From puppy farm to family life

2 mins to read

When Sue Foley got a call from a friend asking if she’d be keen to adopt Daschund Issie, who’d been surrendered to a rescue organisation by a puppy farmer, she and her husband fell in love.

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“We have a daschund named Hermann, who we bought through a reputable breeder nine years ago for my daughter Britt’s 21st birthday present. She had fallen in love with the breed, so we hunted high and low, and happily found one through a great breeder just in time. Up until then, we’d always been firm cat people – I already had two rescue cats.

Because I was home the most [my daughter still lived with us] Hermann attached himself to me, and by the time Britt left home, he was very firmly ‘my’ dog, so he stayed on with us.

One day I received a Facebook message from my friend Bec, who said her friend Amy, a vet nurse who runs Bendigo Second Chance Pet Rescue, had just taken in a rescue Daschund. Amy adored Issie but decided to stick to the plan to find her the perfect home. Due to the trauma of her early life in the puppy farm, Issie was a bit insecure and timid and Amy was concerned she’d be unable to take in other rescue animals if Issie stayed with her. Because she was keen to keep her rescue running she asked me if we’d be interested in taking her in.

I chatted to Amy over the phone, and fell in love with Issie through photos, but said I’d have to ask my husband – whose first question upon seeing her was “when can we get her. Because we already have Hermann, and the cats (by this stage we had three), I told Amy they’d all have to meet and make sure they got along.

Amy brought Issie for a home visit to see how she reacted to Hermann and also what Hermann thought of adopting a sibling. The visit went well, but I was concerned Issie would have trouble leaving Amy – she followed her everywhere. I suggested she come and spend the day with us without Amy, to make sure she was ok. She’s never left us since.

Watching her slowly blossom has been the most magical experience

Amy says Issie was the most shut down dog Amy had ever experienced in her time operating her rescue. Prior to coming into Amy's care, Issie spent years in a cage in a shed in the dark with other dogs in cages. Their job was to have puppies. They saw daylight once a day when they were fed.

When she first arrived at Amy’s rescue, Issie would not come out of her crate at Amy's for three days. Amy sat outside at various times during each day just talking to her. I have a photo of the first time she snuck out and cuddled up into Amy’s lap. It breaks my heart to see how much she just wanted to be loved.

Because of her beginnings, Issie didn’t know how to play. One of the most magical things I’ve ever seen is the day she learned to master a squeaky chew toy. The look on her face as she made it squeak, then watching her do it again and again, is one of the best things I’ve ever witnessed.

She’s also developed so many little personality quirks. Growing up in a cage, told off (and worse) when she barked, she really came to us without a personality. But as she grew used to us and her freedom, she’s come out of her shell, and started to do the things that make doxies unique; for example, the funny little spinning circle dance they do when excited.

She is so funny and makes us smile every day with her cute little ways. As a treat both dogs regularly get a bone each to be consumed on their own mats to avoid fights. Issie has taken to gathering every old bone from the garden she can find, and all the toys, and arranges them in a circle around her mat as if she can’t believe her luck to have such treasures. It’s these little things that show us she’s grown confident enough to become, and behave, like herself with us, so much so we now call her Busy Miss Issie.

The joy of watching Issie, a little dog that had lived a life of misery for years, learn to trust us and to love her life has been one of the most enriching and rewarding experiences I’ve ever had.

Issie enjoying some couch time