Rhett's Story - The second WeimList cross-country transport and the inspiration for this Railroad

Hello,

This is my rescue Rhett.  He is a huge 120lb Weimaraner male we acquired a year ago Christmas.  As a part-time member of the WeimList e-mail community,  we often hear about Weims in need of homes.  Before joining the list,  I really had never even heard of purebred rescue and was completely confused by all the talk about Weims involved in (search and) rescue.

Since I married a cat person,  my wife (Teen) was in no hurry to add a second dog to our family.  Our first Weimaraner (Emma) came to us as a pup just a year earlier,  while Teen was pregnant with our son.  With Teen's post-childbirth hormones running wild,  I began reading every sad rescue story to her that came across the computer.  She would sob through every one,  then chastise me for even thinking about getting some stray dog to add to her workload.  Then Rhett's story came along.

A "101lb" stray was found in Sacramento,  California and rescue was having tremendous difficulty placing him even in foster care.  Estimated to be about 3 1/2 years old,  they called him Conan because of his huge size and his time was running out.  He kept trying to eat any males in the foster homes,  so Conan had been in a paid kennel for about a month.  They did place him once,  but the family became scared with Conan around their small children.  Rescue could no longer afford to keep him around and his life was going to end soon if someone didn't step in.  Sound like the perfect boy to add to our young family?

As a wilderness guide/outfitter in Alaska,  the size of Conan didn't bother me.  Obviously with a newborn baby,  there were some difficult points for me to sell to Teen.  We decided to give the guy a try and see if we could deal with his dominance and aggression issues.  We had five months to work with him before we left for Alaska and if we failed,  he was still better off temporarily with us than dead.

Friends from the WeimList spent the weekend shuttling Conan up to Portland,  Oregon where we picked him up a week later.  I named Emma,  so Teen picked the name Rhett for our behemoth.  Little did I know he would become "her dog".  At his vet check-up,  he clocked in at a whopping 136 lbs,  even though he didn't look fat.  In his first week with us,  he attacked Emma's sire while out on a walk and bit me in the arm.  He would growl and snap if you came anywhere near his food,  bone,  or touched him the wrong way.  We were off to a great start!

Step by step,  I challenged his authority and established my clear position as his alpha.  We did our dominance dance several times a day,  took his food away,  practiced obedience commands and gave him a lot of love.  Rhett progressed gradually and by the time we left for Alaska in the spring,  he had earned my trust and a place in our family.

Just before we left,  I picked up a stick to toss for him.  Rhett immediately cowered on the ground.  A man with a stick only meant another beating for him.  There was never any play in his past life.  With a rescue,  you usually have some information about the dog,  the owners,  etc.  Rhett was a stray.  No information at all,  not even a name to call him.  You'll get occasional pictures into his past purely by accident.  We figured he was owned by a single man from his reaction anytime we made popcorn,  or had pizza.  Now,  we knew he was beaten in his past.  No wonder he could be such a challenge.

Once in Alaska,  Rhett and Emma had complete freedom to roam and explore.  They rolled in dead stinky stuff along the beach,  chased bears out of the yard,  swam in the icy river and had a great time.  Rhett is now a dog of infinite patience,  love and companionship.  But first,  Rhett needed love and a secure home.  He needed someone to teach him proper household behavior and to establish his place in the pack.

Taking on a rescue is no easy undertaking,  but the rewards are incredible.  Rhett is now the most loving and trustworthy dog I could imagine owning.  There are thousands of Weimaraners in need of homes.  Some are easy and well behaved.  Some are more challenging.  All deserve to be loved.

Sincerely,

Bob Miller