Cleveland, OHVery happy or proud; jubilant; in high spirits
We are elated to share this news. We are elated the day has come. We are elated for our friend Krinkle who we always believed in and never gave up on.
He has found his person. He has a forever home. Right here in Cleveland close enough that we may get a visit from our good friend from time to time. So many thanks to give for making this moment a reality. Krinkle was in our program just over 7 months. Of those months he spent the sum of two months worth in a foster providers home, three different trial adopt homes and along the way we learned more about him. The biggest thanks to Andrew (and his supportive family whom we also met) who has found his best friend at Secondhand Mutts. A long time dog lover and raised with a challenging dog (or two) we found our conversation with Andrew easy when we met him and shared Krinkle’s back story, the challenges we have faced along the way, the importance of acceptance and our wishes for his future needs setting both he and Krinkle up for success. It’s not every day in animal rescue that you find adopters who will take on a challenge or put an animals needs before their own but Andrew has stepped up to provide the best home we could have asked for. Andrew listened when we said Krinkle is a dog that you will need to accept for who he is and not try to make him into something else.
Respect the dog.™
We must give thanks to Krinkle’s number one dog walker volunteer and long time Dog Handler at The Mutt Hutt: Dave. Krinkle spent 144 nights at our facility and most of those nights he spent without a single complaint, barely a bark and never an accident. Not only did Dave walk Krinkle, not once but twice nearly every day the two were in the facility together, Dave came in to walk him on his only day off. Dave taught Krinkle structure, he showed him love, he taught him how to sit, heel and behave like a gentleman on a leash. Krinkle may have gobbled up a few chicken bones along the way but he always allowed Dave to take them right out his mouth. We are pretty sure he did consume a half eaten sandwich on one of his walks. Krinkle enjoyed that day. Respect the dog.™
We are thankful to Alexa who is one of our long time volunteers, a chair on our Foster Provider Committee, a supporter and a constant and committed foster provider. Her kindness and compassion and for her commitment to being a foster provider for our special dogs in need has helped so many of our dogs (Magic Mike, Big Bud, and Pepper to name a few) when the need was there and we asked. Alexa, who conveniently lives across the street from us, and conveniently does not have any pets but loves having dog company has been Krinkle’s companion since the early days. They too enjoyed walks to the park, romps in the rain and along the way during one of their most recent overnights Alexa unexpectedly shared a bucket of Trader Joe’s cookies with Krinkle. No worries….he left none to share and no belly ache after the incident. Just a sad faced (and semi-panicked) foster mom. Don’t worry because as you know you’ll have one more chance for some time with Mr. Krinkle and this time hide Santa’s cookies while you are watching him over the holidays when his dad is traveling. Thank you, Alexa!Respect the dog.™
Early on we learned so much in a short amount of time starting from a young couple in Madison who were drawn to Krinkle as they were searching for a dog mate for their Doberman mix female dog at home. Sadly, their dog was not taking to the new relationship nor were the cats or the farm chickens but the horses didn’t seem to skip a beat. This is when we learned a life with other animals may not be suitable for Krinkle. Perhaps this was the start of our mission to be patient and find him a person who can accept him as a solo dog and a dog that isn’t much into socializing much with other animals…including dogs. Thank you Nick and Laura for the time you gave our friend.Respect the dog.™
By now Krinkle had been with us three months, waiting patiently while living in a home-like atmosphere at our facility in the company of his favorite human friends, when one of our local rescue partners who work specifically with Krinkle’s breed reached out to us with a potential home match. We are thankful to Doberman Underground for believing in our mission, sharing his story and for giving Krinkle an opportunity. Although this one didn’t work out just as the previous trial home we learned even more about our fair friend. Acceptance. It was in this home, located nearly 4 hours away in Pennsylvania, that Krinkle got comfortable and so did his perspective new owners. After recently losing a once troubled then weak Doberman member of their family Roy and Diane were ready to open their hearts to a Doberman in need. They met, we met and off they went. Just shy of a week living comfortably in their home Krinkle was galloping up their carpeted steps and slipped backwards. Instinctively and without pause Diane reached for his rear end to assist the slip forgetting in that moment of Krinkle’s sensitivity on his back end (not to mention he also had recently had his neuter surgery). Startled and frightened Krinkle jerked back his head and bit her on the leg. The mental trauma from losing one dog who had behavior issues compounded with the incident with Krinkle weighed heavily on Roy and Diane and together we determined a trip back to Ohio was in order. Without a hesitation when their phone rang with our plea for help long time adopters (Jack, Mya and Bob the Bloodhound) our friends who lived just over the Pennsylvania border in East Palestine Ohio dropped what they were doing and drove to pick up Krinkle and deliver him back to Cleveland. Thank you Roy, Diane and Vicky and Doug for believing in Krinkle. We know how important it was to you that we stick with him and find him a home. This incident was serious and as an organization we are committed to making the right and best decisions for our dogs always putting the public first.After lengthy discussions, outside consultations, taking into account all aspects of the bite incident we concluded Krinkle deserved to continue his search for his person.
We knew they were out there.
We knew we could set him up for success.
We knew we could set him up for success.
We would not fail him.
Respect the dog.™
It was months later when we met a young man, a recent transplant from the country to the city, who was searching for a dog to adopt to keep him company and build a life with. Shortly after meeting Krinkle an abscess that had been bugging Krinkle in the past showed back up on his paw located between his toes causing discomfort and pain. Luckily for us the tentative adopter had no other pets and was open to giving Krinkle a quiet place to recover after a medical procedure we opted for to remove one toe to stop the growth from returning. Unfortunately, the accommodations were met with challenges Krinkle was not physically or mentally prepared for: going up/down long flights of steps because for whatever reason Krinkle had a fear of the building elevator despite our attempts at providing him all the positive reinforcement we could to get in and ride it. Thank you Evan for giving Krinkle a chance and for giving him a place to rest for the short time you had him.Respect the dog.™
We are thankful to our friends at Gateway Animal Clinic: Every. Single. Person. We are grateful our long relationship and for the care our dogs receive when they are with the Veterinary staff and their support team. Mega thanks to Krinkle’s favorite vet, Dr. Liz, and his favorite assistant (and a Secondhand Mutts board member) Emily. We know Krinkle’s foot surgery was not exactly fun and his recovery was even less than fun. From our daily visits for bandage changes, to his whimpering and whining and ability to put the brakes on when he was outside and out of time and being lead back inside to his overnight kennel. Thank you for your texts and your messages while he was in your care and we worried about and missed him. Your abilities to read a dogs behavior and make sure you are safe, your dedication, compassion and ability to work through the worst of the days to get to the best days inspire us to continue doing what we do in animal care and rescue.Respect the dog.™
There are just a few more to give thanks to this holiday season. The first to step up and foster our Krinkle is Pete. Taking in an emaciated dog with trust issues and hormones is a challenge in itself. We know our time with Krinkle was short and you certainly felt the connection of his soul. Thank you for believing in us and for believing in Krinkle.We are very thankful to all of our volunteer dog walkers who give their time to our organization especially those who stepped in to walk a dog and ended up with Krinkle on the other end of their leash. We are grateful to our volunteers who spend three to five hours of two Saturday’s a month chaperoning our dogs to Pet People and Chagrin Pet, Garden and Power Equipment. We are thankful to our rescue partners at the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter, especially Amanda who keeps an eye out for us when there is a dog or Doberman in need, for letting us know about Krinkle and believing in us that we would do right by him while he was in our care. Our relationship with Krinkle started with you…so thank you from the bottom of our hearts for seeing the good in a once neglected junk yard dog who needed an opportunity and better life. We hope we made you proud.
Respect the dog.™
We are thankful to the team at The Mutt Hutt for whom without their dedication, belief in our mission and ongoing commitment and dedication our work may be impossible. Special thanks to Bre for crushing her doubts and rising up to challenges she faced ending up in a love for the breed (and one day hopeful adopter of a Secondhand Mutt Doberman). If not impossible it would certainly be more of a challenge. Each day Krinkle greeted those special people he’d come to trust and love. From the arrival administrative team member and Secondhand Mutts sole employee Leah who continually fosters the relationships with our long time homeless guests she got to witness a lot of Krinkle sleeping, she gave away a ton of “on demand” treats upon her arrival each day, caught candid pictures of his yoga poses, took him out to her garden for a day trip and watched at least a dozen times her trash can get raided after leaving her office unoccupied making it available for trash stealing.
We won’t forget all of those who day after day hand delivered each meal up and down the facility steps to Krinkle quarters making sure he consumed his post-foot-surgery medication stuffed into cheese pockets. The time spent providing him with a much needed change of scenery while giving him exposure to dogs and people in lobby. The countless and seemingly never ending post-dinner walks (and poop collection) despite the heat or rain Cleveland weather offered. The back yard alone time with the overnight dog handlers during summer nights so Krinkle could soak in some sun. Krinkle is and will always be a dog that made his mark in this entire teams hearts. And luckily for Krinkle he will get to continue to show us his greatness as he and Andrew started their dog training classes with Anthony at The Mutt Hutt Dog Training Center to start Krinkle’s slow socialization process with the goal of him making a dog friend or two (maybe three or four).
Respect the dog.™
The role of a dog care provider and the dog-loving-Secondhand-Mutt-volunteers who have cared for and provided temporary housing, structure and love for our dogs we thank you. The challenges you face do come with rewards and we hope Krinkle’s story will inspire you to continue to support our cause. Without a doubt the role every single person played no matter how brief or long if you met Krinkle we are pretty sure his soul touched you like he did ours. Caring for a seemingly never ending stream of homeless dogs and believing in the mission serves as the biggest reward of all.
Respect the dog.™
Thank you all for your continued support and believe in our mission. Wishing you, your loved ones, your family and friends and all of those you care about a healthy, inspirational start and finish to the new year to come. May you find elation in the new year!
Founder and Executive Director
To support our cause we graciously accept private and corporate donations to continue our work with the dogs we rescue and place in homes. Without this support, we could not continue to fulfill our mission. To make a monetary donation or purchase merchandise featuring our logo and ‘respect the dog’ slogan click here.
