videos a while ago. I believe he's also a photographer and while looking at some of his photos on Flickr, I clicked on a link he had to his rescue videos. I never forgot poor, terrified little Edie...I've never seen a dog that stressed. If only she could talk...I can only imagine what she'd been through. I haven't checked him out in a while, though, so thanks for reminding me about him...I going to look at the videos and see if there are recent ones I haven't seen. I think the guy is an angel for doing what he does.
If anyone is interested, there is another guy I think is an angel for dogs...google Randy Grim of Stray Rescue of St. Louis. St. Louis, Missouri has a terrible stray problem...there is a lot of dog fighting, abuse & just plain ignorance about dogs there. Nat Geo did a documentary on Stray Rescue a few years ago & reported there were at least 40,000 dogs living on the streets. Randy Grim has 3 books about his life rescuing dogs...this guy started with nothing, just rescuing a few dogs & now has a huge facility there. If you go to his website click on 'Rescue Stories'...some of them will totally break your heart. I think he also has some videos on You Tube...just type in his name or 'Stray Rescue of St. Louis'.
Thanks, Anon. I'll check that out.
An hour or two, and a box of tissues....
Bless him and others helping animals in need.
Thank you for introducing me to this guy and his site. They're some of the best rescue videos I've seen.
Abbi, my rescued papillon, was so distressed by the sounds of Edie in the video, she was was howling at the noise of Edie's distress. Papillons don't normally howl. So, we all discussed it, and the dogs decided they would donate their christmas present money to Eldad's rescue. So done, it is not a lot but I hope it will help a little bit. Merry Christmas to all.
I found your blog post because I was Googling Eldad! I'm addicted to his rescue videos, I've been sitting here watching them for the past two hours. They're my new favourite "reality show." What an amazing man. His work deserves more attention;