Imagine you have heard that phrase before. I don’t really want to talk about turkeys, no, I want to talk about SURRENDERING your pet.  Why do people continually feel they need a dog or a cat, and then end up surrendering them to animal control? I have heard all the excuses. I don’t have time for them, they shed too much, they have fleas, they go to the bathroom everywhere, I can’t afford to feed them etc. etc.

We have been on the other end of surrendering.  Too many dogs are coming to our rescue, through surrender.  That causes our numbers to go too high, and we end up keeping dogs at 12 Hills longer than we should.  I used to think it was wrong to charge a fee for someone who needs to surrender their pet.  NOT ANY LONGER!  A fee makes it harder for people to surrender.  If they bring a dog into their home, their family, they need to be responsible and care of it. SURRENDERING is not the answer–IT IS THE EASY WAY OUT!  12 Hills is here to help you keep your pet.  We will do all we can to assist you,  and hipe more families keep their pets forever.

Having a dog or any pet requires committment. When you adopt a dog, you are saying that they are part of your family. You have chosen them

Nyla was all ears when she was a puppy. She is quite the unique doggie. She is a gorgeous white color, with just a hint of cream on her back. She is extra large in size, and each of her eyes are a different color. Not just the eye itself, but the outline of her eye.  Nyla is a very powerful and loving doggie, and needs to be with an owner that can handle her when she goes for her walks.  She would do best in a home with just one dog. Nyla is spayed and is one year old, and ready for an adventure with her new forever family.

It never fails to amaze me how different each dog is. Not just in size, color or breed, but in personality and temperment.  Mike came in–with a chip on his shoulder, but after being here for a month, getting neutered, he is changing right before our eyes.  Don’t get me wrong–Mike can still have an attitude, but now he enjoys everyone and has his own special way of winning us over.

Dogs can be jealous, just like people. They can butt in on conversations, just like children.  They can be there for us when we are sad or sick to lend support and unconditional love. Mike is all of those!!!! If you think you may want a closer look at Mike–contact 12 Hills Dog Rescue on Petfinder.com

Sugar is her real name, but I must say—she was one ugly little gal when she first came to 12 Hills Dog Rescue. Even though she isn’t ugly any longer—I thought I would share her story and picture for this special week–“dogs that are hard to adopt”.
Actually, Sugar is a 5 month old white doggie, that has little ears that fold over. What breed is that you say??? We don’t know. She also has a slim nose and small head. Her body is large and she is a pretty creamy white. Such a sweet girl—and smart to boot. So, think about some of the doggies that are just a little different looking—and take a look at Ug or SUGAR—on petfinder.com.

Sugar is sweet—that’s why! Sugar is a year old black female Great Dane. She has been surrendered to 12 Hills Dog Rescue. Her story is that—she was too big for the little 2 and 5 year old kids to play around. Her name was Sugar, so we kept it.  She is big—but she is gentle, loving and patiently waiting to get out of her kennel and find her new forever family. She will be one year old on October 2nd.

Sugar has gained some weight and looking good. We will have a picture of her soon.  Yeah!!! Sugar was adopted on Sunday the 13th to a nce family. We are so happy for them both.

Heelers and Helpers— After you have 5–7 week old Heeler puppies, you definitely could use the help. The first week we had them, the noise was unbearable. They have gotten used to us now and are so much calmer. Jordan, Ace, Dakota and Trill are so cute and have unigue sets of spots so we can tell them apart.
OH, ABOUT THE HELP–Well, 12 Hills has been fortunate to find a super gal to help us out. She loves dogs, and knows how to take care of them in just the right way. Oh, we are blessed to have her for our rescue. Thanks Brenda!

Fritz and Leroy came to 12 Hills Dog Rescue the same week. They were both brought to us by our local animal control. They could be brothers or maybe father/brother–and both are such nice male dogs.

Fritz is definitely a Chow/Mix and Leroy looks like a Husky/Shepard Mix. They both have been neutered recently and ready to go to their new homes. You have to meet both Fritz and Leroy and see for yourself. Pictured is Fritz getting special attention from our granddaughter.

For those of you who’ve adopted one of our dogs, please feel free to update us on how your new friend is doing! We’d love to see pictures and hear all about their new lives. You can email me a story and/or pictures or leave a comment on your dog’s info page. Don’t forget to tell us the dog’s new name!

What an exciting day for us and for Rambo. A wonderful couple from South Dakota chose Rambo to take home on their farm. Well, actually Rambo chose them. He was so excited to meet them, and you could tell the timing was perfect.
Rambo will be called Buck, after the Nebraska author–Pearl Buck.

Thanks to Buck’s new parents for choosing him and we hope that he will fit in nicely with your other pets.

We had such a special Saturday morning. The H-Troop 4-H Club came to the rescue, not only bring gifts for the dogs, but stayed several hours and volunteered. We had youth walking dogs, washing dogs, brushing and playing with dogs. Parents and leaders were present to help with the busy time and lots of interaction and socialization happened for the dogs and the youth.
The three little puppies seemed to be the biggest hit and look so sweet in their new collars. They were carried and loved and even placed on leashes to walk, or at least the attempt was made. After a fun Hot dog Roast, everyone posed for pictures with their favorite dog.

I can’t wait to peek in and see the difference. Our little ones Pretzel, Pinky, and Peanut and growing and healing and their hair is growing back beautifully. I have pictures of what they looked like when we received them, but not sure anyone would want to see them. So sad, but these little guys are always happy.
Watch and soon, these little ones will be on this blog, as well as our Petfinder account.

My daughter says we buy way too many cameras. Think this new one will have faster shutter speed and that will make it easier to take pictures of the doggies we get in.

Look for new pictures soon.

Running a dog rescue is hard work. We are finding out that there is not enough hours in the day on most days. Between cleaning the kennels and seeing to each dogs individual needs there is all the work that goes with taking pictures, placing them on Petfinder.com and yes, PAPERWORK.

We look forward to the day when people in our area, will be more educated on the care of their pets.
That will be less work for us, and most important–dogs and cats will be healthier and happier with families who know how to properly care for them.

Wow–It seems that Blue Heelers are the breed of choice this Spring. We have 2 beautiful heelers, one red and one blue. Both Spuds and Rambo are males and are beautiful dogs.

Then along came— 2 Blue Heeler puppies. One was adopted already, but Sally is still waiting. Here she is!!

UPDATE! Sally has a new home with a great family. !

I know that when we adopt–we want all homes to be special. But in the case of the smaller dogs, the homes have to be just right.
First, we want families that are home most of the time. We want families that like to have a dog on their laps. Last, we want families who will devote themselves to their new little one. She is a definite lap dog and need lots of attention and love. If you know someone that fits the bill, give us a call.

What a welcome I received on Sunday afternoon when I made it home from a trip. There was so much hopping and yelping, and happiness. Sparky, my rat terrier, had been in mourning while I was gone. He was overjoyed. It is nice to be loved!

Poor Obi,
Never seen such a sad dog. I think it is worse every day. He hates being at 12 Hills. His Mama had to bring him back because he kept jumping the fence.
Obi likes to be the one dog in the family. He would do great on a farm or with a privacy fence.
Most of all the would do best if he had a loving family that would play with him and love him forever.

Update on Obi!!! After thinking it over, we decided Obi needed a new start–so, we changed his name back to what he was called as a puppy–Duke. You know, it seems to have made him a little happier and he seems to have a special look about him these days. His pet name of course is “Dukie”, and he comes to us when we call him that. Maybe this is a good sign.

Posing for the camera

When finding a small dog wandering the streets of our community, the first reaction is. . . where is it’s owner? Here at 12 Hills Dog Rescue, we have found that 90% of the time, that dog wandering has been abandoned.
We always go through the scenario of placing the description for the public to see, but in the end, the abandoned one ends up on our adoption list. Our latest is a little fuzzy small female. She is snow white, and so we call her Snowball. She comes running to her name, so we are thinking that was her name before she was abandoned.
She is a sweet little lady, and will be up for adoption soon, if her owners do not step up and give us a call. Look for her picture in a few days.

Just Had Her Bath

Woofy, the sad Siberian Husky that came to us emaciated with no hair has transformed, right in front of us.

Her hair is gorgeous–thick and shiny and her eyes are crystal blue. Woofy knows just how blessed she is to have been rescued from her almost suicide on the highway.
She gives us thank-you kisses every day. Here is a picture of her now!

Her puppy is Siberian Husky and American Bulldog. She is a pretty girl

She is a beautiful Lady