On May 22, 2003, Airedale rescue volunteers in Arizona received 19 Airedales
from animal control authorities.
In the confusion, it is impossible to know the exact story, but what we have heard is that the owners of the dogs, who were breeding Airedales as well
as several smaller breeds,
were evicted from their property in December. From
December to May,
the dogs were on their own.
It is speculation as to how they survived during those six months. There was a stream that ran through
the property. Perhaps someone with a kind heart tossed food to them, perhaps they were able to feed themselves by hunting;
we have also heard that there were somewhere around 30-35 Airedales on the property at one time. Most of the Airedales were
quite well nourished, although the youngest were emaciated. At some point the animal control
authorities had a vet come onto the property and give them rabies shots, but apparently they could not be impounded because the owners were in the habit of leaving
for periods of time and it was thought they might return. The owners did not return and could not be located. Someone said they had seen them selling the smaller
dog breeds out of the back of their car. Finally, the landlord took matters into his own hands and ordered the fencing
removed from around the property and there were 19 (or more) Airedales loose in the Arizona mountains. At the point when they became a
hazard to traffic by running around on the Beeline Highway, someone alerted a local animal control officer. He paid a neighbor to put out food and
water and was able to round up 19 of the dogs. The local shelter had no room for this number of dogs and
they would have been euthanized after the statutory 72-hour hold period.
The officer called Melissa Moore of Arizona Airedale Rescue & Foster in Phoenix to see if she could help a with a large number of
Airedales in need. Melissa immediately responded, "Of course we will
take them."
The cry for help went out and the world responded. Eight of the Airedales were taken in by a Wheaton
breeder in Prescott, eight were boarded in a kennel in Phoenix and three were placed in foster homes.
The older dogs appeared to have been house pets, or at least have had human contact at one time.
The younger ones were a mess and thought leashes were the devil's tool and were so shy that some of them wouldn't eat. These dogs were going to need owners with big hearts and lots of patience.
They ranged in age from
approximately 6-8 months to eight years. The younger ones had never had a collar on, much less a leash. It was very interesting trying to shave
them .. a work of art, they weren't! Most of them had never been inside a house. Either the youngsters
had never had any kind human contact (if they were only six months old, then they had been raised entirely by the pack) or the months on their own turned them feral.
They would startle at the slightest noise, or if you took a step in their direction, and run.
The older ones remembered what it was like to be part of a family, walked well on leash, understood basic commands and settled in quickly.
Despite their fear (and in the case of the youngsters, terror), none of the dogs ever showed any human or unprovoked dog aggression.
They all appeared to be healthy, with beautiful pearly white teeth. We didn't find any ticks or
fleas on any of them, their eyes were clear and their skin looked pretty good other than a few superficial
wounds on some of them. We did later discover that they all had coccidia from drinking dirty water, but that was easily treated and cured.
When the final count was in, we ended up with five purebred black & tan Airedales and fourteen "designer Airedales." black Airedales.
Most of the blacks look just like Airedales and have the same personality .. just
coal black. The reds look exactly like Airedales ... just red all over. They are all close to
standard size (22 - 24 inches), but some are long-bodied.
To read each individual dog's story, click on the name for more information and photographs
Adeline (now Sedona -- she was young, purebred and immediately placed with a
waiting applicant, so we were not able to obtain photographs)
Maggie
Ginger
Ernestine
(now Gracie)
Starr
Sissy
(now Ruby)
Madeline
Buddy/Sam
(now Buster)
Indy
(now Nigel)
Rosie
Blackie
BJ
Charlie
Grace
Nina
(now Phoenix)
Leslie
(now Lilly)
Chelsea
Shadow and Onyx
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