Running with the big dogs: Encinitas rescuers caring for animals displaced by Katrina

By: GARY WARTH - Staff Writer | Saturday, February 11, 2006 10:18 PM PST ∞

They're big. They can be messy. And they're not for everybody. "These are what we consider dominant or power breeds," said Andrea Jarrell of Encinitas. "They require some specific evaluation and training before they go into a home. They require a certain type of experienced ownership."

Jarrell helped found Operation K9 Rescue in 2002, and since then the group has found homes for about 300 mastiffs, she said.

The dogs are big, but lovable, Jarrell insists. She fell for her first one about 10 years ago and before she knew it, had four rescues of the breed in her house.

Mastiffs are large dogs. They include American bulldogs, Argentine dogos, dogue de Bordeaux, English bulldogs, fila Brasileiro, Neapolitan mastiff and tosa.

Mastiffs also include another breed, the cane corso (pronounced KAH-ne cor-so), a name that people may have heard for the first time this year because of press coverage about the lion cub Koza, born at the Wild Animal Park on Nov. 11.

Because Koza is being raised in the park's nursery, away from its mother, park officials introduced a puppy playmate for the cub. Not just any puppy can stand up to a lion cub's play, however, and their search eventually led them to Cairo, a cane corso adopted from Operation K9 Rescue.

"Cairo was still feisty, and we thought she'd be a perfect match," Jarrell said.

Koza and Cairo have been frolicking in the nursery and playing king-of-the-hill in an outdoor area for the past three weeks. While Cairo is a healthy 40 pounds and growing, his mother and the dog they believe is his grandfather, who both happen to be Hurricane Katrina survivors, are on the road to recovery from other illnesses.

Zita, Cairo's mom, is living in the San Marcos Kennel and showing signs of improvements from the effects of heartworm. Chopper, believed to be Cairo's grandfather, also is recovering from heartworm and is in a veterinary hospital. Jarrell is waiting for the results of a biopsy from his spleen that will reveal whether he has cancer.

"He's feeling great," Jarrell said after visiting Chopper on Thursday.

Jarrell said Chopper's medical expenses may come to $2,500, a hefty bill for the volunteer organization, and she is hoping some sympathetic dog-lovers will help with the bill.

Zita and Chopper were rescued from the flood waters of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina last year. Chopper had been in the water for several days when he was pulled into a boat by volunteers from Best Friends Rescue Society of Utah, who had gone to New Orleans in search of abandoned pets.

Chopper weighed about 85 pounds. He should weigh between 130 and 140.

After several rounds of treatment for heartworm, carried by mosquitos and a common condition for dogs in the South, Chopper slowly recovered over three months. On Feb. 5, Chopper was ready to go to a new home when he collapsed and had to return to the hospital.

Without a facility of its own, Operation K9 Rescue Center keeps its rescued dogs at the San Marcos Kennel, where Jarrell and other volunteers exercise and train about 10 large dogs.

On a typical training day, she and three other volunteers walk the dogs on chain leashes and pinch collars. The mastiffs are trained to keep pace with their masters, resist distractions and not run away dragging their masters behind them.

"When you're dealing with a dog this size, you have to be the alpha dog," Jarrell said about why she uses training collars that pinch the dogs' necks but don't harm their windpipes.

To get the dogs used to walking in real-life conditions, other trainers sometimes will wear hats or carry umbrellas, things that might startle an untrained dog.

"Our main goal is education and responsible ownership," she said.

With that in mind, the group trains new mastiff owners as well as the dogs.

"They should give us a call," Jarrell said about people interested in learning how to handle the dogs. "We're not like Pet Smart, where classes have beginnings or ends. We work on specific issues like dog aggression or dominance. We make sure they're good citizens before going out meeting the world."

For information about classes or adopting a mastiff, contact Operation K9 Rescue at (760) 497-7764. Donations for Chopper can be sent to the center at P.O. Box 235207, Encinitas, CA 92023.

Related links:

Operation K9 Rescue, http://www.operationk9rescue.com

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at gwarth@nctimes.com or (760) 740-5410. To comment, visit www.nctimes.com.

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