07 | September | 2026 | 12 Hills Dog Rescue

In the last post I shared about one of our senior dogs, and now I feel I need to talk about just how much a rescue dog can offer a family. First of all, many rescues have been through rough times, and they arrive here fearful, sad and I’m sure wondering what the next hour or day will be like for them.

It takes time for them to trust humans again, and so when we adopt a dog to a family we tell them to follow the 3-3-3 rule. It is a general guideline for how long it takes for a newly adopted rescue dog or pet to adjust to a new home. It takes 3 days to decompress, 3 weeks to know the routine and 3 months for a dog to build trust and bond with you. Yes, I said 3 months for a dog to build trust and bond with you. Once they know they can trust humans and are shown love and patience, they usually begin to change, right before your eyes.

It isn’t always that simple. Sometimes it takes longer, and more love and patience is required. What it takes is paying attention to the dog to gain a sense of why they are fearful. Maybe they don’t like people with caps or maybe sunglasses make them aggressive. We don’t know why they are fearful or aggressive or don’t like men or sometimes small children. We can only guess and deal with it. It takes time, love and sometimes changing the way we do things.

I want to tell you that the love they share with you is worth it all. I firmly believe they appreciate that you chose them, a rescue dog, to be part of your family. Yes, I said part of your family.

We have a kennel full of dogs waiting for their family. We try to help families choose the dog that will work for them. Here are some of the dogs waiting for homes. Each has a different personality and some require specific lifestyles, just like people. Take a look, maybe one of these beautiful dogs want to be part of your family. Just give us a call and we will tell you about their personalities, their preferences and sometimes their special needs. When they know they are loved, it’s worth it all!

I have never figured out+my Word Press account and so I am back at writing on our old account. Now I just have to have this one attached to the blog. Oh dear, I wish things were different, but it is what it is.

That’s what I say often, “I wish things were different, but it is what it is.” People find themselves with doggies that they aren’t prepared for or committed to, and then we find that many times they arrive here. Yep, it is what it is.

Well, I would like to find a way to change that. Where we live we find there are dogs running loose and most are not neutered or spayed and that’s why we end up with 30+ puppies every spring/summer. I imagine the next round will be coming before long and as much as we love puppies we need our adult dogs to find homes as well.

Recently, I have been working on a plan to start a voucher spay/neuter program in our community. If only I could get this program off the ground somehow, I know it would make a difference. It has been done before and it works to help keep the puppy population down. Of course, if the voucher program does get off the ground, then we hope that people will use it, and it will make a difference. It all takes time and change, and change is hard. Well, that’s a topic for another time.

This summer we had a pregnant female arrive at the rescue and she delivered 8 puppies a few days later. One died the same night, but she worked hard to feed the rest of her babies. You see, she was 11 years old, and this must have been at least her 10th litter. We named her Sweet Pea, and she is an American Bulldog mix. Because of her age, Sweet Pea or Bonnie (original name )didn’t have good quality milk to feed them, and so we had to supplement them to help out. Regardless she did her best and in the end she mothered all the puppies we had at the rescue when they came out to play, and there were over 30 puppies to keep out of trouble.

You see, Sweet Pea didn’t just raise countless litters of puppies. She also was blinded in one eye sometime when she was younger and has a pellet lodged in her spine, that is still there. She has had a physical, was spayed and doing great. She is a great gal and enjoys her toys and playing with her friends at the rescue. So, she is finally enjoying some puppy time she probably never had.

Sweet Peas (Bonnie) story is just one I could tell you. We have so many stories we could share and since we have been in rescue since 2008, I imagine the stories would be volumes thick.

So, somehow I hope this story is shared and hopefully can be attached to our 12hillsdogrescue.org page.

Thanks for listening,

Nola