Yesterday, after a lot of discussion with Tony, we took the whole family to a local animal rescue to meet a couple of dogs. We chose the same rescue we adopted Toby from in 2019; Babinski Foundation in Pequot Lakes, Minnesota.
First we met Buster. Buster is estimated to be five years old and is labeled as a shepherd mix. He was abandoned with two other dogs in a house in Texas and then got transferred to the rescue here in central Minnesota. He has the long wavy fur on his chest reminiscent of a springer spaniel. He's roughly the same size, but he's black with tan markings (like a German shepherd or a doberman). He's a little grey in the face, but otherwise appears to be pretty sturdy as far as body weight and health. He's already neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. I had pretty high hopes for this guy. He'd been described as being mellow and laid back. When he came into the play room he was shivering so hard his whole body was shaking. I couldn't tell if he was cold or very scared. He shook like this the entire time he was in the room with us. He walked up and sniffed each member of the family, but was not overly interested in getting attention, preferring to go look around the area, often circling back to the staff member, but always shivering. His body language didn't imply fear, but his coat was warm and dry upon touching him. Perhaps it was intimidating that there were so many people (we are a big family), or that we were all wearing masks. The staff lady said he didn't know this room well as not many people have asked to meet him. He was a sweet dog, but wasn't really interested in snuggles. He did lick my hand upon initial greeting, but that was about it. We passed on him in hopes of making a better connection with another dog. Honestly, we may look at him again if he's still available in the future, to see if the shaking thing was just a weird fluke.
We need a dog that is past the puppy phase, housebroken, handler-oriented, safe around kids, cats, dogs, and chickens (no prey drive), and smart enough to learn quickly. The handler-oriented part is the critical part. The dog needs to be aware of minute details and be paying attention to the handler (myself) to pick up on little cues to step in and do their job when it's needed. If the dog is pulling on the leash and trying to greet everyone we walk past and watching what everyone else is doing, the dog will not be able to pick up on the subtle cues to do their job.
The staff lady was very helpful and said they'd be getting a couple of big dogs in soon. A male Saint Bernard mix ("he's only 109 pounds" she said), and a female Pyrenees mix. The rescue is closed on Mondays, but we do plan to go back again on Tuesday. I've been keeping a close eye on their website and eagerly await information on the two new big dogs when they become available. They just listed a litter of Great Pyrenees mix puppies today (half of whom were adopted by the end of the day today), so I presume the Pyrenees cross that I'm waiting for is their momma and she needs to be spayed before she can go up for adoption. I do love that Babinski takes care of all of the spay and neuters before the dogs even go up for adoption! It's all included in the adoption fee, which is reasonable.
** Please note that both photos in this post are copyright of Babinski and both link back to that particular dog's Petfinder page. If you click it and the link doesn't show you their profile, it means they've been adopted. I have provided a link to Babinski Foundation available animals above and again here. This rescue is a wonderful place that we have personally worked with in the past. This is where we got Toby from as a puppy. Please consider adopting from them or sending a donation their way! They're doing great work!