Abner came to us with his Mom and sister a little over two months. I’m hazy on the details but I believe they came from a breeder. Abner was the least trusting of the three. Mom and sis were adopted and that may have set him back a little. We keep a leash on him at all times because he can be hard to corral when he is out in a yard.

I started working with him over a month ago. Others have been working with him longer. I don’t usually work with the “scared” dogs because I just don’t have the touch that others have. I’d hate to set a dog back so I usually leave these dogs for those better equipped to help them. But something about Abner intrigued me so I decided to give it a shot.

Abner’s progress in learning to trust has been curiously slow… but steady. Most of the frightened dogs seem to carry their fear for a few days and then make rapid improvement. Others, like Abner, have decided to take their time with the trust thing. You can miss Abner’s slight improvements if you aren’t paying close attention. But you can look back over the previous few days and realize that he has gotten better even if the increments are tiny.

I recently started wonder if he played with toys, but I kept forgetting to bring some out with us to find out. Turns out I had been missing a bet. He likes toys, especially squeaky toys!

A volunteer that likes to take the challenging dogs is planning to adopt Abner. First he has to meet her existing dogs this Saturday. If that goes well, Abner will go home on Sunday. He’s not too keen on riding in cars. His first trip in a vehicle was the one that brought him here. So I have been working with him to get more comfortable with getting in my van. I hope it helps make his ride home less taxing.

I was doubtful that I’d be able to capture Abner’s personality well with a camera. I was right. The way he moves is different from most dogs. He stares at you sometimes in a way that makes me really want to know what he’s thinking. I suspect he’s not thinking much, but just trying to make sense of this crazy world. I’ll miss him a lot when he goes home.