Jed

THE RETURN OF THE JED(i)! It's hard to know everything this scrawny, flea-infested boy with no name had been through by the time he made it to GGBR's safe harbor. Sandee, Bear and daughter Eden Fergusen took him in and Eden named him Jedidiah, which means "beloved of God". He sure was, because without GGBR and Sandee, Bear and Eden, this 'lil guy--now JED for short, a warrior and a survivor of being kicked to the curb, would surely be dead. JED was rescued by GGBR out of the Bakersfield Shelter. When the Fergusen's gathered him in, he was a mess physically, but as is the case with so many abandoned, even abused, basset hounds, his wonderful temperament was intact. Poor 'lil Jed had a horrible tooth infection that went up into his sinuses--it was that bad. Gloria Carlson, our GGBR president and resident Vet Tech Mama, got Jed the medical care he needed, including extensive and expensive dental work. Sandi, Bear and Eden gave him oodles of love and lots of chow--this guy's ribs were sticking out! In fact, he was so malnourished it looked like his head was too big for his body (it's not). Gloria told me that when she got Jed into the Vet, he started immediately giving the Dr. kisses. She decided that Jed had come to replace my hound Percy, who came from GGBR. I only had Percy for a little less than 2 months when he crossed the Rainbow Bridge quite suddenly and unexpectedly. He was young, strong--and he probably died of bloat, something I knew nothing about. (If you are considering adopting, learn about bloat to protect your dog.) Percy was my first basset and he was an astounding gift, showing me that joy was possible again (I had lost my life partner to cancer in January). Losing Percy was almost more than I could bear, but all of my new GGBR family assured me over and over, "Percy will send his replacement." And he did! JED is a lover and, like most bassets, alternates between wanting to play in bursts and lounging. He is something of a Lounge Lizard, actually, but he loves lounging with ME. And that's wonderful. In fact, he is curled up by my side as I write his story. Instead of wandering the streets trying to survive, Jed now shares my home with an elderly beagle rescue named Claire the Tentative (very shy) and now Daisy, another rescued basset out of the Sacramento SPCA. She is up for adoption--but not Jed! Nope, he's mine. A word about Daisy: she is very sweet and the quietest hound I've ever met--because she was debarked! She is about 8 years old, slow and easy going. She likes to cuddle, too, but Jed is very territorial. I have to put Daisy on one side and Jed on the other and I have a Big Basset LOOOOOOOVE Sandwich! Daisy's a great gal, fit right into our home with minimal adjustment time. Jed has a wonderful, easy-going sweet personality and he loves being with people. I think that's the thing that has amazed me the most about getting to know this breed--they really love their people. He doesn't like it much when I'm gone. I recently returned from a business trip and he read me out (barked) for a few minutes to tell me a) he didn't like me being gone and b) he was really, really glad I was back. I got lots of licks after he SHUT UP. Jed has already earned a nickname: SNATCH. If I am walking from the kitchen to the living room with something tasty in my hand, I'd better have it up in front of my face and protected, because this sly hound with simply snatch it (fast and slick, not a shadow of a bite!) and look at me (post-gulp) as if to say "That was MINE. What are YOU looking at?" Jed's new, full name is Jedediah S. Basset. Or Big Boy. He is at good weight now, not too much, but no ribs showing, that's for sure. (Jed's general attitude is "my food is my food; your food is my food; all food is my food because, well, I LOVE FOOD.) So from a homeless, nameless boy, GGBR said "Yes, we can help". Then a big-hearted family took him in and knew he was beloved of God; and named him Jed because they saw the light of the divine in his starving face. Their love, GGBR's expert care, and timing all combined to bring him to a good home. I give thanks not only to Sandee, Bear, and Eden for fostering; to Gloria and GGBR for medical care; I give thanks to whoever is running the universe. It's not often you get one incredible dog (Percy); to get two seems like being piggy, but who cares?! When it comes to rescuing our beloved bassets, we can't get enough. All we can do is pray and act for the day when no dog (esp. bassets) will be kicked to the curb, abandoned, starved and neglected. Jed is happy; I am ecstatic to have such a great companion (and THIEF). Thank you, GGBR! This is what selfless sacrifice and teamwork can accomplish. Another happy hound in another grateful home. Lea Pierce JED's grateful guardian for life

Brody

Brody, came home with us in mid August to Little River Ca. Him and Bailey got along right away and started to take over the Airport were they both go to work each day. At first things seemed to go well, but then he started to act up ( believe that he had a very bad time somewhere in his life) I was not able to get him to not try to snap at me or other people that would come to the Airport. But with some teaching on his part and watching what set him off sometimes and not other, we all learned a lot. He is such a great looking dog and has a good personally so everyone want to see and play with him. So I felt that he would find his place at his new home, some day not as fast as I would have liked, but in his time he is teaching us what he needs to make him feel safe in his new home. Where he will be loved and part of his new home. Today he has found his forever home and just makes everyone happy. Dave

Miss Gracie

Gracie is another foster failure. She is just the sweetest. Once again my daughters and I drove to Salinas …. This time to pull 2 female bassets who had been dumped by the side of the road near a farm labor camp. Gracie was a little thin and obviously overbred but not in too bad shape otherwise. The shelter was full and these girls reached their out date and I pulled them both. The other basset (Ruby) was picked up by Susan R at my home. Gracie met Snoopy and LuLu (my resident bassets) and made herself at home. Gracie is gorgeous and there was an immediate (like within a week) inquiry for her. She wasn’t even spayed yet (it was scheduled). I spoke to the folks and I told Donna that I just didn’t feel it was a good fit. After discussing it with my family we realized that there was no home anywhere which would be as good a fit for Gracie as our home, and so she stayed. Part of it probably has to do with our loss of Cyrus (a lab who was nearly 9 who succumbed to a bought of the flu) on 8/1. Snoopy and LuLu took to Gracie like a duck to water and as did we all and couldn’t deal with another loss so soon. Gracie and LuLu love to wrestle and play …. They are each others favorite chew toy. Gracie has a bit more puppy in her than LuLu did, she steals stuff and she makes mischief and she chews on remotes and she counter cruises. She’s adorable and she knows it …. So she gets away with a lot. We brought her home on 8/12 and she’s really been very easy. I claim she’s a dickens but she’ll go 4-5 days between accidents …. Which is wonderful for a dog who has clearly never been a pet before … and getting better all the time. She steals stuff but only really chews up paper. She’s learning to snuggle, at first she would only cuddle other dogs but these days she will curl up and let me hug her for minutes. LuLu is my kissy girl but Gracie is picking it up. In the photo, Gracie and LuLu (can you believe how much alike they look, probably the same #*I@ puppy mill).and Snoopy are on the 3 dog couch, which is where they hang out when I work from home. It amazed me how these hounds love each other like they’ve always been together. Snoopy is another rescue …. Do you almost 2 years ago about a hound who came into the South County Santa Clara shelter bonded to a rather aggressive Austrailian shepard …. The shelter said austrialian shepard rescue took the other dog and left Snoopy …. And I came and bailed Snoopy out before GGBR could grab him … he has his own story, that’s for another day.

LuLu (4/12)

Let me start off telling the story of our first failure, LuLu. My two daughters and I drove to Salinas to pull a basset who was being held there in protective custody for animal cruelty. She was in very rough shape. They had just completed a pyometra spay and pulled an upper canine which was broken and appeared to have been hit or kicked. They gave us the tooth in a plastic bag in case we could ever find whoever left her by the side of the road in that condition, but we never did. Poor LuLu came out wearing a cone of shame and she was so weak she couldn’t lift her head with the cone on. I removed it right there in the lobby of the shelter over everyone’s objections and put my arms around her and promised her that nobody would ever be mean to her again. She was so scared, she wouldn’t even accept the pastrami I had brought with me to introduce myself. We loaded her into the back seat of the car next to my 12 year old daughter Natalie and drove the hour home to Campbell and introduced her to my two resident dogs (Cyrus the lab and Snoopy the basset). She was so skinny you could see every verebrae in her spine and every rib. She weighed 42 lbs (she weights 56 lbs now and is still a bit thin). She had had many, many litters and her nipples literally dragged on the ground. She had scars on her face and ears and was filthy and stinky and terrified. Her toe nails were over 4 inches long and she couldn’t walk because of them. After they were trimmed her feet took months to start to look normal, at first the vet said they may always be deformed because the ligaments had been stretched so much. At that time there was nothing pretty about LuLu but her soul. She was supposed to be a foster but this gem of a lady basset was going NOWHERE. Sweet and gentle and caring through it all she never ever has done a mean thing to anyone, man or beast. She let me clean out her ears. She let the vet examine her and trim her toe nails. After the vet said we could she let me bathe her. She let me pick her up and she let me hug her and she did everything we asked of her. She was on canned food for a while but over time she switched to kibble and she ate what we asked her to eat. She slept where we asked her to sleep (which was on a dog bed on the floor at first). Over a few months LuLu slowly put on the weight she needed. Her coat became soft and started to shine She fell in love with our family. Strangers stopped being horrified by her appearance and instead started saying how cute she was. My husband was going through chemo at the time and she would lay there in bed with him while he was going through the worst of it. Sometimes I would go in there and he would just be holding her in a death grip ….. he might not even be awake, LuLu was though and she’d just lay there and comfort him, for hours if he needed her to. LuLu loves my daughters and my dogs and me. She is the sweetest, kindest, gentlest soul I have ever met. When we lost our lab Cyrus on 8/1 (he went in his sleep) she assumed the alpha role in our pack gracefully. She’s our pride and joy. In her success story photo, she is relaxing in my reading chair in all her glory. Dale & family

Capone

"Capone was adopted early May into our little family in Carmichael, CA...and we just adore him, as well as all our extended family. We are so happy Capone is on our lives and couldn't imagine life without him. He enjoys walks with his mom and dad, hogging all the furniture, being the ham of the party, and his new feline sister Bella of course. Capone is our little gangster and we hope someday to adopt another basset to join our family. I thank all the GGBR volunteers for helping us learn more about bassets and walking us through our first couple of weeks with Capone. Thank you all! ~Krista, Eric, Capone, & Bella"