Written by Sam Jacobs – Founder of Friend of the Rottweiler Rescue and Rehome
Professional photography by Kritzography https://www.facebook.com/Kritzography/
You may need a cup of something hot, a few minutes away from your desk (when your boss isn’t looking), or perhaps you can read this when you’re having a smoke break (you should, however, consider giving it up though… smoking, that is, not coffee!).
This happy tale is a little long but worth it. Before I start, I have considered writing this for a week now and wondered if it would be too long-winded…
Why don’t I just get to the point and tell you that Rufus, whose owner passed away and was taken in by his incredible vet, found the forever home which he so needed? Because then you would miss out on the magic of the entire story!
Similar to life, rescue happens by no coincidence.
My husband (no names mentioned *cough*) sometimes limits my hopes and dreams and won’t let me have more than four Rottweilers. He also is way too observant. For example: a few years ago, he asked if I’d brought another rescue dog home.
I denied all the allegations, even feeling wronged… until a few minutes later a large black-and-gold dog went flying past our window. After my attempting to pass this dog off as one of our own, said husband asked: when had our dogs suddenly lost their tails? The rescue dog’s tail had been docked, which blew my cover since ours have long tails.
But let’s start at the beginning.
On our fourth date, I visited my husband-to-be’s home where he asked that I wait on the driveway so he could move his dogs, adding that I must be careful as he had “very big Rottweilers” (insert 250ml of exaggeration here).
I smiled and laughed and, instead, proceeded to his garden where I met the two most incredible dogs who later became mine, loving me more than him. These two beauts sealed the deal; for me they were a sign: if this man had two Rottweilers that loved him so much, he must be a good person.
I asked what had made him get two Rotties and he explained there was only one type of dog for him: a Rottweiler. He went on to explain that he’d lived with the breed since the age of five and I explained that I’d lived with them since birth. It wasn’t a competition… but I was winning.
Making connections
Shortly after we married, his Mom brought out an album with pictures of him swimming with Rottweilers, loving them and hugging them. One of the dogs was with the lady who’d given him his first Rottweiler. “That’s Heidi – you would LOVE her.” “Where is she?” I asked, and within a few minutes I’d found her on Facebook.
And whilst we didn’t meet for many years, it was clear that both Heidi and Jürgen loved Rottweilers… and Rottweilers loved them. I often joked that they needed to adopt, but at the time they had a rescued Rottweiler, Shaka, who’d lived as an in-house blood donor at a vet.
After Shaka, sadly, passed away, some time passed for Heidi and Jürgen without a Rottweiler until I managed to get them to foster one of the most special boys we ever did have – Bear. Regrettably, he passed away whilst in their home, breaking their hearts and ours. When Rufus (now Teddy) came up for adoption, I wasn’t brave enough to contact them, but some wonderful, clever person tagged them in the post. And what a perfect match it was.
Full circle
Within 24 hours, Rufus landed himself in truly the most wonderful home. After losing his beloved owner and then being taken in by his vet, with nowhere else to go, he’d found himself in a home most dogs can only dream of.
In this rescue, I get to be the narrator because I’ve done nothing but tell this wonderful story. I know that this homing is no coincidence. It took 37 years to come full circle: the people who gave my husband his first Rottweiler now rescued one from us. And I smile.
Rufus has been renamed Teddy – in honour of Bear, our rescue whom was much loved, albeit for a short time, by Heidi and Jürgen; Bear, who left a legacy and perhaps started a story that Teddy now gets to finish.
As I lay in bed watching videos of Teddy, showing my husband the wonderful life he is now living – being shampooed, conditioned, massaged, groomed, walked then driven around the block, fed and given treats, making friends, being loved and loving his new family entirely – my husband’s only reply was: “Of course he is,” followed by a rare but perfect grin.
Of course he is.
And, so, Teddy is part of a rather remarkable journey, one that needed a whole lot of history and pieces to fall together, one that is perhaps extra-special and meaningful. A story that started with a small boy who was given a Rottweiler to spend his childhood with, to teach and to learn from, to grow with and essentially start his life long journey with the breed. Mostly it is a story –and one I am so grateful for.
Gratitude
Thank you to the incredible Dr David Erasmus, Rita Gasser and family at Kibler Park Veterinary Clinic, Julie Bezuidenhout from The Dog Club and, of course, Heidi Tietz and Jürgen for providing Teddy with an incredible life.
To my husband and the many other “better” halves who allow their spouses to be late for everything because of a dog in need, allow their cars to be chewed and clothes to get dirty, put up with the tears and ugly crying, and turn a blind eye at a docked dog when they know all of yours have tails – you are an important part of rescue, the support team, often financially and emotionally and an incredibly valuable part of rescue.
Enjoy your new life, Teddy, with Tosca, Heidi and Jürgen – we will be watching. And smiling.
OUR TEDDY BEAR
By Heidi Tietz, Teddy’s new owner
We’ve been “owned” by Rottweilers since 1972 and have had many throughout our lives, both puppies and adults. Since the 1980s we’ve always had rescue Rotties.
The oldest Rottweiler we’ve adopted was eight years old at the time. He used to be a blood donor at a Joburg vet, living in a cage 24-7, and, when we got him, he didn’t even have a name. We named him Shaka and after he passed away in January 2016 of old age, we decided that, since we’re getting older, we wouldn’t adopt another dog – our rescue Boerboel-mix from PETS Witbank would be an only child.
Love at first sight
Then, on the evening of the 9th of February 2018, Samantha of “Friend of the Rottweiler Rescue and Rehome”, whom we’d met through her husband, contacted me: she had a stunning male Rottweiler called Rufus up for adoption in the South of Johannesburg… and could we make a plan to go and see him that weekend?
Hubby immediately said “NOOOOOOO”, but I managed to twist his arm to at least go and look at the dog. We arrived at Kibler Park Veterinary Clinic (where the Rottie was staying), Tosca in tow, at 5PM. And it was love at first sight for both of us.
The meet-n-greet went well, Teddy’s (previously Rufus) belongings were loaded into our car and we drove home with both dogs.
Cat-astrophe?
On the way I thought to myself: I must have gone mad. I couldn’t believe what we’d just done! We have five cats, the oldest one heading for 19 years old, and, other than the dogs we’d raised ourselves, we’d never had a cat-friendly rescue Rottie. Samantha had been assured that Teddy was cat friendly but it turned out that Teddy didn’t even know what a cat was or had interacted with one before he came to us; he was a blank slate.
His new feline family members fascinated him and he observed them with great intensity. When the felines were playing, running or jumping onto the bed or chair, Teddy would fixate on them – not good.
Knowing the danger signs after having lost a cat to a Rottie some years ago, I was not prepared to compromise my cats’ safety, so I phoned Samantha, requesting urgent help. If Teddy was to stay with us, we had to nip this in the bud.
Enter Julie Bezuidenhout – what an awesome individual! She drove all the way to Edenvale in heavy rain to help us that very day, even though it was her birthday, to help us with Teddy and the cats. And, two months on, all the felines are still alive and well. He still doesn’t like them romping around, but it takes only the mentioning of his name to stop the fixation.
Happy family
When we adopted him, he was very overweight – so much so that he was really battling with breathing, walking, etc. After shedding 6kg in two months (he’s now a healthy 50.2kg), he is now a much healthier and happier dog. His previous owner was 83 years old and although she did a wonderful job in raising him, one could see that he wasn’t used to walks.
Today, he gets to accompany friends and their four dogs on pack walks, and has a 1,800sqm property to live on; we work from home, so the animals are very seldom alone in the yard. He is spoiled and adored.
His new friend has also been a blessing for him – before he came to us, he had no role model or guidance from his own kind (other dogs). Our beloved Tosca proved to be the perfect teacher for him.
I have so much gratitude towards both our dogs, as well as to Sam and Friends of the Rottweiler for bringing Teddy into our lives, and to Julie for helping him with his cat issues.
The truth is that not having a Rottie in our lives for two years was hell on earth. Rottweilers are our addiction; that’s all there is to it.
About Friend of the Rottweiler Rescue & Rehome
The organisation is a platform to network and responsibly rehome the many homeless Rottweilers in South Africa, and to advocate for this misunderstood breed. They don’t have a shelter, instead either networking dogs living in shelters and rescue centres, or using foster homes while dogs await adoption.
Find out how you can help, email info@rottierescuesa.co.za and follow them on Facebook: @rottierescuesa (Link: https://www.facebook.com/rottierescuesa/)
