I ought to be posting about Teddy tonight but Scrappy was getting positively chatty earlier this evening. That’s unusual so I figure he wants me to share. That’s Ginorma the Snake he has with him.
Tag: rehablitation
Scrappy has visitors
Last weekend Scrappy had two visitors, Buddy and Yule. I’ve written about Yule a few times already. He’s Scrappy’s best friend. It’s gratifying to see them get excited when they spot each other approaching for a visit. Buddy had been with us once or twice before but Scrappy mostly gives him the cold shoulder. That’s okay because Buddy is still getting used to being around other dogs so just being around Scrappy for a few days is good for him. Buddy does quite well considering he was a backyard dog for the first 5 years of this life. He’s a…
Newcomers
A couple new dogs arrived in the last week. One is a boarder named Charlie. I worked with Charlie in 2015. He was surrendered to HB because of excess anxiety if I recall correctly. He was diagnosed with pica — regularly eating nonfood items such as pebbles. He was taking Prozac when we got him. Turned out his problem was really just that he was a puppy. We weaned him off the Prozac, worked with some of his behaviors, and he was adopted right away. Charlie is now a very happy and healthy boy enjoying what life has to offer….
Daisy
I’m grateful to people who recognize that they simply can’t provide a proper home for their dog, and make the difficult decision to give up their friend. Most people do not realize how much time and effort it takes to do right by a canine companion. Many of them, unfortunately, do not discover the truth until after they already have a dog. Ideally, people realize their limitations early on and work to find a new home for their pet. Or let a rescue like Homeward Bound take care of it for them if they cannot. Daisy came to us from such…
Bear
Bear is one of the dogs we had a few months back that was highly reactive to some dogs. Scrappy even spent some time hanging out together in a yard just to show Bear that he didn’t need to be afraid of other dogs. Bear was used for back yard breeding so he missed out on so much of what makes a dog a dog. He was a very affectionate boy with us but certainly not overly needy. Strangely, one of the things his previous owner didn’t like about him is that he wanted too much attention. Yeah. I’ll only…
Max goes home
You might remember Max. He’s the impossibly handsome Lab with the shiny eyes who’s made several appearances in my posts. He went home on Sunday, Valentine’s Day. Yes, he sure has my heart. Max is a joyful boy with an intense curiosity about everything in his world. He is big and strong and sometimes a lot to handle. On the outside. On the inside he is still just a little boy. But that little boy could put up a ferocious front when faced with a situation that scared him — like another barking at him. Max worked through his issues…
Scrappy’s Story – Part 2: Recovery
In Part I of Scrappy’s story, I explained that he came to my house after he was returned by his first adopters. The family did not feel they could keep him because he barked and growled at outsiders. He didn’t seem safe. After he came back to us, some of the volunteers at Homeward Bound were uncomfortable with him, as well. This was partly due to his inordinately large eyes and his habit of staring. Worse, he would unexpectedly lunge at strangers and even some other dogs. I take some of Homeward Bound’s dogs with challenging behaviors to work with…
Scrappy’s Story – Part 1: Descent
I’ve posted about Scrappy several times already. He’s also often called Scrap, Scrapper, Scrapper-Doodle. He’s been my permanent foster for almost a year now. It’s time to tell his story. He wasn’t supposed to stay with me permanently. I bring dogs over from the Homeward Bound Golden Retriever Rescue and give them some time to heal emotionally and get a little training along the way so they can be adopted. I really don’t do much except give them a safe place with some rules and structure. This allows them to get back on track and become the dogs they were meant to…
ROB & DOG 