Dobermans in Distress Also Find a Champion

When a Doberman pinscher attacked an animal-control officer last week in Northridge, officials took the standard steps in dealing with the dog, whose owner no longer wanted him.

The dog, named Apollo, was taken to the West Valley Animal Shelter, where he is being quarantined for the required 10 days and will probably be destroyed.

“The dog’s a goner for the most part because he’s bitten people besides our officer,” said Lt. Linda Gordon of the Los Angeles Department of Animal Regulation. “He’s just plain mean, snapping at everybody. Nobody would want a dog like that.”

Nobody, that is, except Nina Culver.

For 20 years, Culver has devoted much of her time to Doberman pinschers, whether they are “biters,” as is the case with Apollo, or simply strays that have been abandoned by their owners.

“I’m trying to get that dog back,” Culver said of Apollo. “But he’s a biter, and they’re the toughest ones to save, especially if they’ve chewed up a city employee.”

Culver, a Reseda resident, operates Doberman Rescue, a small kennel in Sun Valley where she takes in unwanted “dobies” and looks after them until she can find a suitable owner. She said she places about 2,000 Dobermans in homes each year. Her operation is the only one of its kind in the Los Angeles area, city officials said.

“When you’re talking about pinschers, your talking about Nina,” said Lt. Robert Pena of the East Valley Animal Shelter. “She comes in to the shelter and takes them off our hands. She provides a very good service.”

Culver said her love of Dobermans stems from her belief that the dogs have been given a “bad rap” over the years and that people who own them frequently try to get rid of them because “they’re a little too much dog for most people.”

“People who get dobies often don’t know what they’re getting into. Dobermans can be great dogs--alert, intelligent and very protective and territorial--but, if they’re not treated right, they can be like one big row of teeth ready to snap,” Culver said.

The Dobermans’ image problem, Culver said, was furthered in the early 1970s when a slew of movies, including “They Only Kill Their Masters,” portrayed the dog as ruthless, vicious and “ready to attack the devil if it got in their way.”

And, according to Gordon, Dobermans have been overbred in the last 20 years because they can be sold for a high price. She said Dobermans are among the top five breeds in popularity in the country.

“There are simply too many Dobermans out there that are not in proper hands,” Gordon said.

Some Doberman owners, Culver said, are quick to want to get rid of their dog “the minute it kills the next-door neighbor’s chicken or ruins the living room rug.” Others, she said, just call her and say, “I can’t handle this dog anymore, so come get it,” a situation that often spurs Culver to travel as far as Bakersfield or San Diego.

Lengthy Interviews

When people approach Culver about getting one of the 30 or 40 Dobermans she has on hand at any given time, she interviews them at length to make sure they will treat the dog properly, including taking it to obedience training school.

One such person, Catherine Smith of Van Nuys, said Culver talked with her extensively before selling her a Doberman to protect her Van Nuys home from burglars. “She really looked me over to make sure I knew what I was getting into,” Smith said. She said Culver charged her about $125 for her dog, which included the cost of sterilization, shots and the operation that crops the dog’s ear to make them stand straight, instead of flopping.

Doberman Rescue is funded largely by donations and money that Culver gets by grooming and training dogs in her spare time, she said.

Business Is Steady

Business is steady at Doberman Rescue, she said, especially during crime scares such as the one prompted last summer by the Night Stalker case.

“People just flooded the place back then, but I still had to be careful who I sold them to because I knew the dogs would wind up right back here if I made a mistake.”

But Apollo, the Doberman who attacked the animal control officer, is one dog that will probably never make it to Doberman Rescue.

“The city deems those dogs unpredictable and not a good risk, which is sad because he probably was not brought up correctly. . . . I think that dog is doomed,” Culver said, her voice trailing off.