Blog Entry #2 - The product of a rescue
I consider a lot of things rescuing, not just picking a puppy out of a shelter. If you take a pet out of an unhealthy situation - whether you pay money or do it for free, you are rescuing that animal. When doing so, you need to be aware that you are going to have ATLEAST 12 years of responsibility on your hands. There's basic responsibilities like house breaking and feeding, and typical vet bills but it goes so much deeper then that. Of course, every dog is different - not every dog is going to end up having problems but everyone IS scared of something. My experience with my four year old German Shorthaired Pointer Mix really tought me a lot about fears and anxieties in dogs. Parker joined the family at five months old. The day we saw him, he had to be dragged out the shelter kennel. We learned that he was shipped to New York from a puppy mill down South and that there wasn't much history on him but whatever happened in the first five months of his life wasn't pretty. He refused to eat, a noise as simple as a spoon hitting the counter sent him into shaking fits, he had no clue what grass felt like, doorways were like facing an army for him, and consistent trembling was part of his daily routine. As he got more comfortable noises started bothering him less, but he still had to be carried down the street and past moving cars to pee. We thought he might grow out of his eating habits, but they only got worse and worse and he ended up being underweight. The trembling persisted, and doorways still took lots of collar tugging and leash pulling. When he realized that this was now his permanent home and this is where he felt as safe as he possibly could feel at the time he became very protective. It was hard to have visitors since Parker would charge at windows/doors to greet them with growling, barking and unfortunately sometimes even a light nip. We were lucky to be surrounded by such understanding people that just wanted to make Parker feel safe but it was most important for Parker to understand that, which was hard. Parker also wasn't the biggest fan of large hats, flowing summer dresses and puffy coats or sunglasses. Anything that made you not look like you did before was threatening to him. Put this simply, these issues may not seem 'too crazy', but it was hard. And it was even harder watching your pet be engulfed by so much fear and anxiety. Looking at him, the first thing that came to mind for people was that he was incredbily miss-behaved and aggressive and sadly that's what we were talked into. We had a k9 officer pay us a visit to try and inform us on how to handle our crazy doggy as well as a professional dog trainer. Well, when the 6-8 week plan didn't really do much, it was clear to us that you can't train fear out of a dog and that the main factor is the need to make them feel comfortable. Rescues come with such a mystery behind them no matter how old, and some adjust better than others but all of them never had a home or were abandoned. A sense of security is so important, because everyone needs a place to call home. When rescuing you need to be aware of what you're taking on. You're taking on emotional, behavioral and physical problems. Some don't come out until later in life, some don't start until the moment you get home, and some don't start until the trust is built between you and your new pet. You need to be aware that this is like a long road to recovery for the pet, and that you are it's support system, discipliner and source of love.