We Are Making a Difference

12/21/2011

CoonhoundCompanions.com
December 21, 2011

2011 is quickly drawing to a close, along with Coonhound Companions first full year as a non-profit promoting the adoption and public awareness of Coonhounds in shelters through out the Untied States and Canada.

I was the last member of our group to join up, living in the largest urban city in Maine, I don’t see many coonhounds being walked on the streets on Portland. That may be changing due to the efforts of a shelter in Dunn County Humane Society in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

Here’s the story:

Coonhound Companion founding member Anna lives in Wisconsin, an active volunteer at her local shelter she emailed shelters state wide offering them posters from our site: http://www.coonhoundcompanions.com/posters--more.html beautiful, downloadable posters singing the praises of coonhounds as family pets.

She received a great email back from one a shelter in Dunn County, Wisconsin sharing their new brochure helping to “drown” the stereotypes of coonhounds in their area, where they have a lot of coonhounds available for adoption.

Way to go Dunn County Humane Society! I love their creative, fun message.

Days later this article in the Kennebec Journal, Augusta Maine caught my eye:

What a surprise when I read that LL Bean was coming from the Dunn County Shelter!

Coonhound Companion’s efforts and creative shelters like Dunn County ARE making a difference for coonhounds. This is a wonderful way to end the year, and I’m looking forward to spotting this handsome Coonhound being walked on the streets of Portland in the near future.

Happy Holidays from Angela and Olivia

5 Comments

Audrey

12/21/2011 07:32:59 am

My bluetick was taken in by a small rescue in rural West Virginia. He was fostered, then transported to the Maryland SPCA (a no kill shelter) in Baltimore where he would have a much better chance for adoption. I had never before heard of the breed, but when we met Greyson we knew right away he was our dog. I suspect that Greyson wound up in a shelter because he was not a good hunter. He is a quiet coonhound; he rarely bays, and when he does it's always outside. He has a gentle nature and is very mellow. He is great with children of all ages, and other dogs. He ADORES cats! He made friends with a neighbor's cats - he will often lead me in the direction of her house so he can visit them. This prompted us to adopt two cats and everyone gets along fabulously. We live in a third floor condo, and we are able to make this work because of his low energy level, because he gets two good walks a day, and because we keep him busy with activities whenever he seems bored. But mostly he is a couch potato. He is a sweet dog, and has many adoring fans in the neighborhood.

I think it's important to determine an individual dog's character and temperament. There are always exceptions to the breed characteristics - as in my bluetick's case. He is able to have a happy life in our condo because of who he is as an individual, and because we determined before adopting what kind of traits we were looking for in a dog (rather than looking for a specific breed.) It's sad that people will overlook certain breeds without bothering to meet those dogs first as individuals.

I often see information on coonhounds that tells you to keep them away from cats, that they cannot live in apartments, and they are loud. I guess my coonhound didn't get the breed memo on those points.

Ang link

12/22/2011 10:54:46 pm

Audry, your story highlights the shelter dog perfectly. Most don't hunt, live with other animals well.

Love that Greyson missed the breed memo!

Emily link

12/28/2011 09:43:55 am

Many coonhounds show no signs of their hunting instincts until put in an actual hunting situation. Mine live part time in a second floor apartment in Brooklyn NY and never bay inside, but they are awesome coon and bear dogs when let off lead in the Catskills. Even the hunters can adapt well to family life if given the right kinds of attention. So glad your Greyson worked out well for you.

Emily link

12/28/2011 09:45:52 am

I will be looking more closely now when the LLBean catalog arrives in my mail!

Jamie link

1/22/2012 05:24:44 am

Just an update:
L.L.Bean arrived safely in Maine and his new family absolutely adores him! I might be a little biased, but I think he would be perfect for a catalog dog! He is so handsome and photogenic =)

Thanks for the comments about the Hound Brochure too! It is certainly not meant to describe all hounds, they are all very different individuals just like people are. I just couldn’t find much educational material about hounds in general, so I decided to make one to help with our adoption counseling process at our humane society. Sometimes people just fall in love with a face and don’t understand the breed they have chosen. Hounds aren’t for everybody, just like Labs aren’t for everybody. We just want to be sure our dogs find their forever home the first time… being returned is just so heartbreaking and traumatic for our furry friends.

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