Canonsburg family adopts golden retriever from Turkey
Belle and Ben lounge around their home in Canonsburg.
Belle and Ben have become best friends.
Belle and Ben lounge on a couch in their Canonsburg home.
Ben and Belle have become best friends.
Doug Fife and Kaitlyn Orstein Fife pose with Belle after adopting her from Turkey.
Belle and Ben pose for a recent picture.
Kaitlyn Orstein Fife was frustrated, confused, disappointed and desperate.
The golden retriever her husband, Doug, their two young daughters – Libby, 3, and Joey, 2 – and herself rescued out of Turkey, was not adapting to its new circumstances.
The dog, named Belle after the Liberty Bell, wasn’t getting along with the family dog, Ben, fighting for food, time and its own space.
The Fifes, who worked with Tattered Paws and Golden Hearts Rescue, based in Washington state were full of hope and joy when they brought the dog to their home in Canonsburg in November.
They picked Belle up in Frostburg., Md., in mid-November after she was flown to Washington, D.C.
This would be a special story, they thought.
But Doug went out of town and that left Kaitlyn to try and make Belle, in a different environment and country, feel comfortable in the unfamiliar surroundings. Belle didn’t understand the language or the operations of the Fife household.
“It wasn’t going well, not working out,” Kaitlyn Fife said. “Doug left about three days after we picked her up. It wasn’t ideal timing. When they call to get a (rescue) dog, you have to go.
“Those few days after he left were terrible. I was heartbroken to think we couldn’t keep her. Nothing was going right, it was uncontrollable.”
She contacted Tattered Paws for help and guidance. She talked to her husband to explain the worsening situation. It was a cry for help.
“I was out of town, in Kansas,” Doug Fife said. “Things were not going well. The dogs were fighting. The first week, it was not bad. There’s a learning curve. With me being gone, and people in and out, Kaitlyn’s phone calls to me were that the situation wasn’t good and getting worse, not better.
“It was kind of a territorial thing. We tried to set her up in a new domain. A lot of the problem had to do with a new lifestyle.”
Kaitlyn remained in contact with Nancy Rieley, founder and president of Tattered Paw and Golden Hearts Rescue, and others with the organization to discuss her problems and concerns with their rescue.
“It got so tough,” Kaitlyn Fife said. “Steps were taken to find the dog a new home in Chicago.”
But Doug’s return home affected a change for the better.
“Once Doug got home, he helped things calm the situation and helped things mend,” Rieley said. “We offered advice on how to introduce space and time. The language, the time, all of it had changed for the dog. The tastes, smells, everything was different. You put that all together and it becomes stressful for the dog.
“Rescue is great. But it is a complicated process in some ways. The Fifes resolved it all in giving time and gaining a normalcy. Sometimes people panic and don’t realize what to do.
“The dog just needed some time to adjust, have some down time to watch and figure out the dynamics. The Fifes were fabulous in slowing it all down. They are wonderful and we are so grateful for the outcome. We use their story so often.”
Tattered Paws and Golden Hearts Rescue was formed early in 2018.
Rieley felt there was need for additional awareness and support for dogs in need of medical attention, safety, foster homes, adoption, transportation, flight buddies and financial support.
Euthanizing is used at a high rate in the United States. Animals globally are not being protected or given the safety needed, often times “facing life in horrific and deplorable conditions,” according to Tattered Paws’ web site.
“We believe that rescuing has no borders therefore we rescue within our country, as well as globally,” the organization said. “We have a board of directors and a team of volunteers across the country who work together to achieve as many rescues as possible. We also volunteer for and work with a group known as Travel 2 the Rescue.”
That group consists of people across the United States who volunteer their time and use personal vehicles to transport dogs from one location to another, pick them up when they arrive at airports or even drop them off at airports for a flight.
“I always loved dogs,” Kaitlyn Fife said. “It was a goal of mine to rescue a golden retriever. Growing up we had great family dogs.
“I learned that in Turkey, there was a high number of golden retrievers being abandoned. We explained the best we could to our young daughters, and we all decided to save a life. So, we reached out and Tattered Paws has been wonderful to us and for us.”
Retrieving from Turkey
According to its website: “Tattered Paws and Golden Hearts Rescue believes that every dog in need deserves assistance whether they are in our country or a foreign country.”
Rieley said she had no idea how great the need was in 2017. She and her husband began fostering for The Puppy Rescue Mission and then Rescuers Without Borders, eventually adopting dogs from each. Each group rescues globally.
When they learned about the excessive number of golden retrievers that were abandoned to the shelters, streets and countrysides of Turkey, they decided to take action.
The couple, having had three golden retrievers of their own, understood the often timid, sensitive and peaceful breed would not fare well against countless other dogs all struggling for food, safety and permanent homes. They decided to begin “rescuing one dog at a time, working extra hours, doing side work for people, painting old furniture for resale, and selling anything that was donated to them by others wanting to help.”
Eventually, the couple realized they could do more if they started a rescue.
Turkey does not have the same types of animal rights laws currently in the United States. It also refrains from euthanasia. There is less tolerance for dogs living in homes, the website said. The golden retrievers can turn into unwanted dogs – turned out to the streets, countryside or shelters.
According to Kaitlyn Fife and Rieley, many of the shelters are in deplorable conditions and often are filled with ill and dying dogs.
A number of Turkish people try to save the ones they can.
“With very limited resources they will ask for help finding a home in the U.S. for a dog that does not stand a chance in Turkey,” Rieley said. “Know that the rescuers in Turkey are just as passionate as rescuers here at home. The extreme measure they go to just to save one life are very commendable. We consider it a great honor to have earned their friendship and trust.”
Happy ending
The Fifes’ dogs have become inseparable partners.
They share food from the same food and water bowls. The sleep at each other’s side. They play and walk together and are curious about the same things.
“They’ve become best friends,” Doug Fife said of Belle, who is believed to be around 2- or 3-years-old, and Ben, 4. “It’s been very easy for everyone once we all realized and became familiar with the routine.
“When I came home from Kansas, Kaitlyn was overwhelmed with stress. She, literally within five hours of me being home, noticed that everything changed. She calmed down. Ben calmed down.”
Kaitlyn Fife credits her husband, and the entire family, for coming together to help Ben – and Belle – to adapt to the new lifestyle.
“(Doug) was the Alpha,” she said. “She respected him more than me. When they did stuff, I told them to do, everything changed. We have a Facebook group to discuss issues and talked about our experiences.
“As a family, this has shown us to be more patient and more understanding of other countries. I have a lot more love for Ben. I look into Belle’s eyes and wonder what she sees. Belle has brought a lot of love into our home.
“They are so cute.”
Doug Fife said the whole process shows that a dog rescue from a foreign land just needs some direction, time to adjust, trust and understanding of its’ surroundings.
“Everything worked out in the end,” he said. “Belle got used to how we operate. She wasn’t used to free food twice a day and that you didn’t have to fight for food anymore.
“Literally, things could not be better. They are both really fun. It’s been incredible to watch.”