Couple nurtures dogs and finds them homes
Buy Ogle County News Photos »
For almost four weeks now Liz DeArvil, Oregon, has been short on sleep and spare minutes to call her own.
But she’s doing what she loves to do — getting unwanted puppies ready to be someone’s beloved and devoted pet.
Liz and her husband, Bob, who have 10 fenced acres east of Oregon, are fostering two Doberman pinscher puppies, as well as an older female, and seeking “forever” homes for them.
The DeArvils are part of Lean On Me Doberman Rescue (LOMDR), an organization based in Plainfield, which rescues Dobermans, and places them in foster homes until permanent owners are found.
Foster owners like the DeArvils make sure the dogs are properly fed, get needed veterinary care, and work on manners and obedience.
With wildly wiggling tails and lavish licks, the two 10-week-old puppies Laci and Maci, showed their appreciation.
“You’re a good girl,” cooed Liz as one of the chubby little pups shows that house-breaking efforts are paying off.
The two are part of a litter of 10 rescued in the nick of time.
The owner of their mother, a purebred Doberman, planned to kill the puppies because they were unwanted and sired by “some kind of hound,” Liz said.
The pups were flown to Joliet from Georgia on June 7 by Pilots-N-Paws, an organization that provides transportation for rescued pets.
Other foster homes took the other pups from the litter.
“Maci was pretty emaciated when they got here,” Liz said. “She was the smallest in the litter and was getting pushed out at feeding time.”
The owner of the pups’ mother gave them no extra food or even shelter.
The DeArvils have fostered more than 100 dogs in the six or seven years they have been part of LOMDR.
Although, they have had dogs of all ages, Liz said her specialty is puppies.
She is also fostering a six or seven-year-old Doberman female, Olivia, who was part of a less-than-responsible breeding operation.
“She was kept in a cage and just bred over and over,” Liz said. “She pulled out most of her teeth trying to get out of the cage because she just wanted to be someone’s companion dog. She’s very sweet.”
Olivia looked attentively at Liz before she climbed up into a chair for a snooze.
Besides the three fosters, the DeArvils have three other dogs — “foster failures” — Liz called them with a laugh.
They started out as fosters but the couple couldn’t part with them.
Thor, a large black Doberman, came from a junkyard, Liz believes.
“I think he was kept inside an enclosure of some kind from the way he behaved,” she said. “And it took us a year to get all the (motor) oil out his coat.”
Bob was immediately taken with Thor’s majestic appearance and friendly disposition.
“When we first got him I just fell in love with him,” Bob said.
Madigan, a red Doberman, was very thin and had no self-confidence when he arrived, Liz said.
He also came with a condition in his esophagus which made him vomit easily, something that rarely happens now.
“He probably spent his life on a chain, and there could have been some damage from that,” Liz said. “He is just so darn sweet, and he had a tough life.”
Rounding out the trio is Quinn, who isn’t even a Doberman.
“When we got him they said he was a Doberman puppy,” Liz laughed. “Well, he never grew.”
Marked similar to a Doberman, Liz believes Quinn is probably a Manchester terrier mix.
“He’s great with the foster puppies because he’s so playful,” she said.
“We call him our wannabe because he wants to be a Dobe,” Bob said with a chuckle.
Liz said she got started with fostering after hearing the story of Lucas, a Doberman that was found severely abused and malnourished.
The emaciated dog had a broken back from beatings and was frozen to the floor of the enclosure he was in.
He was rescued, nursed back to health, and placed with a loving owner.
Liz said watching the dogs become healthy in body and spirit is one of the rewards of fostering.
“They change daily,” she said. “It’s amazing to me what they can go through but they never lose the capacity to love and want to be with people.”
Liz tries to get to know each dog to determine his or her personality traits and fears, and to reassure and show him or her affection.
“To get the dogs comfortable I touch them all over and sing to them — no one else wants to hear me sing, but the dogs seem to like it,” she said with a laugh.
Liz said she likes Dobermans because they are very devoted companions.
“A Doberman just wants to be a companion dog. They’re intelligent, they’re loyal, they’re hands on, and I love it that they have a sense of humor,” she said.
“We call them leaners,” Bob said.
