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Hello, my name is Merlin.

I am a blind Chow Chow.

I convinced my human to start a rescue for Chow Chows who are just like me.

Merlin's Hope is all about the unwanted ones, the forgotten ones, the troubled ones, the broken and the so called ugly ones - all the ones who have little or no chance at finding a home and special place in someone's heart.

You see, many humans don't like it when their pets get sick, so they toss them away like old rag dolls, hoping that someone else will look after their problems. Usually, Chow Chows like me, even other types of dogs, never make into homes. People think we have no use , or they think we require a lot of care. So they never bother to even look at us. They pass us by and seal our fate. Usually within 4 days, we are put to sleep forever. No one wants us.

Not all of the dogs who come here are blind or disabled.
Plenty of candidates sent here were pulled off of deathrow.

Merlin's Hope is dedicated to all those Chow Chows and Chinese Shar-pei that were thrown away because they were handicapped or somehow un-wanted, un-trained, un-socialized, mis-managed,  or un-claimed from death row. Most of the angels who come here are found on death row at kill shelters. Many of our candidates were considered "Aggressive Dogs", with no chance of re-homing.

My humans, together with me and some devoted friends, want to show you just how wonderful we are, and how easily we can adapte to our new lives! Won't you give us a chance?

We see you with our hearts! Can you see us back with yours?

WHY BLIND DOGS YOU ASK?

Many of our rescues come from Puppy Mills. They live in horrible, horrible condition in areas full of bacteria, vermin and filth.

Generally speaking mucous membres, including eyes and genital areas become easily effected. Jaws are rotted and often have to be removed along with teeth. Should we penalize our rescues because of this?

Blind dogs are so amazing! They have so much love to offer. They see with their hearts.

Blind dogs can go for walks, can run & jump and play, do just fine at dog parks, and can efficiently and effectively navigate their homes and the world around them.
We are proud of the work we do here. Check out some of our blind dogs running as free as the wind, full of confidence, loaded with skill
 

Here at Merlinshope, we give them excellent skills to make their world an easier place to live in! Blind dogs can run, jump and play just like any other dog. Check out little Juliet ( below), she knows exactly where everything around her is at any given moment!

Don't ever hesitate to adopt a blind or handicapped dog. They are the best friend you could ever hope to have.Not one family who has adopted a blind dog from us have any regrets.  We can offer prospective adopters a full support system ( if needed), to ease their fears and respond to their quesions and concerns.

WHY AGGRESSIVE DOGS YOU ASK?
Please read our section on ° Surrendering An Aggressive Dog

We don't turns our backs on aggressive dogs who faired poorly when they took the, "shelter test", or nipped a person or nipped a toddler, In the case of toddlers and children getting nipped, in our view,  it means that parents don't use good common sense with their young children around dogs).

Toddlers & young children, for obvious reasons, ( and unfortunately some adults),  are not perceptive enough to ascertain whether or not a dog feels like being pestered or wants to play, nor is a toddler able to interpret warning signs from a dog who wants to be left alone. Unfortunately neither are many adults .  A truly aggressive dog would seriously harm an infant or adult. A dog who nips or grows,  is a dog simply trying to teach and warn, which is no different from what they would teach one of their own puppies.

 We are willing to make the above statement because this has been our consistent observation in this regard. All the agressive dogs who have eneded up here, have arrived because of a situation precipated by a person or child.

99.9% of the time, these dogs are  mis-managed by their owners. Often,  these dogs completely mis-understood their role within their household and were simply allowed to become highly enabled because of the owner's lack of education or willingness to work together and train their dog. In the case of toddlers, unsupervised by the parent(s),   who foolishly assume that it's ok for a toddler to pester a dog, or worse, try to play or interfere with a dog while it's eating or sleeping.
Dogs and children should always be supervised, and children should be brought up to learn to respect dogs, and respect the fact that dogs are not humans.

Often overlooked are medical reasons for aggressions. We often hear how,  "overnight" , a once placid dog has become all of a sudden, become aggressive. When this happens, owners should have their dog's medical health checked. A common illness like thyroid disease, ( which is easily treated), is enough to make a once calm dog, very aggressive.  A tootache, hidden growth and any myraid of other medical  illness can also cause a dog to have a change of temperament.

A Simple Test:

Walk up to any total stranger anywhere, someone you don't know and have never met.  Now take your hands and pat them on the head and messy up their hair!  See if you don't get slapped , get yelled at or stared at in shock or met with some other type of aggresson. Everytime you walk up to a dog , essentially, that is what you are doing.  To compound things, attempting to touch a dog on top of the head can sometimes be viewed in dog language, as your attempt to dominate.  While a great many breeds of dogs tolerate this, there are many breeds who do not. 

Always ASK first before attempting to interact with, or physically touch  a dog that you don't know and be sure to teach your children to always ask first before approaching a dog they don't know.

A great many breeds of dogs have become highly domesticated therefore are more accepting and tolerant of this type of behaviour.. however some breeds are not.  People have to learn and understand this.  To a dog like a chow, patting on the head  can be easily interpreted as a sign of dominance instead of you wanting to be a friend. 

Humans very often fail to use good common sense around dogs, including with dogs they don't know. They often end up getting bitten, then turn around and blame the dog.

The Shelter Test

Shelters are mandated to give all dogs a standardized temperament test, before the dog can be released for adoption. This helps guarantee that dogs put up for adoption can tolerate the onslaught of human errors that they will be presented with.  Many sharpei and most chows fail these tests.  The nature of both breeds is not designed to respond favorably to these tests, which is most unfortunate because this failing of this test does not at all signify the dog to be unadoptable, however, in the eyes of the shelter system it does.  Many dogs are so traumatized by their displacement into a shelter that it takes many days for them to calm down and gain a sense of comfort before they are willing to interact with strangers.  Shelters often only have a couple of days, not many days. If the dog can't conform, in most cases the dog is immediately euthanized or worse in some provinces such as Ontario, local dog pounds are mandated that after 72 hours dogs are to be sold to institutions for research under the Animal Research Act .

Please keep your dog ALWAYS ID'ed with visible ID. We will never understand people who purchase expensive puppies only to lose it to the shelter system for want of a $5.00 ID tag. Mircochipping is not and will  never be enough to guarantee you the return of your dog. Plenty of dogs arrive here with chips that don't scan, or scan at unreadable frequencies.  Virtually 80%+ of dogs that end up here or in shelters are strays.  Please LOOK at your dog  right now. If it's not wearing VISIBLE ID, please order one NOW - CLICK HERE

Naturally not every dog with aggressivity issues can be re-habilitated,  but most can. We get many calls from people looking to surrender their aggressive dogs to us. We try as much as possible to get these owners to assume responsibility about this and start working with professional trainers to "repair", the problem.See our section on Aggressive Dogs. Click Here

Located in Eastern Ontario, Merlin's Hope Chow Pei Rescue services the corridor of Kingston - Cornwall - Montreal - Maritimes, but our rescue candidates are sent to us from all over the continent. Merlin's Hope is NOT a registered charity. We are a devoted group of individual volonteers who work together united under this banner to save the lives of chows and sharpei when ever and where ever we can.  We do not rescue for profit, are all gainfully employed. Our rescue program  relies on our own financial input. Our foster homes are comprised of wonderful, caring volonteers.

We are a santioned rescue by the Chow Chow Club of Canada and by Chow Chow Welfare USA. We do work on joint rescue projects with select other rescues who practice Animal Rescue at the highest most integruous level.

Our primary mandate is blind, handicapped or death row chow chows or chinese shar-pei dogs. We often have non handicapped chows or pei also.

What is Animal Rescue?

Animal Rescue is the ethical rehabilitaiton and rehoming of abandoned animals to a thoroughly screened adopter, to ensure the dog will be in safe hands for the duration of its lifetime.

Rescue is NOT selling of animals for profit. Rescue is NOT handing animals over to unknown and unscreen homes. That is known as ANIMAL BROKERING and is no better than a puppy mill.

What is a Responsible & Reputable Rescue?

-Provides necessary medical care and clean, healthy facilities.

-Spays/neuters all dogs/cats before placement when medically possible.

-Ensures all dogs / cats are healthy, up to date on vaccinations, and heartworm negative and discloses all information about any known medical issues.

-Requires an adoption application form and an adoption contract

-Screens all applicants before placement and requires a home visit

-Requires an adoption contract which requires return of the dog/cat to their rescue if the adopter must relinquish it for any reason

-Prioritizes rescue animals from its own geographical area

-Requires a release form for owner-surrenders

-Understands the limits of its resources including financial ones; doesn't accept more animals than it has legal authority or space/time to care for.

-Provides humane euthanasia for dogs/cats too sick, too injured, or too aggressive to rehabilitate.

Currently our adoption fee is $300.00

This includes:

- All pertinent vaccinations up to date

- Surgical Spay/Neuter

- Health Certificate from Veterinarian

We also make sure we disclose all knowledge about the health and temperament of the your adoptee.  All dogs who come here are started in basic obedience,  ( if it's lacking), and we assess their characters as much as possible to help ensure for no surprises. As much as possible we try to match your personality with that of your future pet. It's important!

Please contact us to see how we can help out!

Please note: Merlin's Hope is a small Rescue primarily run out of Prescott, Ontario. We are not a drop off center like animal shelters are, nor do we have a showroom of "rescues", for you to come by and browse at.

Most of our rescues are in safe keeping via foster homes. If you want to see any of our candidates, you MUST complete the adoption form. NO consideration will be given to individuals who do not follow this important process.

Thank you for your understanding!