Early this Summer we made the heartbreaking decision to part with our 4-year-old GSP. Bred as a field dog, he had been living with a pack of other hunting dogs when we adopted him as a one-year-old. He had never lived in a house and had received very little training. While we have always had dogs, we had never owned a highly bred field dog like this and did not know what we were getting into. We are outdoor people and love to hike but we are not hunters. Dutch adapted readily to our home and large fenced yard. We spent a lot of time training him but it was clear from the start that he needed far more freedom than we were able to provide living as we do in the city of Portland. He also needed a ‘job’, namely to hunt as he was bred to do.
We had become very bonded to Dutch and he to us. We could not conceive of letting him go unless we knew that he would be in the right environment where he could live his best life. A friend told me about Pat and Gundogz Rescue. After talking with Pat at length I knew that this was the way to start the process of finding the right placement for Dutch. Pat took him into his home, loved him and trained him, and then found a home for him where he could be part of a family and a hunting partner for them. Throughout the 4 months that he was with Pat we received constant photos and descriptions of Dutch’s training and well-being. It was so reassuring to know how happy and active he was.
We miss Dutch very much but we know that this was the right thing to do. We will be forever grateful to Pat and his wonderful organization for all they have done for Dutch and for us.
