Know Beau

We got this email from Faith, the lady we got Leo from, over the weekend:

"I just got a call from a friend and her brother has a Ridgeback Male that will be 4 in October. He has a very good bloodline and his father is a Champion, the only problem is 3 weeks ago he was neutered. I have his sister, Sweetie. Beau needs a good home. Beau's owner has a son close to a year old and the child will go upand pinch Beau's lip, this of course hurts and the dog growls. Beau has been with his owner since he was a puppy. His owner had him neutered thinking this would calm him down, Beau is not a mean dog!! Beau is housetrained and stays mainly in the house, therefore he cannot get away from the child. Anyone that has a dog knows if they are aggravated enough they will growl. Beau's owner wants to bring him to the pound. I already have 3 RR's or I would take him. If you know anyone that could give Beau a good home please call me. Beau is up-to-date on all shots."

I think it's really lousy that someone would rather give away a rather expensive, well-bred dog than teach their kids how to behave properly around it. Imagine a dog like this in the pound... I hope she can persuade him to call Ridgeback Rescue instead. Neutering a dog within the first year of it's life helps reduce the amount of testosterone through him and can make a difference in behavior if there were any issues in that regard- neutering one any later than that, however, doesn't make a difference. Why they didn't neuter him before now, I don't know. Just goes to show you how uneducated the general public still is about such things. If you or someone you know is interested,email me: jmize7athotmaildotcom, and I will give you the contact information.