Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
John Hollenhorst reporting A couple of dogs that may have been abandoned and abused have been rescued, but animal lovers are having to go to unusual lengths to find them a home. That's because of what they call Utah's "phenomenal overbreeding" of German shorthaired pointers.
If someone dumped Gunner and Sawyer on a road near Grantsville, they must not have liked them very much. "Their ribs showed. The whole spine was showing. Their back hips were sticking up probably about this far," explained Randi Johnson, Grantsville animal control officer. "I would say they came from an abusive home, and they probably just were probably abandoned."
Johnson tries to find adoptive homes for all dogs in the shelter, but these two faced probable euthanasia. Utah shelters get way too many German shorthairs. "There are a lot of them in the area, and it's hard to find them a home," Johnson said.
The Utah Animal Adoption Center agreed to take them temporarily. They say breeders in Utah are churning out way too many German shorthairs. No Utah rescue organizations specialize in the breed, so abandoned ones are often euthanized or sent out of state.
German shorthair puppies are often bought as hunting dogs, but owners sometimes get rid of them later because they're no good around the house, or because they can't hunt. "They dump them at the shelters, or in this case, it appears they were just abandoned out in the desert," said Cheryl Smith, of the Utah Animal Adoption Center.
The center found a rescue facility that will take them, but it had to go out of state to do it--a long way out of state. "It appears that they have a foster home to go to in British Columbia, Canada, of all places. So, this is just the first leg of their journey to a safe and happy life," Smith said.
Right now, a chain of volunteers is being organized to drive Gunner and Sawyer across the border to their new home.
Shelters in Idaho and Colorado have taken some German shorthairs from Utah, but at the moment, they couldn't handle the newcomers.
