River

River was found as a stray in Taiwan. She is still a puppy, about 4 months old now. She has had her rabies shot and will be spayed and completely vaccinated before she is adopted out. River's size: she'll supposedly grow up to be a medium sized dog. Her foster family has been feeding her lots and they say she's really roly-poly now. (but she is still so small, I sometimes call her "Rivulet!")

She is a pretty distinctive-looking little pup! Her body is all white, and she's got a brown patch over one eye with a patch to match on the opposite ear. She makes me think of a chess board! Her tail was lopped off and then she was abandoned, but neither of those facts stop her from waggling it constantly! Sometimes she wags her whole body, just to make the point.

River is sweet and very smart. She's very playful when she's comfortable in her surroundings, and she can be a little nutcase when she's feeling happy! She is a bit on the quiet side in new situations. She's young so she's in a very chewy stage! Itchy gums! Her foster family reports that nothing is safe! They give her lots of toys... but she still chews on their shoes and plant pots too! They also report that she understands everything and is very very loving. I can personally report that she really likes to cuddle! She is just a little bundle of love! Something about her makes everyone who meets her want to scoop her up in their arms. At dragon boat practice, one of the rowers she met was even moved to bend down and kiss her on her little nose!... She melts everyone's hearts.

She hasn't met any cats or kids yet, but since she's so young and friendly and easy-going, I think that introducing her to both of these will prove to be no problem. Before she's adopted I'll be trying to give her some chances to meet both (kids and cats) and see how she does!

Please send an email to Abbie above for an adoption application if you are interested in adopting River. RIVER IS CURRENTLY BEING FOSTERED IN ROSEVILLE. There is $250 adoption fee to help cover a portion of River 's medical and transport expenses. A homecheck will be required as we do want to make sure each dog goes to an environment suitd to him/her.

For many reasons, River needs to find her forever home fast! She deserves to be loved and cherished and bonded to the people who have truly decided that she's the dog for them. All her funny puppy antics should be enjoyed and appreciated by her true family! She is just waiting for her special someone, the someone who is willing to accept all the love that little River has to offer.

Scroll down to read River's History.

River's History
She was dumped outside an apartment building one dark night. Her rescuer lived in one of the apartments and literally had no place to keep a puppy, but was unable to stand by and do nothing while yet another puppy met the same sad fate as most of the stray dogs here.

Since there was nowhere to keep River, her rescuer was forced to take the little pup along with her everywhere she went for the first few days, and little River got an introduction to dragon boat racing! Her rescuer was on the dragon boat team, and when practice time came at 6am and everyone boarded the boat, River couldn't be left alone back on the river bank. The coach kindly agreed to let River come on board in a bucket, and River became a true river dog! She did great on the boat! She was quite curious at first (and it must be admitted that a few times she did wiggle out of the bucket and try to sneak her way to her rescuer who was rowing in the middle of the boat). But the coach was "stern": dogs belong in the back of the boat!, and she was thwarted each time. The rowers would pass her aft again after each attempt, and deposit her once more in her spot. Eventually the rhythm of the rowing rocked River right off to sleep, snug as a bug in a bucket. She came along for a couple of practices and eventually became the team mascot!

According to the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Taiwan is among the worst places in the world for animals. There are at least 2 million stray dogs in Taiwan, many of them 2nd or 3rd generation strays. There are virtually no humane societies, shelters, or even laws prohibiting cruelty towards animals. Government-run dog pounds don't offer humane euthanization--instead, dogs are electrocuted, drowned, burned, or left to starve to death. Certainly very little if anything is done to curb the reproduction cycle. Strays and cruelty towards dogs are such a fact of life there that most people turn a blind eye. Horrible abuse cases such as that involving (WARNING -Graphic: ) "Thin-Necked Blackie"happen more
often than we like to think and right in the public eye.

Needless to say, the chances of survival let alone a life of happiness for a homeless dog in Taiwan is almost nil. Generally, dogs are not valued as companions and family members there as they are here. Small grassroots rescue teams in Taiwan like The Animal Rescue Team, Animals Taiwan,and Taipei Abandoned Animal Rescue Foundation work tirelessly to do what they can to give at least a small percentage of the millions of stray dogs a chance at a better life. And in the majority of cases, the only chance lies outside of Taiwan.