Fred Speedy

(In the picture, FRED is on left of Thomas, Angel on the right)We have had Basset Hounds for 40yrs. For the earlier 24 yrs, our dogs had come from breeders and were solitary pets. In 1995 we decide to embark on the experience of having two dogs and we got a male and female litter-mates from a breeder. T-bone, our male, crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2005, so Sugar, being 10yrs old, needed a companion. We went to Daphneyland (Southen California Basset Rescue) and rescued a 2+ year old female, Angel. Sugar and Angel became great pals for the remaining years that Sugar was with us. In 2007, Sugar died and Angel was without a pal. Since we had move to Reno from Southern California and had such a good experience with Angel, we contacted Golden Gate Basset Rescue to find a companion for Angel. We wanted a dog about the same age as Angel and were given referral to Fred Speedy, a 4 yr old male. We met up with Fred at a park in Rosedale, CA and brought Angel with us to see how the two dogs got along, as we had done before when we had Sugar and were 'meeting' Angel. We brought Fred home and, after about a week, we decided to keep him. After having Fred for nearly two years, he still whimpers at night in the sleeping area (laundry room), but his whimpers seem to lessen each day, or maybe we just love him more and don't hear him. As a person who has had Bassets for a many years and has gone through the puppy stage with a number of dogs, I strongly recommend rescuing dogs. There are a number of great dogs in a 'need to be rescued' status and, although many have 'baggage' ( health issues, temperament issues, etc.), they will soon adapt to their new family and visa-a-versa. I will make a couple of suggestions for those thinking about rescuing a dog: 1. If you are looking for a particular breed, have a good understanding about that breed of dog 2. If children and other pets are going to be around, make sure that you expose the both sides to one another as soon as possible. A park is a good place to 'interview' the potential rescue, since there are other dogs and people around besides the new family members. 3. Get as much information on the potential rescue as possible- health and vet records, past owners comments, etc. 4. Make sure that you can have the dog for a trial period and give that 'getting to know each other' process a chance to work. Bob