About Us

Petey and Rex

One of the most common questions I get at adoption events is WHY do Pointers and Setters need rescue??  After 22 years in dog rescue and over 20 years of running IBR and our research into tick borne diseases since 2009, it is clear that a huge percentage of our incoming pure bred dogs are being dumped because they are not hunting.  Most are not hunting because they have at least 2-3 tick borne diseases (thru neglect or an infection from birth) and Lyme disease especially can affect a hunting dog's natural abilities and instincts. Both Pointers Petey and Rex came in with Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease respectively. Post treatment both have been adopted to pet/hunting homes. More information about this can be found at our Ticked Off section www.illinoisbirddogrescue.org/Ticked_off.html at the IBR home page.
 

IBR'S Lemon Meringue aka Meri

Of course there are other reasons birddogs get dumped.  Many are from Field Trial lines and if they don't measure up, don't run big enough, don't hold their tails at that perfect 12 o'clock position, many are dumped into shelters where they will wind up in landfills after being killed for over crowding.  Some dogs come to us in the worst shape- full of intestinal parasites and many are heartworm positive.  We also see our share of overly bred dogs and seniors that have been dumped because they can no longer hunt as the used to.

Meri was dumped into a high kill shelter in November of 2010.  She was in the worst shape- her hair was sparse, she had been overly bred, and she was also infected with heartworms, Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.  It took months of TLC and patience by her foster mom to recover.   Now she is healthy and as her natural instincts have returned, she will be working towards her AKC Junior Hunter title. 

Sadly, like many of the homeless pets across the United States, our homeless pure breds and mutts also need rescue and rehoming due to loss of income, loss of homes, divorces and behavior problems.