sasha the ratbone
BUZZ SAW
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
As a new Ratbone volunteer, one of her first assignments was to evaluate a 13 year old dog at a shelter, considered unadoptable by shelter staff. The dog was so mean in the cage that there was a warning on her paperwork. Sue told the RBR fostermom it was the worst dog she’d ever met but the fostermom convinced Sue that if she would pull the dog, it had a place to go. Shelter workers used a catch pole to get the dog out of it's cage and it was quite a fight. The workers wished Sue “good luck” and waived all fees.
In Sue’s own words: “Sasha Ratbone Carello - my 2nd Ratbone baby and the reason why I bought my house, would have been 22 today. She died almost 3 years ago, and was 19 when she passed. I think it's important for people to know that Rat Terriers typically do terrible in a shelter environment, and I wasn't aware of that at the time because I hadn't been involved in rescue at that time.
That dog taught me so much about EVERYTHING. Dog pack behavior, alpha behavior, and educated me on many, way too many, veterinary health issues (which I can also thank my awesome vet, Dr. Bart, too) she had. She was at a local shelter here in Albany. Alta Cooperman, who had done my home visit when I adopted Sandy, called me and asked me to check her out. I went down to the shelter and saw this horrible, mean, nasty old dog who was ready to rip my face off. They called her a buzz saw at the shelter.
I went home and called Alta and told her there was no way she wanted this dog. I told her how horrible she was and Alta said to me "Go get her and bring her to me. She will be fine". So here I am, a totally inexperienced rescuer, thinking to myself, holy crap. I gotta drive all the way to CT with this dog in my car?!?! But I did. I went down there and while the shelter was trying to retrieve her from her cage, she was dangling at the end of a rabies pole fighting for her life. They literally shoved her into the crate and quickly slammed the door shut and said to me "good luck". There was no charge for her at all lol They said they were glad she was out.
I got Sasha in the car, and I looked at her, and my heart bled for her. Here she was, 13 years old, dumped by her one and only family. She was petrified. She wasn't vicious. She was licking my fingers through the crate. I think she was just so relieved to be out of there. I stopped at McDonalds and bought her an Egg McMuffin and from that point forward, I fell in love. By the time I got her down to CT, (about a 2 hour drive), I told Alta to please hold her for me. That I was going to buy a house, so that I could adopt her. I was in an apartment at the time, and I was only allowed 1 dog. That was my first Ratbone baby, Sandy girl.
I bought my house in October of 2002. Sasha came to me that Thanksgiving in 2002. In March 2003 I started fostering. The rest is history.
Happy Birthday my old broad Sasha. I miss you. And I will always love you and be grateful for all the things you taught me!!!!”
Source: The Ratbone Barker Newsletter, February 2011
Sue Carello is an animal lover with a passion for saving and rehabilitating them. She adopted her first Rat Terrier, Bandit, in 1999, from a local shelter. When he died from cancer in 2002 she knew she wanted another Rattie because Bandit was such an awesome dog. Sue also knew she wanted another rescue so she turned to the internet where she found Ratbone Rescues. Finding just the right dog was a long process but she enjoyed “window shopping” on the web site (www.ratbonerescues.com). It was there she found a special needs dog that looked like her Bandit. Sue not only adopted Sandy the Rat Terrier, she also "adopted" a new community who shared her love of animals and passion for saving them.
