Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Disbelief

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Did you ever have one of those days?

It started off fine, then a few harsh words from a co-worker and my mood had changed.

I went to my google reader to check out what my friends had to say and I found “Long Term Shelter Dogs : How Long Is Too Long?” at Talking Dogs Blog.  The post made me weep and I feel so sad for this beautiful dog, Hailey that I’ve cried on and off most of the day.

Hailey

Eight years old and she’s spent all but two months of it in a shelter.

I tried to leave a comment on the blog saying I was going to check with my friend at Labs 4 Rescue to see if they could find a foster home for her but I’m having trouble commenting on some blogs so the comment isn’t showing up.

I asked Hubby at lunch, “Please can I get another dog? I just want to try to find her a good home.”

He said no and he’s right, like many of you we struggle monthly to meet our obligations.  Another dog and all that goes with it just wouldn’t work right now.

But Hailey hung with me, darting in and out of my mind all day.

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to take Delilah to Obedience Class tonight or not.  I waffled back and forth, finally desperation to see my friend and talk about Hailey pushed me out the door.

When I pulled into the Training Center the lot was full, we were the last ones in and it was packed.  Fifteen dogs all told.  And a number of them were new dogs.

I tried.  I really did.

First there was the new beagle (I think) mix that went at Delilah, who naturally caught me off guard and went right back at her.  The leash snapped my fingers and I lost my shoe trying to keep Delilah from chewing her up and spitting her out.

Then there was an excited pitbull mix that couldn’t seem to focus and kept going after other dogs around her.  Sarah had her in the center of the floor, helping her to settle down and not react to the other dogs.

Depending on which way we were walking I had to Boston Terrier type dogs in front of me and two yellow labs behind me and vice versa.  The guy working one of the yellow labs kept repeating his commands, “Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit, Sit” until I wanted to scream at him and say, some day you’re going to wonder why your dog doesn’t sit when you say sit!

There was a Doberman Pinscher who has been there before.  The first time she was there Delilah wanted a piece of her.  Just before the break the Dobie started getting vocal and I said to Delilah, “We’ll leave at the break and I’ll take you for a little walk.”

I know you get it when I say you could feel the tension in the room.

I’m sure it was me and my frame of mind, but I couldn’t take the chance of setting Delilah up to fail or lose the great progress she has made.  So I left.

Oh and yes my friend from Labs 4 Rescue wasn’t there, so I still haven’t talked to her about Hailey.

Can you say anything to me in the comments that will help me wrap my head around a dog in a shelter for eight years?

I just can’t believe it.

Paws To The Rescue

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Have you ever wanted to get involved in rescuing or helping animals, but you’re not sure where to start or you don’t have a lot of time to spare?

I know I’ve spoken of my desire to help and I’ve started working with a couple of different rescues offering some limited services.

Last Saturday at the Marion County Animal Shelter in Mullins, South Carolina a few cats and a number of dogs/puppies, totaling 28 in all were loaded into crates by volunteers.  This group of volunteers goes by PTTR or “Paws To The Rescue.”

Their destinations were rescues and Humane Societies along the east coast.  Every hour or hour and a half, after a quick leg stretch, potty/drink break these animals were transferred from the vehicle of one volunteer to the vehicle of another volunteer.

Some of them arrived at their receiving shelters sometime on Saturday.  Some of them spent the night at a host shelter and continued their journey on Sunday.

By the time the human chain  reached Vernon, CT it was down to six of the “P” pups; Paige, Paisley, Patton, Perry, Patsy and Peony.

We expected they would be restless and cranky, but that was far from the case.  These sweet little fur babies were so loving it was hard not to pick them up and cuddle them.  But it is strictly forbidden.

Due to the risk of Parvo, you are only allowed to pick them up wearing disposable gloves, and you should change gloves after handling each dog, unless they belong to the same litter, which these guys did.  There are a number of other precautions you must take, such as bleaching all crates and any towels or blankets you used.   We also had a bleach solution in a spray bottle just in case.

Once we had them loaded in the car Hubby said, “Let’s just go home.”  But we were on a schedule and had to have the pups in Worcester, MA by a certain time.

There was a little excitement when we first started.  Somebody pooped in the crate and somebody (not sure if it was the same somebody or not, decided they were hungry.)  This was accompanied by me screaming, “No puppy no!  Pull over, pull over,” and me jumping out on the side of the highway to remove the dirty towel.  (I put it in a garbage bag and threw it away.)

We got back on the road and then one of the puppies decided they would chew on the paper tag from the towel, which resulted in me trying to jam my hand through the bars of the crate and finger/paw wrestle the puppy for the tag.  Eventually I won and the puppies settled in for their ride.

Not one peep, out of any of these guys.  They were so good and so cute.

These little guys came in jammies.

 

Please can I come out and play?

 

Are we almost there yet?

 

This little guy kept looking up every time I snapped a picture.

 

How much longer?

 

What is that flash I keep seeing?

 

Finally, a picture of them all snuggled up.

 

This was the tiniest one and so, so sweet.

All too soon we were in Worcester and it was time to say goodbye.

Thank you sweet puppies for letting us share just a small part of your journey to your forever homes.

We hope you have the best of everything that life has to offer.  xoxo

I have to thank PupFan for this experience, I saw her post on facebook a few weeks ago, I sent an e-mail and it was that easy.  Because of my busy schedule I can’t do this every weekend, but when I can I intend on participating.

If you live on the east coast, close to Interstate 95 and Interstate 91 and would be interested in helping with the transportation of any of the precious fur babies, PTTR does this run every weekend.  You can check out the available legs on their blog post.

Together we really can make a difference.

Defeated And Lost – Part Two

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When we left off, I had just gotten Delilah free from her concrete entrapment.  If you missed that story you can read about it here.

I head into the woods where I unclipped Sampson so I can at least have one hand free and I wrap what’s left of Delilah’s leash around my hand.

We meet Kingston’s mom about half-way up, get into the field and walk to the area where we part ways.  I walk out to the car, load the dogs and head home.

I am defeated and resigned.  I am lost, treading water in a vast ocean of disappointment.  I am an utter failure in trying to train this dog.

After almost five years, I give up.  I’m done.

Hubby comes home and says, “How are you?”

“I’m ok.”

“What’s up?  You seem like you’re in a pissy mood.”

“Yup.”

Then I go on to tell him the story.

We talk about it.  Seriously talk about it. I am conceding, I am giving in and getting an electronic collar for her. I don’t know what else to do.

I thank him for not being an ‘a’ hole about the whole thing and saying “I told you so.”

Meanwhile, the dog that sprang from Satan’s loins will not sit while I’m in the kitchen.  After trying to teach her for 1,746 days, I’m frustrated.  I yell at her to “SIT DOWN.”

It’s time to feed the dogs.  They need to sit on the edge of the kitchen when I am preparing their meals.  She will not.  She gets up, she changes spots for a better vantage point.  She tries to advance into the kitchen.  My frustration with her from her earlier adventure hasn’t gone away.  I have no patience for this.

Then yesterday morning she comes into the bathroom while I am trying to get ready for work.  My frustration with her from the previous day has not gone away.  She comes in and shoves her head between my legs and gets brown goo (from Dog knows what) on my work pants.  I banish her from the bathroom and once again I feel lost.

Hubby says she is stubborn.  It’s not that she isn’t smart, she is stubborn.

So am I. I am not a defeatist. You can knock me down and I will get back up. Do it 100 times, I will get back up.  I might cry and rage, but I will get back up and I will figure out a way to knock you down.

Not this time.  This time I’m defeated.  It’s a horrible feeling.  I’m not quite sure how to deal with it.

Crying, lots of crying.  Which is another thing I don’t do well.

I have no confidence, if I can’t help this dog after almost five full years, then maybe I’m just not the right person for the job.

I’ve failed.  I failed myself.  I failed you, my faithful readers.  I’ve failed all the positive reward based trainers out there but most of all I’ve failed my dog.

I wonder if the rescue will take her back.  I wonder if this is the reason she was surrendered in the first place.

I wonder how people do this, day after day and still manage to put a smile on their face and accept the uniqueness that is their crazy, wild, untrainable dog.

P.S. This was written yesterday and I am in a much better place today, I haven’t put the collar on her yet (even though I borrowed one from a friend.) I want to order the DVD by Dr. Patricia McConnell and give it one last shot.

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