Ovcharka Rescue

Esquire Caucasians
National Caucasian Mountain Dog/Ovcharka Rescue and Rehome since 1990

As responsible breeders, we will always take back a dog from our breeding. However, we feel a breeder's responsibility extends beyond one's own kennel, to help the breed as a whole, and in that regard we have tried to do our part.

Since the formation of COCA, the Caucasian Ovcharka Club of America, we have been active in the rescue, fostering, rehoming, the reliquishing puppy homes to dogs in need, and rescue networking of ovcharka dogs in North America and overseas as part of our service to the breed. Our efforts have aimed at a smooth and speedy transition from rescue situation to permanent home. Since 1995, we have also sponsored the Flock & Family Guardian Dog Rescue Network which has assisted in the rehoming of hundreds of livestock guardian dogs, and have sponsored the Caucasian Mountain Dog News, which specifically lists Caucasians available for adoption. We maintain accurate breed information on the internet to assist in proper "fit" between breed and owner, and wrote the "Designer Dogs" Creates Disaster for Caucasian Breed article to counteract recent negative breed publicity leading to rescue.

We hope by sharing some of these rescue stories, other breeders will be encouraged to contribute in their own way to breed rescue. We also want to thank the foster homes, the rescue owners and all our other friends who have helped make possible the new and happy lives enjoyed by these rescue dogs.

ZEUS, an import, outgrew his owner's NY apartment. One of our puppy inquirers in the Bahamas was looking for a serious family and property guardian. We matched them up and ZEUS and his owner flew down to the Bahamas to meet ZEUS'S new family. ZEUS'S new family writes:

"Stacey,
On behalf of my entire family, I just wish to take this opportunity to thank you for advising me about this opportunity. We just got Zeus yesterday, and my whole family is elated. Dilya [the first owner] was kind enough to bring him to Nassau in person. She is a wonderful lady and Zeus is already proving to be a great member of the family. I in particular was curiously very sad last night, because I felt like I had torn the heart out of someone. In as much as I really want Zeus, I felt really bad for Dilya. I could see that Zeus meant a great deal to her. I expect that she will visit Nassau often, now that she has real life-time friends here. I will do everything humanly possible to give Zeus a great life. What she did is like giving us her only child. I will not disappoint her. I still can not believe our great fortune that she selected us.
I thank you once again for keeping in touch with me and following up on my request. If you are ever in Nassau, please give me us a shout. My entire family will be happy to receive you."

NATASHA, an owner give up, spent some foster time here at Esquire until her breeder could make a the long distance trip to pick her up.

IVAN, an aggressive puppy given up in poor physical and mental condition to a kill shelter in PA. It took some convincing for the reluctant shelter manager to offer him for adoption. His new owner, an active COCA member, has worked with him extensively and IVAN earned his AKC Canine Good Citizen certificate in September, 2003.

BUDDY was dumped in a kill shelter in PA. We received a request from a rescue group asking if one of our puppy clients could pull him and foster the dog. He stayed with his foster family who has had to relinquish their Esquire puppy reservation as a result.

BORS, a Georgian Republic import, was "protection trained" by his first owner who thereafter ran a newspaper for-sale ad describing the dog as a "tank". After weeks of no buyers, he wanted to sell the dog to me. Shortly thereafter, the owner called to tell me that if I didn't take the dog off his hands immediately, free of charge, he would turn the dog into a shelter. I feared a shelter might deem the dog unadoptable so time was short. Through FlockGuard contacts an adoptive home was quickly found for this challenging dog and he is doing very well today.

JOSEPH, a 6 month old Armenian type puppy found wandering in an industrial neigborhood in Brooklyn, NY was rehomed with TAZIK'S owner.

LILY was dumped in a kill shelter in Tennessee. Time was of the essence and she was rehomed with one of our puppy clients and is living the good life in Arizona.

SUKA, a Hungarian import, was given up by her owner for aggressive to the neighbor and beating up the other family dog. What started out as a foster, turned into a permanent home and SUKA lives here at Esquire today.

KUTYA, was an aggressive young adult in a Los Angles kill shelter. I managed to bail him out long distance just hours before his euthanasia deadline and to get him transported to a boarding kennel. A FlockGuard subscriber offered to take on the challenge of this dog. KUTYA had several wonderful years on a sheep ranch until recently passing away after surgery.

CEZAR, probably the most famous Caucasian rescue in the US, was an owner giveup from Canada after having gotten out of an unlocked gate and causing havoc in the neighborhood. He went on to become a Best In Show Winner and ambassador for the breed. Read his story at : http://www.cezar.us.

SASHA was obtained by a CO breeder from a Florida guarddog service. A severe skin condition and other problems made him a less than optimal adoption candidate. After 8 months in foster, a plea for this needy dog was answered by a COCA member and after appropriate veterinary care, he enjoyed many happy, active and healthy years in his new home.

JULIETTE was listed first as a Caucasian and later as a Sarplanina. After spending some time in foster care with the Rose family in New York, she found a permanent home with a FlockGuard subscriber.

ARI's owner wanted to rehome their 9 month old puppy import due to aggression problems. I drove with one of my friends 12 hours (each way) to Salem Mass. to pick him up, only to find upon our arrival that the owner changed her mind! Subsequently, ARI bit someone and was supposedly sent back to Russia.

LALA was the daughter of the famous FRANT in Russia. We rescued her out of a factory kennel in Russia that, due to the economic hard times in the 1992, did not have enough money to feed her. She was rail thin and had already survived distemper as a puppy in Russia. The factory was not her first owner - she had been owned by a woman who could not afford to feed her either and had given her to the factory in hopes that she would be taken care of. LALA spent her life well fed at Esquire and passed away at the ripe old age of 13 1/2 years.

TAZIK was imported as an adult by police dog importers and was sold to a police department. Of course, being a livestock guardian dog breed he flunked that job. Someone from the department called me saying they had expected a "Russian Shepherd" but instead ended up with a dog resembling a giant fat Border Collie with chopped off ears. I rehomed TAZIK with a COCA member and he lived to 10+ years old as a much beloved family pet.

© 2005 by Stacey Kubyn -- ALL RIGHTS RESERVED