Thanks to the special talent and kindness of Kathi Harmon, MSBR has a beautiful twin sized handmade quilt being raffled to help offset our vet bill. The quilt is simply beautiful, with each block themed for a month (January is a snowflake, February has hearts, October has pumpkins and December is a tree, etc.) I will have photos soon. The colors are warm reds, greens, and golds. The drawing will be held December 13, 2008 (you do not need to be present to win).
Tickets are $1.00 each, or six tickets for $5.00. If you would like to purchase tickets, please email Kristine (getaboxer@hotmail.com) or mail a check to MSBR, P. O. Box 11891, Charleston, WV 25339 and your ticket stubs will be mailed back to you. Please allow a couple of weeks for processing, but feel free to inquire if you do not promptly receive your ticket stubs. Our vet bill is particularly high right now, so your participation in this fundraising project is very appreciated by MSBR members, volunteers and all the homelss Boxer Dogs who will benefit too!
We are in desperate need of foster homes who can take a stray or abandoned Boxer and help it become a great dog that anyone would want to adopt. Besides providing the basic needs, food, fresh water, a cool (or warm) place to live, you need to be willing to train the foster and evaluate it for suitability for placement. MSBR pays for all medical care for the foster dogs, including monthly heartworm preventative medication. Foster parents must be willing to work on manners, housetraining, basic obedience, and socialization of foster dogs. They are initially evaluated by our president and MSBR's founder, Kristine Harmon-McCreery for suitability for placement in a foster home. Every potential foster parent is educated on fostering. If you would like to try fostering, please get in touch with Kristine at getaboxer@hotmail.com. If you are interested in adopting, fostering is a great way to find your perfect family companion.
MSBR is now taking in a limited number of dogs until we can get a kennel built to safely house the foster dogs safely while we are at work. We are reserving our foster dog space for those Boxers who do not have owners and who are in danger of being put to sleep in local animal shelters. If you own a Boxer that you need to rehome, we will assist you in placing your dog, if certain criteria is met. Your dog must remain in your home until it is placed with an approved adoptive family. You must take your dog to the vet and have it spayed/neutered, vaccinated, heartworm tested, intestinal worm tested and treated. You dog must not have any history of aggression towards people or other animals. If you're willing to take care of your pet until we place it with a family, please contact Kristine at getaboxer@hotmail.com
We strongly urge you to research the Boxer breed before purchasing a puppy or adopting an adult. Boxers are wonderful dogs, but they are not for every household. They are high energy dogs and although very trainable, they do require a great deal of supervision and strong leadership. Boxers want to be with their families every minute of every day. They will become very destructive when left alone if not properly trained. Older Boxers are usually perfect pets because while they are still active and playful, they also settle down to sleep on the floor at your feet. If you have a very inactive lifestyle, you'll not be happy with a Boxer and the dog won't be happy either!
Adoption fees barely cover the basic medical expenses of vaccinations, spay/neuter and heartworm testing. Most of the dogs we receive in care need much more and some need surgeries costing thousands of dollars. We survive on donations from people who care about making a difference to unwanted dogs. If you would like to make a donation, please mail your check or money order to: MSBR; P. O. Box 11891; Charleston, WV, 25339 or to Phillips Animal Hospital; 100 Virginia Street, East, Charleston, WV 25301. Please note that it should be applied to MSBR's account.
Adopting a rescue dog is not for everyone. We're searching for the most responsible pet owners who are willing to go the extra mile and make room for very special dogs, some whom have baggage from past experiences. There is no perfect dog, other than those that you train to be perfect for you. Our dogs are ready and willing to give you all their love for years to come.
If you are interested in adopting, please contact Kristine for an application for adoption via email (getaboxer@hotmail.com). We adopt only to residents of the state of West Virginia who meet our adoption criteria. While the absence of a fenced yard does not preclude adoption, it will limit the number of dogs available to you as most Boxers need a safe place to run off energy free of the constraints of a leash. You will be required to sign a legally binding contract that requires all dogs adopted be kept as indoor pets only and that they be kept up to date on vaccinations and on heartworm prevenative medication year round. We also require that all current pets be altered and up to date on vaccinations and heartworm preventative.
If you find a stray Boxer, please take it to your local shelter, or if it is injured, to a local veterinarian. If a dog has an owner, that is the first place they will look for their pet. Under the law in WV, a stray must be kept for 5 business days in the custody of the animal control facility for that county. If the owner doesn't come looking for the dog, ownership then passes to the county and the dog may be adopted out. We must obtain legal ownership of a stray in this manner, therefore, we do not take in stray dogs that people have found. If you find a Boxer, take it to your local shelter and send us an email letting us know the dog is there. That will enable one of our volunteers or members to go visit the dog, check it's temperament and offer to pay for medical needs, if the dog is ill or injured. After the five day holding period is up, we can take the dog from the shelter and have LEGAL ownership of the dog thereafter.
We do not have a shelter facility. All rescue dogs are kept in our private homes. If you would like to meet an individual dog, we require a fully completed application for adoption. We will then contact you to schedule an appointment for you to meet the dog(s) we think would work well with your family and lifestyle. Please be patient with this process. All MSBR volunteers work full time jobs and are very busy retrieving and caring for the foster Boxers. This process cannot and should not be rushed. These dogs have been though a lot already and our goal is to find a permanent home for them. We exercise extreme care in approving families for adoption.
