Doof is a dog with an unimaginably awful start to life.
Believed to be half bull terrier, half great dane, he was most likely bred to become a pig dog by someone around northern Victoria way.
He was kept in a cage and virtually starved. One day a neighbour to the property where he was kept, saw his owner approaching Doof with a gun. The neighbour wanted to know what he man was going to do and when he said he was going to shoot the animal, the neighbour stepped in and took the dog away to the local pound. That’s where Tania Smith of Kyneton found the now rather famous pooch. She was not at the pound to look for a dog like Doof, but when she saw him, she just couldn’t resist. She called her partner Steve and said she couldn’t leave the animal, she was bringing him home.
Once at his new home the skinny animal began to slowly respond to care and began to put on weight.
He had had his legs broken while a pup and they didn’t knit back properly.
“When he was in the pound his legs were straight,” Tania said. “Then he gained weight and his legs began to bend.”
Tania and Steve gathered the money together to have one of Doof’s legs mended. The operation was difficult because the breaks were right down the lower end of the legs near the paws so need external support.
Doof is doing a lot better with one improved leg but he still has another deformed leg to be fixed. It’s going to cost thousands of dollars.
Tania has been raising funds through all sorts of means to help Doof – sausage sizzles, GoFundMe campaigns, the lot… now she’s up to something else.
On June 22 in the Watts Pavilion at the Kyneton Showgrounds, Tania is holding a Horse Gear New and Used Sale and General Market.
Because she’s also a horsey lady, about half the stalls will be selling horse products from dressage to western from brushes to rugs.
Gear will be a mixture of new and used but there will be plenty on offer at a good price.
The other half of the stalls will be general merchandise such as winter woollies, plants, home decor items, artwork and more.
The market will run from 4pm-9pm so people who have horse activities of various sorts can attend. They should be finished at their riding clinic, event or lessons for the day so be able to drop in and browse and buy. They will of course be supporting a very important cause – Doof’s next leg operation, medication and follow up care. It will be hugely costly but Tania is determined to be able to pay for it or for part of it and then pay off the rest over time.
There is still room for more stalls if you would like to organise one to sell from yourself. Phone Tania on 0490 519 659.
Also look up Doof the Dog with the Crooked Legs on GoFundMe if you would like to donate towards his operation.
And you might just find him at the market, he’s gently being socialised by Tania and despite his cruel start to life at the hands of a human, is beginning to take a liking to people.
