Here at Badass, we love to celebrate the joy of rescue and adoptions and all of the amazing happy beginnings that we’ve been able to foster, but sometimes it takes a long time to get to that happy beginning. It’s also important for you to know the commitment our rescuers to have to Badass dogs - even after they get adopted. That’s why we’re sharing this special story about Jack Sparrow.
Jack Sparrow was pulled from the high kill pound in Rutherford, NC 2 years ago as a young puppy. He and his litter mates had mange and were taken to a local vet to get treatment. Soon the rescue that pulled him and his brother stopped answering their phone and paying their bills, in effect abandoning them at the vet. Jake and Scotty (as they were known then) lived in cages at the vet in SC for SEVEN months. Badass Rescuer Sara stepped in and took responsibility for Jake and Scotty, got them to Brooklyn where they were soon adopted.
After spending 7 months unsocialized living in a cage, Jack had some serious anxiety issues. When we first picked up Jack from the vet office in SC and took him to the front yard, he was so terrified he peed all over himself. The first night in the motel on the road he literally ate the night stand. When he came up he chewed through everything in his foster home. BUT a nice couple fell in love with him and adopted him.
Everything was okay for a few months but about 6 months ago Jack started developing aggression towards strangers entering the home. Since his adopters have a roommate and didn’t have the tools to train him how to greet properly, the problem got worse and worse. They consulted two different trainers but they never found the right fit and weren’t able to get him on a consistent training plan. They gave him his own little space, separated by a gate. So he had a ‘safe’ place but without a training plan, he became even more fiercely protective of his area. Recently his resource guarding of his space became unmanageable. He bit a good friend and they were advised to put Jack down. As much as they love Jack, his adopters were unable to care for him any longer in his condition, were heart broken at the thought of having to put him down, and returned him to Badass.
If you didn’t know Jack and heard his story you might agree. How can this dog be safely handled and have a good quality of life? Could he ever live a happy live free of anxiety and fear? If you met him you would believe as we do that this sweet and loving dog might be scared and defensive but he has never been given a chance to succeed. He is very smart and obedient and very trainable. He is incredibly loving when he feels safe. He is a beautiful dog who has been through a lot and has never had the opportunity to behave properly because he has never had the proper training. We believe Jack deserves a chance but we as a rescue are not in a position to rehabilitate him alone. So we reached out to Jeff Gelman.
Jeff (Solid K-9) is an amazing trainer based in Providence, RI. He has taken on major aggression cases before and is an expert at rehabilitating dogs that other trainers or owners have given up on, turning previously aggressive dogs into calm and balanced, well behaved companions. We have worked with Jeff before and he has been an amazing supporter of Badass since the beginning. He is incredibly dedicated, always there for the dogs and for us when we feel out of our league. Jeff has agreed to take Jack for a 3 week board and train and work with him so that he can be a calm, balanced dog and we can work on finding him a home where he can live the life he deserves. Jeff has done a lot of pro bono work for us (and other rescues) and his expertise is highly sought after and respected. We need to raise $2250 to cover the costs of Jack’s board and train program. Jack’s owners were advised to put him down by other trainers. Without training, we cannot safely handle him or responsibly put him into our foster program or up for adoption.
We have started a ChipIn fund to help raise money for Jack’s rehabilitation. Please consider donating to this cause. We promise to update you with Jack’s progress! as you can see from the photos above, he’s already come so far. Please help us take Jack all the way home.
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