Rescue a Boerboel
UPDATE NOTE:
I have had multiple warnings about adopting via PetFinder (see the comments section here) and I have not had time to fully investigate, but sadly this has somewhat muddied the waters of rescue with respect to PetFinder. I would use extreme care to get references for the rescue if you do use one, as some rescues seem to have a surprisingly bad reputation.
There are currently (as of this moment) some nine Boerboels listed in the US for adoption on PetFinder – if you or anyone you know is interested in the breed, this can be a great place to start. Save off that link right there and check it on occasion to see the current list of Boerboels available.
Here are a couple examples from today:
Amani
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=15168370
Amani is a Purebred South African Boerboel. He is 4 yrs old and neutered. He is also current on vaccines and microchipped. He is good with older children but not with other pets ( cats or dogs). A large fenced in yard is a must for our big boy. Amani is housebroken and knows all his basic commands
Nala
http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=11889980
Nala is a huge, young female brindle South African Boerboel Mastiff. Nala lived with two toddlers and was sweet and gentle to them. She loves kids! She is a big active dog and loves to be loved and loves to go places with her family! Her original owner called her “Baby Girl,” and she loves to be just that.
I love your link of the Boerboels needing to be rescued with their picture and information on PetFinder.com – seems like the best way to facilitate a rescue. Do other animal rescues do something similar? If not, why not? Was it easier because there are “only” 9 Boerbels needing rescue in the US?
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Thanks for the feedback.
Ya, it is somewhat “lucky” that there are “only nine” (I could generate a similar link with other breeds and you’d sadly be faced with pages of dogs) as otherwise it would be an unwieldy list.
Because the breed is rare-ish, hopefully it will be a bit easier for the original breeders to be identified and to get them involved where possible (some of the dogs are imported from South Africa, etc. so that would not be as feasible) but one thing I’ve learned is that a lot of dogs don’t make it to these pages because the rescues find them too risky.
It’s totally understandable: Rescues are most interested in saving as many as possible, and there are more dogs then homes, thus some have to be weeded out as the less likely to be adoptable. The nine here all seem relatively stable, however, and probably well screened.
And finally, to be clear, if I’m not doing anything that is typical of a rescue, that’s because fundamentally I’m not a rescue. I’m just a guy who loves these dogs and happened to have a website thus thought I could help a bit with all the “hidden dogs” out there slipping under the radar. A “real” rescue would get into the vetting of homes, etc. but I don’t have that sort of time or skill set. I’m hoping to connect a few people up to prevent un-needed deaths more than anything else.
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I have so much to learn about the rescue side of our GoPetFriendly business. I see some volunteer time in our future.
We may also soon be getting an RV, and we will help transporting rescued pets to their adoptive homes a la Operation Roger (http://www.gopetfriendlyblog.com/2009/10/operation-roger-pet-rescu-18-wheels/).
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Ron – is there any easy way to do this? We’re building the new website for MN Bully Lovers, and it would be great to link to listings the way you have this set up.
Thanks,
Jen
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Just a heads up about most of the Boerboels on petfinder. It looks like most of them at the moment, including the puppies come from Gentle Giants Rescue in California. It appears that this “rescue” agency is not what they seem. It is alleged that they breed the giant breed rescue dogs they get their hands on on don’t health test and pass them off as rescues. I also thought it was odd that they had 4 Boerboel puppies. Here is an interesting link about them or you can google “problems with Gentle Giants Rescue” and a whole slew of things come up. http://www.gentlegiantnews.com/index.php
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Well… Wow.
OK, I was rather AMAZED at the volume of dogs they had, and just assumed there were a lot of dogs needing homes in CA, and they were a bustling, successful rescue. I’ll did a bit deeper myself when I get time, but MASSIVE thanks for the heads up on that. I actually told someone about it’s existence when they said they had a dog they were looking to place (luckily — at least until I vet the info further — I don’t think the dog ended up there.)
Wow. I hate stuff like this, as it reduces trust massively.
Ron
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is anyone interested in a fawn female boerboel shes 2 years very loving. she needs a loving home asap please send me a note if your interested
please help!!
thanks, jae
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Jae: If you can contact me with info directly (pics, approx. location, etc.) that would be helpful and I’ll put up a post and get the word out for you.
Thanks!
Ron
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Hi. I would be interested in rescuing a BoerBoel. However, I live in an apartment with balcony. It is in a quit woody suburb near a huge forest preserve. I work from home so I would have plenty of time for a dog. I just want to make sure I am fair to the dog by having an apartment. I have had large breeds before as well (Bull Mastiff, Neopolitan Mastiff).
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