Olympic Animal “Sanctuary” Success Story #15 – Buddy

This is Buddy’s history as written Sue, one of the people who familiar with what happened to him before he went to the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary”:

“Buddy was originally rescued Nov. 11th. 2009. Ocotillo Wells Camp Ground. San Diego County.

At the time Buddy was an approximately 1 yr. old Boxer, either lost or abandoned, originally sighted in a campground October 30th. With a huge effort on the behalf of a very special rescuer called Laura, Campers, Search & Rescue, Border Patrol & Volunteers, this very elusive boy Buddy was trapped in a humane trap after almost 2 weeks in the wild.

After checking with local shelters, posting flyers & placing an ad on Craigslist, nobody came forward to claim Buddy & a San Diego Boxer Rescue agreed to take him on.

The people who sent Buddy to the “Sanctuary” paid Steve Markwell approximately $3000 to build Buddy a his own kennel and  dog run. Instead, Buddy was thrown in small kennel that was already at OAS, and by all accounts, Markwell never built him a dog run. And as you can see by his physical condition, he was fed starvation rations. The Washington Secretary of State filed a lawsuit against Markwell last year for, among other things, misused of funds. Photo from OAS, Life inside the Sanctuary.

Sadly just a few months later the rescue was closed down by authorities and Buddy was taken to a local shelter & held as evidence in the case against the Boxer Rescue. Months passed but Laura, the original rescuer never gave up on Buddy, every day after work she visited with him, fed him hot dogs thru the kennel door & talked to him in the hopes he would remember her so she could rescue him yet again when his time was up.

The case was heard & Buddy was no longer needed as evidence but he had become very territorial after spending so long behind bars and the shelter wanted to euthanize him. Laura pleaded his case & a plan was hatched in July 2010 to bring Buddy directly to Orange County, California, where he would be housed with a trainer who would rehabilitate him & had experience with fear aggression.

The trainer Paul & Buddy became firm friends but we needed to find a home for Buddy. The months ticked by and in March 2011 we found a great home for Buddy with a female Boxer who got along famously with him. For the first time in almost 2 years he was in the home he deserved to be, where he was loved & cared for.

Buddy was severely ematiated and had significant muscle atrophy when he was rescued because at OAS he was fed starvation rations and was in his kennel 24/7. Photo from OAS-Life inside the Sanctuary.

Buddy was a loving dog with his direct family but always protected them when it came to those he was unfamiliar with. Unfortunately in the late summer of 2011 Buddy paid the ultimate price for his territorial ways after biting a neighbor on the leg & chasing another one. Local animal control was called & Buddy once again was behind bars, but this time declared vicious and given a death sentence.

Those of us that had originally been involved in Buddy’s rescue from Ocotillo Wells had stayed in touch with his adopters and learned of his fate. They were deeply saddened about the prospect of losing Buddy as they had become extremely attached to him, after all he was by now part of their family. They also recognized they hadn’t been cautious enough about keeping Buddy secure from slipping out of the door and so in turn felt very guilty.

Buddy was adopted by the director of a rescue/rehabilitation center. Photo credit withheld.

We all knew we had to do something to rescue Buddy yet again & between us, as the clock ticked away we embarked on a journey to do just that. There was no way we were going to let him go after putting so much into him over the past couple of years & getting him to a point where he was so loved.  

We had heard about a facility in Washington State called Olympic Animal Sanctuary that rescued the dogs that nobody else would and after the owner Steve Markwell negotiated with the Animal Control where Buddy was being held, they agreed that Buddy could go back to the trainer Paul where he would be securely boarded until we could raise the funds to pay for Markwell to take him and he would build Buddy his very own kennel and dog run, costing us several thousand dollars.

Buddy now gets all the exercise he needs. Photo credit withheld.

Late in November 2011 after the funds were raised and believing Buddy’s living quarters were built, I met up with Steve Markwell in Orange County to hand over Buddy, believing we had saved this dog from a terrible fate, little did we know I was delivering him to the devil.

As the story on Facebook unfolded about OAS in March 2013, once again I felt compelled to step up for Buddy, he needed to be rescued & this would be the fourth time in five years  – the rest as they say is history.”

After Buddy was rescued from the “Sanctuary,” the rescue group Lionel’s Legacy took him and 4 other dogs. They were sent to  a rescue and rehab facility.

Lori, the woman who runs it, fell in love with Buddy and ended up adopting him. Here’s how she described Buddy’s condition when he first arrived:

“When Buddy came to us a year ago, he was emaciated, his muscles were atrophied, and he was extremely distrusting of humans, especially men.  Even though he had suffered so much, we could see in his eyes that he wanted to trust, but his strong, dominant personality was ever present, and he tested every person who came in contact with him.

With daily exercise, strong leadership and patience, Buddy began to see that a new life was beginning for him.  He started putting on weight and his muscle tone came back.  He looked forward to his twice daily walk/run, and just being able to be a dog, running free in one of our yards, learning how to fetch without being overbearing.

Buddy is finally a happy dog. Photo credit withheld.

After a few months, I decided to bring him in to the house to live with me in my room.  I continued to work on his trust issues, refreshing his memory on his previous obedience training, smothering him with affection when he was a good boy, rubbing him all over his body to show him he could trust me, working on his resource guarding of his food and toys.

When I thought of him in that awful situation as he laid fully stretched out on my bed, my heart ached for his past, but swelled with happiness for his future, knowing that he would never suffer again. He still works daily on trusting people, but his eyes have softened and he is a very happy dog!  I love you Buddy Boy…”

Thank you to Sue and Lori for all you have done for Buddy. Unlike many other people, you never gave up on him, and now he will be happy, healthy, and loved for the remainder of his life.

After getting proper food and exercise, Buddy turned into a gorgeous dog. Photo credit withheld.

Buddy finally gets to play with toys. Photo credit withheld.

After what Buddy has endured, he deserved to be spoiled. Photo credit withheld.

And he no longer has to sleep on filthy straw soaked with urine and feces. Photo credit withheld.

Thanks to everyone who helped rescue Buddy. He’s going to have a great life now. Photo credit withheld.