A year ago this coming week was when I made the decision to get Darlin’ off the streets. I couldn’t go on driving to feed her every night. It was getting old, especially for my family.
I sent out this email to Best Friends in Utah and to three local rescue groups in our area. My husband thought I had lost my mind wanting to bring another dog into our home so I did what I could to reach out for help.
One year before (2008) I lost my cat after we moved 650 miles. She ran out of our new home and I never found her. I grieved for a month, I hurt so badly. I ran ads, had signs everywhere, had her registered online, and we even set traps in our neighborhood.
Exactly a year later I was trying to trap a stray that I refused to turn away from. Again, I was crying out for help and crying is no exaggeration. I shed a lot of tears over this situation.
Dear Friend,
The last thing you need is another plea to take a dog, but please take a minute to read my email. I am heartbroken and don't know what I will do with a dog I feed that's been living on the streets and taking shelter in the woods.
I have been feeding a stray for 6 months. I drive 6 miles to her every evening at dark and take her food. This started late last summer or early fall. She came about an hour after dark, when the time changed she changed with it, crossing traffic at 6 pm!
She was very close to emaciated when this started. After eating every night that it doesn't rain (she doesn't come then) she looks like a healthy dog now. My intention was to keep her alive through winter which has worked, although it's amazing she hasn't been killed by a car as she crosses a major highway through my area every night.
I contacted Animal Control 2/9/2009, we have one Police Officer in our area. He has agreed to ask permission to work a night shift to observe and catch this stray dog for me. I can't go on doing what I'm doing. She will NOT come to me; she is very cautious and keeps her distance until I move away from the food I leave by a tree. This has become The Real Giving Tree as I taught her by repetition that there will be food at the tree when she comes to it! She waited for me 3 hours when I was delayed in December and it was freezing! I can't eat dinner when I know she crossed a highway and is waiting for me!
She looks over her shoulder with every bite of food, very cautious. I also started bringing her pig ears and other chews around Thanksgiving. You should have seen how happy she was the first time she found it there!! I sit in my car and watch her; I also watch her run back across the highway right in front of bumpers with her chew after she has eaten!
Six months is a long time to try and get a dog to come to you. Sometimes I wonder if she's deaf because when I talk to her she just stands back away from me with her head low, but it just could be how she protects herself from harm. Maybe she's not deaf either because she sometimes gets spooked by cars in the parking lot. She'll grab her chew before finishing her food, run back to wherever she hides out and comes back for the food later in the night. The Police Officer said she may have been abused in her life by some of her actions, but she shows no signs of aggression at all. She is a lovely 40-45 lb mixed breed dog (maybe some Australian shepherd), but I can't judge her age, although I don't think she is very young.
I have sat at my computer and cried over your dogs that have been waiting for years for a home! I want a farm so bad! My house is barely big enough for a family of 4 and 6 animals, probably why my husband doesn't want anymore. This situation has caused problems at home for me, from the feedings every night to trying to figure out what I will do with her when I catch her.
And I know it's costly and time consuming for you, I just don't know where to turn! Rescue groups are not responding to my emails and I need to know what to do.
Animal Control said he will help me catch her, but my husband won't allow me to even try to keep her. We already have 3 dogs and 3 cats, we have transported Rescues that I would have kept if I could have.
He said that even if she did get along with our dogs that we can't keep her. It breaks my heart because I feel like I'm looking for a home for my own dog, yet I've never even been able to touch her or pet her head. I've cried about my decision for two days because I don't know what to do! Animal Control said he wouldn't want to take her to our County Humane Society, I don't know how long they could keep her and I want her to have a good life.
Please advise me! I think that she has become wild, but if I didn't have all of these dogs I would be able to keep her and rehabilitate her myself. I think she just needs to learn that not all humans will hurt her. She needs to be shown kindness besides the food.
We will work at catching her soon, maybe this week, he's suppose to call me today, but I'm not sure I could even bring her home because of my dogs. I don't know how she would react, in captivity or with my dogs. My dogs are socialized, but they get overly excited when they see another dog which could freak her out!
If you take her or another rescue could take her I will pay her Vet bill, bed, food and make donations to insure she has a home. I have a Vet too. She needs heartworm testing, I'm sure. She needs room to roam; I don't think she would do well in a kennel after living on her own. And I do not agree that putting her down is better than living on the streets, I just can't after making it this long and doing so well. I have a hard head I'm sure, but a deep love for dogs and misfortunate dogs especially. She deserves a chance at a real home, with food everyday and a soft place to sleep.
Please advise, we will be trying to catch her after dark at a shopping center, maybe this week. Her pictures are attached. Not good ones because it's dark. We call her Darlin’ because that's what I say when I feed her, "Hello Darlin’.”
Everything turned out as it should have. Little did I know that part of my path in life was to love and rehabilitate Darlin’. We don’t get the dogs we want, we get the dogs we need. I truly believe that. And I would add; we get the dogs that need us.
One January morning. Darlin’ was the first one to come back inside. She knows to sit for her treats and she is good at it!
Showing posts with label trapping a dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trapping a dog. Show all posts
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Breaking through fear related issues
Darlin’ is making a tremendous amount of progress. While she would still prefer that no one else lived in the house except me, she’s doing really well trying to adjust to my family and overcoming some fear based issues.
In the living room one evening, but still fearful. See how her tail is low.
click on all images to enlarge, then click the BACK button.
Sometimes it’s obvious that her body doesn’t work in sync with what she’s trying to achieve. She wants to be in the same room while other family members are there, but she trembles so bad most people just couldn’t imagine. She sits at my feet in the kitchen frequently and hides behind my legs. If my husband or children walk in for a drink or to speak to me, she won’t run away like she use to. She does tremble and will scoot closer to me, but the key here is that she stays put and her feet aren’t sliding out from under her trying to get away.
I use to reach down and rub her ears during times like that, or I would tell her she was fine and doing great. I’ve realized it’s time to stop comforting her when she shows any anxiety whatsoever. She trusts me completely now, which I needed her to do. I truly believe it has been love and affection that got her this far in almost 5 months. I’m ignoring all signs of stress and anxiety that I see in her, but when she is in a relaxed calm state of mind I give her affection and praise.
I no longer have to put a leash on her to get her out of my office. She will come out, sometimes hesitant or slow to react, but she will pass through the living room to get to the back door. Even when someone else is on the couch or in the kitchen. That’s a huge step for her!
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Darlin’ displayed some separation anxiety since we’ve bonded. She still whimpers when I come home and she still looks out the glass at the front door. I managed to get a picture one day of what I see when I come up the steps. She even stands up looking in the back door if I leave her out too long. I need to correct that also, but I’m careful right now. There have been a few times that I corrected her where she acted fearful of me. She doesn’t do it constantly and she’s certainly not hurting anything looking in the door standing on her back feet.
Darlin’ has become more confident and assertive. Sometimes she’ll low growl or low bark at my family when they step outside and she’s in the yard. It’s happened a few times when she’s sitting next to my feet in the kitchen. It’s more like a bark through her cheeks, like a warning or an alert that she is there. She’s being a little protective and territorial, but I correct her and tell her firmly, “No” and she stops. No one seems to mind her growling, but my family will be her caregivers at times and I want her to enjoy everyone. Besides, I won’t allow her to growl at anyone unless it’s a stranger entering the house or yard without my knowledge. She’s harmless, but she has finally found her voice.
She acts a little camera shy, always turning her head away when I start taking pictures.
Last week I went out of town. I hate leaving Darlin’ because I know how she shuts down when I’m not around. She went potty at 4:30 am because I left at 5 am. I called my son a few hours later to ask him to let Darlin out to potty. He said he heard her feet on the woods floors a lot that morning. She kept walking back and forth between my office and our bedroom. I think she was probably looking for me or maybe just felt unsettled. This house is Darlin’s safe haven; I can see that by how she is constantly focused on the back door. My son left the back door open, but she wouldn’t go outside so I asked my daughter to carry her out. My thinking was if they carry her to the deck, and then take a few steps behind her, she would run down, mostly out of fear, but the intent was to get her to the yard. Once in the yard she would potty and if they left the door open she would run back inside.
Well it seems they tried to pick her up from her bed in my bedroom. She jumped out and cowered between the nightstand and the wall so they left her to calm down. Later when they tried again she ran down to the landing in the house so they opened the downstairs door and followed her that way. At that point she had not used the bathroom in 10 hours. My daughter said she trickled and dropped a little mess on her way. That was the first time she ever pottied in the house, although it wasn’t intentional on her part. I know it was from fear. I was afraid she would loose control of her bowels if they picked her up. She did relieve herself and ran back inside. I was told that she actually came back up the stairs only a few feet behind my daughter’s boyfriend. I returned home around 8 pm and immediately called Darlin to go outside. She whimpered and was excited to see me, ran downstairs to the yard, and immediately had a bowel movement right after her feet hit the grass. Poor dog!
We spent time together on the couch before bed.
I have to admit I had concerns about housebreaking a mature dog that has lived outside on her own. The strangest thing happened; I never had housebreaking issues with her! My friend, Sandra, may have hit the nail on the head as to why Darlin won’t mess in the house. She said that maybe it’s because Darlin had always used the bathroom outside so to her it’s natural to go in the yard. I can’t think of any other reason myself. It’s been a real blessing not having to deal with her relieving herself indoors because training a fearful dog is not easy. Heck, living with a fearful dog is a challenge in itself. I do know since living with Darlin’ that she never bonded with a family or lived indoors, nor did she have any social skills with other dogs.
Speaking of socializing: She ran after Bonnie (JRT) when Bonnie chased the Frisbee the other day! It was exciting to see! Bonnie turned around and looked at her as surprised as I was! She usually whimpers wanting to play, but the dogs don’t pay her any attention, probably because the whimpering suggests some kind of instability. She’ll learn because she has come a long way already.
One day Darlin’ was walking through the living room and picked up a toy on her way through. Later I found that she took it to her mat under my desk. It was so cute to see her show interest in a toy and it was such a pleasure to see her with a toy in her mouth. I try to throw balls for her or offer her toys, but she doesn’t know what to do with them. The balls usually scare her so she’ll run away.
Guess who sits for her treats? I started asking her to sit for her treat while holding it above her nose so that she would have to back up. At first she acted like I was teasing her and eventually turned or walked away. Then I used more tempting treats, like boiled chicken, cheese, and salami. Ha! That worked, but she turned ever so slightly to the side and sat. That was enough for me because she was sitting. Now she comes in the kitchen with the other dogs and she’ll sit before I tell her. Last night I did tell her to sit because she had her eyes on my husband in the dining room, but she sat so pretty.
Two nights ago I took the dogs out back. I almost always go out with them because if I don’t Darlin will stand at the back door waiting for me. You’ve heard of moms with a baby attached to their hip, well I’m one with a dog attached to mine. Two dogs actually, Toby, my broken coat JRT rescue, is the other. So I went down with the dogs, then I peeked my head in the downstairs door and let my daughter and her boyfriend know I was there and for them to come out. If they had been outside already, Darlin’ wouldn’t have gone potty. I let her do her business and then we could sit and visit. Previously if anyone else was outside, Darlin’ would run to the back corner of the yard and wait for me to get up to go back in the house. Once I started back up the stairs she would run across the yard and up the steps following just a few steps behind me. She still has the best pack manners and always allows me to lead the way.
Thursday night she sat next to my feet trembling as we all sat around the patio table talking. She was just 4-6 feet away from my daughter and her boyfriend! A few minutes later she crawled under my chair and stayed there until we went back inside. That was a huge step for her in learning to trust and be near my children. These children I speak of are young adults themselves, not little kids running around the yard.
She’s always watching the doors, even when she's sitting at my feet.
Darlin loves her house and yard so much. She’s so happy when she lets down her guard, although she remains fixated on the back door most everyday. She’s been prancing around with her tail so high, she really is a beautiful sight. Just a week ago she would come in the back door so fearful that she would slide through the living room trying to make her getaway to the spot under my desk in my office. If I could coax her to the couch, I would sit next to her and ask my husband to close the door for me. She would scoot in closer to me while hiding from him, she still does that today. I remember one night last week sitting outside watching her scratch her back in the grass and thinking that if I didn’t go outside with Darlin’, she would never stretch her legs. She would lie under my desk all day long, holding her bladder of necessary. I’m sure I’m repeating myself from previous posts, and if I am, well some things haven’t changed yet. I’m watching for signs that she’ll want to go out on her own, either to be outside or because she needs to use the bathroom.
I don’t have many pictures of her that look like this.
I need to keep my camera beside my bed because I would love for readers to see how happy she is in the mornings. She prances around the bedroom when I get up or if I lay there for a minute she comes over to my side and greets me in the morning. Most times she will not get out of her bed until my feet touch the floor, but occasionally she stretches out in the floor on my side after she hears my husband leave for work. She won’t go out with the other dogs when my husband lets them out first thing in the morning. Our dogs get a treat when they come back inside. Since she never gets out of bed until I do, my husband lays a treat down for her. This morning I heard her crunching after he left the room. Just the sound of her eating a treat that he left makes me happy for her. This dog wouldn’t eat anything while I was in the same room for weeks and before that she wouldn’t eat until after dark when the house was quiet.
Normally I wouldn’t tell this to just anyone, but I want to share my joy with you. One morning last week I woke up and went to the bathroom. Darlin sometimes runs in, smells my husband’s clothes in the laundry basket, and runs back out. She’s happy, she knows I’m up, and that we’re about to go outside. Sniffing his scent on the laundry is a good thing too. So there I sit watching her run in and out of the bathroom. I called her to me, “Come here you sweet thing, give Mommy a kiss.” She runs up to me, bows her head, I kiss her on the forehead, and she turns around and prances back out of the bathroom. She was precious!!
I started giving Darlin’ fish oil caps in her dinner because her shedding continues and the hair on her back is so coarse. After about a week I began noticing the difference in her coat. You can actually feel the moisture in her hair and it’s softened up a lot. She is still shedding, but it has slowed a lot. I inherited a Border Collie years ago after my customer died. Seriously! He had a terrible time with excess shedding and inflamed skin due to grass allergies. The Vet put him on fish oil, nothing else, and it cleared up right away so I knew it worked. Since Darlin’ was a stray her diet may have contributed to the condition of her coat as well. She probably had vitamin deficiencies; after all she was skin and bones when we met.
Her coat has dramatically changed since she’s shed so much of it. If you look up at the banner image, taken just a few weeks after trapping her, and you look at the pictures I’m posting today, you’ll notice she has lost all of the extra hair on her backside and quite a bit all over, including around her neck. I don’t know if her coat will grow back the way it was or if it will remain thinner now. The reason I wonder is because last year she lived outside all winter and this year she will be a house dog. I would think that a dog’s winter coat could change depending on their environment, but I haven’t done any research on the subject.
My dad came to visit and finally got to meet Darlin’. I carried her outside because she wouldn’t come out on her own. He was surprised by her size because he thought she was bigger. True, she has a bigger dog look to her, but she is what most people would consider as a medium sized dog. She stands as tall as our Blue Heeler and maybe a little longer, but she weighs between 35-40 lbs. She’s tall and long legged, with a deep chest.
Darlin has eaten in the kitchen every night for at least two weeks now! I have called her from my office, but most days she hears me open the cans of food and knows what I’m doing. So I now have 5 dogs waiting for dinner, all are calm and patient, except my hyper Eskimo Spitz that talks the entire time. I’m usually preparing the bowls when Darlin runs in from my office and scoots in tight next to my feet. Sam (blue heeler) gets his bowl first, then Chloe (Eskie) eats closer to Sam. Then Darlin gets hers on the rug in front of the stove, and Bonnie and Toby. Toby and Bonnie, my Jack Russell’s, don’t eat much at all. They eat the chicken on top of their food and lick the chicken broth I pour over it. Darlin’ is still very hesitant and not completely comfortable eating. I stand with my back against the sink and watch. If she stops eating I tell her to “eat” and she will. She takes a bite of food, and then looks up to make sure the coast is clear before having another bite. Very similar to how she ate when I fed her at the tree before trapping her. Sometimes when she has her head up looking around, Toby will go over and start licking the broth out of her bowl. She doesn’t care at all, she’ll stick her nose back in the bowl right next to his and eat some more. He’s taking advantage because Darlin’ is protective of him and treats him like her puppy sometimes. Darlin’ shows weakness when she exhibits insecure behavior which makes it easier for any dog to take advantage. It has happened, but I’m not allowing Toby to continue the behavior. I don’t want him to intrude while she’s eating and he has learn to respect her too.
Toby leaning up against Darlin.
Cesar Millan had a show on recently spotlighting Baby Girl, a Doberman Pincher, possibly mixed with greyhound. She was fearful of thunderstorms, fearful of the kitchen cabinets being open, fearful of a lot of things. She lost a lot of weight when he had her at his Dog Psychology Center and he tried everything to get her to eat. Darlin’s fear issues are/was worse than Baby Girl. No camera man could ever walk in this house and film Darlin, she’s just too fearful of people to come out. I did see many similarities in Darlin and Baby Girl, but I also saw in Baby Girl things I have not witnessed in Darlin’. I would be terrified myself that if Cesar took Darlin to his dog psychology center that it would set her back. My comments have nothing to do with trusting Cesar’s ability to help a fearful dog; it’s that I know my Darlin. Cesar always says he’d rather work with an aggressive dog or red zone case than a fearful dog. I know exactly where he’s coming from. Fearful dogs need a lot of time to come around on their own. I can’t believe it’s been 5 months since I brought her home. It may seem like a long time, but the months have flown by. In addition, I have read many stories of fearful dogs, some took years to rehabilitate. Five months is a drop in the bucket.
I’d like to interject about my comments regarding Cesar Millan. I watch a lot of dog shows, not just dog training shows. I agree with many of the techniques that Cesar uses to train dogs, but I also disagree with other methods. I've often wondered how Cesar would handle a dog like Darlin’, then I think about some of the methods he’s used to push a dog past their limitations and I realize Darlin’ is in the best place for her rehabilitation. Rules, Boundaries, and Limitations are keys to avoiding problems and building a relationship with your dog. Mastering the walk may be essential to your dog’s health and happiness. Although I know from my own experience with dogs in my life that there are a lot of dogs that don’t need a routine walk to be good dogs and family pets.
Darlin’ crossed a major threshold this weekend. This is the first weekend that she has ever walked around the house passing family members. She may take a detour through the kitchen or behind the couch, but she has surprised us all. She does not like to be alone. I know this because I’m with her when no one else is in the house. She’s such a normal dog when we are alone now. Every time I leave a room, she is right beside me. This weekend her behavior is very similar to those times. Today I stood in the dining room next to my husband while he showed me something on his computer. When I left the room we realized Darlin’ had been sitting directly behind my husband’s chair the entire time! We are all extremely proud of her!
I can’t comprehend why someone would dump or abandon this dog, or any dog for that matter. There is something special about her spirit and something in her eyes that makes me want to comfort her. She actually licked my foot when we were sitting on the couch last week and she has licked my hand a couple of times. I’m not much into kissing and licking dogs, I’d rather be the one that kisses, but what she did meant a lot to me. I actually hope she licks me in the face by surprise someday. Darlin’ is respectful of the other dogs and looks up to her canine leader (me). I have put my hand under her muzzle, lifting her head high, as I kiss her on her head, the top of her nose, or the side of her face. I have never had the slightest concern that she would bite. She is the gentlest dog with so much love to give. I see that when she smiles outside as she runs over to me like a small child happy to meet with her parent’s approval for something she’s done. I can’t help but love Darlin’, she makes it so easy. I tell her often that I’m happy she’s here and that she’ll always have a loving family.
Over the last month I’ve worked with rescues, one long distance rescue that took a lot of me time-wise and emotionally, but there was a happy ending. I worked at my business and my own computer was down. This month I hope to do better. I have a feeling Darlin’ will be making quite a few changes to her lifestyle over the next few months. I can see it coming by the way she’s stepping out showing more trust and confidence this weekend.
Whatcha got Mom?
In the living room one evening, but still fearful. See how her tail is low.
click on all images to enlarge, then click the BACK button.
Sometimes it’s obvious that her body doesn’t work in sync with what she’s trying to achieve. She wants to be in the same room while other family members are there, but she trembles so bad most people just couldn’t imagine. She sits at my feet in the kitchen frequently and hides behind my legs. If my husband or children walk in for a drink or to speak to me, she won’t run away like she use to. She does tremble and will scoot closer to me, but the key here is that she stays put and her feet aren’t sliding out from under her trying to get away.
I use to reach down and rub her ears during times like that, or I would tell her she was fine and doing great. I’ve realized it’s time to stop comforting her when she shows any anxiety whatsoever. She trusts me completely now, which I needed her to do. I truly believe it has been love and affection that got her this far in almost 5 months. I’m ignoring all signs of stress and anxiety that I see in her, but when she is in a relaxed calm state of mind I give her affection and praise.
I no longer have to put a leash on her to get her out of my office. She will come out, sometimes hesitant or slow to react, but she will pass through the living room to get to the back door. Even when someone else is on the couch or in the kitchen. That’s a huge step for her!
I’ve mentioned in previous posts that Darlin’ displayed some separation anxiety since we’ve bonded. She still whimpers when I come home and she still looks out the glass at the front door. I managed to get a picture one day of what I see when I come up the steps. She even stands up looking in the back door if I leave her out too long. I need to correct that also, but I’m careful right now. There have been a few times that I corrected her where she acted fearful of me. She doesn’t do it constantly and she’s certainly not hurting anything looking in the door standing on her back feet.
Darlin’ has become more confident and assertive. Sometimes she’ll low growl or low bark at my family when they step outside and she’s in the yard. It’s happened a few times when she’s sitting next to my feet in the kitchen. It’s more like a bark through her cheeks, like a warning or an alert that she is there. She’s being a little protective and territorial, but I correct her and tell her firmly, “No” and she stops. No one seems to mind her growling, but my family will be her caregivers at times and I want her to enjoy everyone. Besides, I won’t allow her to growl at anyone unless it’s a stranger entering the house or yard without my knowledge. She’s harmless, but she has finally found her voice.
She acts a little camera shy, always turning her head away when I start taking pictures.
Last week I went out of town. I hate leaving Darlin’ because I know how she shuts down when I’m not around. She went potty at 4:30 am because I left at 5 am. I called my son a few hours later to ask him to let Darlin out to potty. He said he heard her feet on the woods floors a lot that morning. She kept walking back and forth between my office and our bedroom. I think she was probably looking for me or maybe just felt unsettled. This house is Darlin’s safe haven; I can see that by how she is constantly focused on the back door. My son left the back door open, but she wouldn’t go outside so I asked my daughter to carry her out. My thinking was if they carry her to the deck, and then take a few steps behind her, she would run down, mostly out of fear, but the intent was to get her to the yard. Once in the yard she would potty and if they left the door open she would run back inside.
Well it seems they tried to pick her up from her bed in my bedroom. She jumped out and cowered between the nightstand and the wall so they left her to calm down. Later when they tried again she ran down to the landing in the house so they opened the downstairs door and followed her that way. At that point she had not used the bathroom in 10 hours. My daughter said she trickled and dropped a little mess on her way. That was the first time she ever pottied in the house, although it wasn’t intentional on her part. I know it was from fear. I was afraid she would loose control of her bowels if they picked her up. She did relieve herself and ran back inside. I was told that she actually came back up the stairs only a few feet behind my daughter’s boyfriend. I returned home around 8 pm and immediately called Darlin to go outside. She whimpered and was excited to see me, ran downstairs to the yard, and immediately had a bowel movement right after her feet hit the grass. Poor dog!
We spent time together on the couch before bed.
I have to admit I had concerns about housebreaking a mature dog that has lived outside on her own. The strangest thing happened; I never had housebreaking issues with her! My friend, Sandra, may have hit the nail on the head as to why Darlin won’t mess in the house. She said that maybe it’s because Darlin had always used the bathroom outside so to her it’s natural to go in the yard. I can’t think of any other reason myself. It’s been a real blessing not having to deal with her relieving herself indoors because training a fearful dog is not easy. Heck, living with a fearful dog is a challenge in itself. I do know since living with Darlin’ that she never bonded with a family or lived indoors, nor did she have any social skills with other dogs.
Speaking of socializing: She ran after Bonnie (JRT) when Bonnie chased the Frisbee the other day! It was exciting to see! Bonnie turned around and looked at her as surprised as I was! She usually whimpers wanting to play, but the dogs don’t pay her any attention, probably because the whimpering suggests some kind of instability. She’ll learn because she has come a long way already.
One day Darlin’ was walking through the living room and picked up a toy on her way through. Later I found that she took it to her mat under my desk. It was so cute to see her show interest in a toy and it was such a pleasure to see her with a toy in her mouth. I try to throw balls for her or offer her toys, but she doesn’t know what to do with them. The balls usually scare her so she’ll run away.
Guess who sits for her treats? I started asking her to sit for her treat while holding it above her nose so that she would have to back up. At first she acted like I was teasing her and eventually turned or walked away. Then I used more tempting treats, like boiled chicken, cheese, and salami. Ha! That worked, but she turned ever so slightly to the side and sat. That was enough for me because she was sitting. Now she comes in the kitchen with the other dogs and she’ll sit before I tell her. Last night I did tell her to sit because she had her eyes on my husband in the dining room, but she sat so pretty.
Two nights ago I took the dogs out back. I almost always go out with them because if I don’t Darlin will stand at the back door waiting for me. You’ve heard of moms with a baby attached to their hip, well I’m one with a dog attached to mine. Two dogs actually, Toby, my broken coat JRT rescue, is the other. So I went down with the dogs, then I peeked my head in the downstairs door and let my daughter and her boyfriend know I was there and for them to come out. If they had been outside already, Darlin’ wouldn’t have gone potty. I let her do her business and then we could sit and visit. Previously if anyone else was outside, Darlin’ would run to the back corner of the yard and wait for me to get up to go back in the house. Once I started back up the stairs she would run across the yard and up the steps following just a few steps behind me. She still has the best pack manners and always allows me to lead the way.
Thursday night she sat next to my feet trembling as we all sat around the patio table talking. She was just 4-6 feet away from my daughter and her boyfriend! A few minutes later she crawled under my chair and stayed there until we went back inside. That was a huge step for her in learning to trust and be near my children. These children I speak of are young adults themselves, not little kids running around the yard.
She’s always watching the doors, even when she's sitting at my feet.
Darlin loves her house and yard so much. She’s so happy when she lets down her guard, although she remains fixated on the back door most everyday. She’s been prancing around with her tail so high, she really is a beautiful sight. Just a week ago she would come in the back door so fearful that she would slide through the living room trying to make her getaway to the spot under my desk in my office. If I could coax her to the couch, I would sit next to her and ask my husband to close the door for me. She would scoot in closer to me while hiding from him, she still does that today. I remember one night last week sitting outside watching her scratch her back in the grass and thinking that if I didn’t go outside with Darlin’, she would never stretch her legs. She would lie under my desk all day long, holding her bladder of necessary. I’m sure I’m repeating myself from previous posts, and if I am, well some things haven’t changed yet. I’m watching for signs that she’ll want to go out on her own, either to be outside or because she needs to use the bathroom.
I don’t have many pictures of her that look like this.
I need to keep my camera beside my bed because I would love for readers to see how happy she is in the mornings. She prances around the bedroom when I get up or if I lay there for a minute she comes over to my side and greets me in the morning. Most times she will not get out of her bed until my feet touch the floor, but occasionally she stretches out in the floor on my side after she hears my husband leave for work. She won’t go out with the other dogs when my husband lets them out first thing in the morning. Our dogs get a treat when they come back inside. Since she never gets out of bed until I do, my husband lays a treat down for her. This morning I heard her crunching after he left the room. Just the sound of her eating a treat that he left makes me happy for her. This dog wouldn’t eat anything while I was in the same room for weeks and before that she wouldn’t eat until after dark when the house was quiet.
Normally I wouldn’t tell this to just anyone, but I want to share my joy with you. One morning last week I woke up and went to the bathroom. Darlin sometimes runs in, smells my husband’s clothes in the laundry basket, and runs back out. She’s happy, she knows I’m up, and that we’re about to go outside. Sniffing his scent on the laundry is a good thing too. So there I sit watching her run in and out of the bathroom. I called her to me, “Come here you sweet thing, give Mommy a kiss.” She runs up to me, bows her head, I kiss her on the forehead, and she turns around and prances back out of the bathroom. She was precious!!
I started giving Darlin’ fish oil caps in her dinner because her shedding continues and the hair on her back is so coarse. After about a week I began noticing the difference in her coat. You can actually feel the moisture in her hair and it’s softened up a lot. She is still shedding, but it has slowed a lot. I inherited a Border Collie years ago after my customer died. Seriously! He had a terrible time with excess shedding and inflamed skin due to grass allergies. The Vet put him on fish oil, nothing else, and it cleared up right away so I knew it worked. Since Darlin’ was a stray her diet may have contributed to the condition of her coat as well. She probably had vitamin deficiencies; after all she was skin and bones when we met.
Her coat has dramatically changed since she’s shed so much of it. If you look up at the banner image, taken just a few weeks after trapping her, and you look at the pictures I’m posting today, you’ll notice she has lost all of the extra hair on her backside and quite a bit all over, including around her neck. I don’t know if her coat will grow back the way it was or if it will remain thinner now. The reason I wonder is because last year she lived outside all winter and this year she will be a house dog. I would think that a dog’s winter coat could change depending on their environment, but I haven’t done any research on the subject.
My dad came to visit and finally got to meet Darlin’. I carried her outside because she wouldn’t come out on her own. He was surprised by her size because he thought she was bigger. True, she has a bigger dog look to her, but she is what most people would consider as a medium sized dog. She stands as tall as our Blue Heeler and maybe a little longer, but she weighs between 35-40 lbs. She’s tall and long legged, with a deep chest.
Darlin has eaten in the kitchen every night for at least two weeks now! I have called her from my office, but most days she hears me open the cans of food and knows what I’m doing. So I now have 5 dogs waiting for dinner, all are calm and patient, except my hyper Eskimo Spitz that talks the entire time. I’m usually preparing the bowls when Darlin runs in from my office and scoots in tight next to my feet. Sam (blue heeler) gets his bowl first, then Chloe (Eskie) eats closer to Sam. Then Darlin gets hers on the rug in front of the stove, and Bonnie and Toby. Toby and Bonnie, my Jack Russell’s, don’t eat much at all. They eat the chicken on top of their food and lick the chicken broth I pour over it. Darlin’ is still very hesitant and not completely comfortable eating. I stand with my back against the sink and watch. If she stops eating I tell her to “eat” and she will. She takes a bite of food, and then looks up to make sure the coast is clear before having another bite. Very similar to how she ate when I fed her at the tree before trapping her. Sometimes when she has her head up looking around, Toby will go over and start licking the broth out of her bowl. She doesn’t care at all, she’ll stick her nose back in the bowl right next to his and eat some more. He’s taking advantage because Darlin’ is protective of him and treats him like her puppy sometimes. Darlin’ shows weakness when she exhibits insecure behavior which makes it easier for any dog to take advantage. It has happened, but I’m not allowing Toby to continue the behavior. I don’t want him to intrude while she’s eating and he has learn to respect her too.
Toby leaning up against Darlin.
Cesar Millan had a show on recently spotlighting Baby Girl, a Doberman Pincher, possibly mixed with greyhound. She was fearful of thunderstorms, fearful of the kitchen cabinets being open, fearful of a lot of things. She lost a lot of weight when he had her at his Dog Psychology Center and he tried everything to get her to eat. Darlin’s fear issues are/was worse than Baby Girl. No camera man could ever walk in this house and film Darlin, she’s just too fearful of people to come out. I did see many similarities in Darlin and Baby Girl, but I also saw in Baby Girl things I have not witnessed in Darlin’. I would be terrified myself that if Cesar took Darlin to his dog psychology center that it would set her back. My comments have nothing to do with trusting Cesar’s ability to help a fearful dog; it’s that I know my Darlin. Cesar always says he’d rather work with an aggressive dog or red zone case than a fearful dog. I know exactly where he’s coming from. Fearful dogs need a lot of time to come around on their own. I can’t believe it’s been 5 months since I brought her home. It may seem like a long time, but the months have flown by. In addition, I have read many stories of fearful dogs, some took years to rehabilitate. Five months is a drop in the bucket.
I’d like to interject about my comments regarding Cesar Millan. I watch a lot of dog shows, not just dog training shows. I agree with many of the techniques that Cesar uses to train dogs, but I also disagree with other methods. I've often wondered how Cesar would handle a dog like Darlin’, then I think about some of the methods he’s used to push a dog past their limitations and I realize Darlin’ is in the best place for her rehabilitation. Rules, Boundaries, and Limitations are keys to avoiding problems and building a relationship with your dog. Mastering the walk may be essential to your dog’s health and happiness. Although I know from my own experience with dogs in my life that there are a lot of dogs that don’t need a routine walk to be good dogs and family pets.
Darlin’ crossed a major threshold this weekend. This is the first weekend that she has ever walked around the house passing family members. She may take a detour through the kitchen or behind the couch, but she has surprised us all. She does not like to be alone. I know this because I’m with her when no one else is in the house. She’s such a normal dog when we are alone now. Every time I leave a room, she is right beside me. This weekend her behavior is very similar to those times. Today I stood in the dining room next to my husband while he showed me something on his computer. When I left the room we realized Darlin’ had been sitting directly behind my husband’s chair the entire time! We are all extremely proud of her!
I can’t comprehend why someone would dump or abandon this dog, or any dog for that matter. There is something special about her spirit and something in her eyes that makes me want to comfort her. She actually licked my foot when we were sitting on the couch last week and she has licked my hand a couple of times. I’m not much into kissing and licking dogs, I’d rather be the one that kisses, but what she did meant a lot to me. I actually hope she licks me in the face by surprise someday. Darlin’ is respectful of the other dogs and looks up to her canine leader (me). I have put my hand under her muzzle, lifting her head high, as I kiss her on her head, the top of her nose, or the side of her face. I have never had the slightest concern that she would bite. She is the gentlest dog with so much love to give. I see that when she smiles outside as she runs over to me like a small child happy to meet with her parent’s approval for something she’s done. I can’t help but love Darlin’, she makes it so easy. I tell her often that I’m happy she’s here and that she’ll always have a loving family.
Over the last month I’ve worked with rescues, one long distance rescue that took a lot of me time-wise and emotionally, but there was a happy ending. I worked at my business and my own computer was down. This month I hope to do better. I have a feeling Darlin’ will be making quite a few changes to her lifestyle over the next few months. I can see it coming by the way she’s stepping out showing more trust and confidence this weekend.
Whatcha got Mom?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Darlin's story and rescue
I met Darlin’ the first time last August 2008. She was half starved running around a grocery store parking lot looking for food. My daughter and I were dropping off video rentals so I got out of my car as to not lose sight of her and had my daughter drive around to buy her a meal. Everything in the area was closed so I had to leave her there fending for herself. She was so skinny I thought she was a hound dog so it was really hard to go home without feeding her.
Then one night in September I returned some movies around 9:30 and she was there again. That night everything was still open so I had my daughter keep an eye on her while I ran through the store grabbing food, water, and bowls. She was still there when I came out so I took food to a tree in the nearby landscaping and tried to call her over to me. I could see that she was wary of strangers so I got back in my car and drove far enough away so that I could watch her. As soon as I did she ran to the food.
The following evening I went back curious if she would be there again and she was, so again I ran in the store and bought food. I needed to check out quickly so I ran up the customer service counter. I told the cashier that I was feeding a dog outside and he replied, “Yeah, she’s out there every night. I thought, “She’s out there every night and looks like that!” That dog had been hungry for a long time!!
From that day on I drove to the grocery store to feed her and it didn’t take long to discover she was crossing a major highway an hour after dark to eat. She would show up, but she would not come closer than 20 ft. of me.
Initially I thought she belonged to someone, thinking perhaps she was underfed and neglected. I even thought she was getting out of a yard to go eat. There are so many dogs tied, chained, or living in backyards that are neglected and forgotten. I had lived in the area for 9 months and never saw her before August so I tried to think of several possible scenarios. The only strays I had seen were dogs that go out in my own neighborhood and they had homes.
The feedings became a routine so I knew what time she would be there and I started keeping food in all of our vehicles in case I needed it. Her crossing the highway scared me, but at the time there wasn’t too much traffic. However, when the time changed she changed with it and continued to cross the highway an hour after dark – at 6:30 at night during rush hour traffic!
There were more times than I can count when I was sitting there waiting for her to show and I looked across the highway and could see her pacing on the side of the highway waiting for a break in traffic. There were a lot of times I saw her run right in front of cars and they were beeping their horns at her too! On more than one occasion I could see her tail wagging in excitement because she could see my car across the road and I was so scared that she would get hit. On those nights I quickly ducked behind my car! And I was so afraid she would get hit by a car that I couldn’t drive the speed limit through there after dark because I was afraid I might be the one to do it! Imagine turning off a highway into a parking lot and your headlights hitting the back feet of the dog you are going to feed! It happened!
By December the nightly feedings were starting to interfere with my home life. I have a family, a small business, three dogs and three cats, and I began working in animal rescue. There were times I had to leave dinner and ask my husband to finish or nights when my daughter was leaving the house so I asked her to feed Darlin for me. If we went out of town I had to be home by 6:30 or I was calling someone at home to go feed her. They already knew that call was coming in and would assure me they were leaving the house or had already placed her food out.
I couldn't eat dinner if I knew she was there waiting for me. One night in December we went to a Christmas concert, afterwards we went to dinner. I could not have a good time because I knew she was there waiting. We were in my husbands SUV and didn't have dog food so I scraped our scraps together and planned on leaving it for her on our way home. We arrived about 3 1/2 hours late and to my surprise she was sleeping by the tree!
On Christmas Eve my husband and I drove to her feeding spot and left her a special bone with her food, but it was raining and windy so she hadn’t come. I was worried about her because I hadn’t seen her for at least two nights. I started thinking of the possibility of her owners being home, perhaps their schedule changed during the holidays and is why I didn’t see her. The food was eaten, but we are in a more rural area so it could have been a wild animal. On the nights that I didn’t see her I would find a reason to leave the house, even if it just meant checking her bowls to make sure she had been there.
My family asked me sometime around Christmas what my intentions were with Darlin. I told them that I had intended to keep her alive with food through winter, after that it was in Gods hands. She was fearful, she spooked easily, and she wouldn’t come near me so I couldn’t bring her home even if I could catch her.
In January 2009 I realized it was time for change. One day while I was out looking for where she might live I stumbled upon a gravel road with some small run down houses. There at the end of the road were two Pit Bulls chained to a tree. One seemed excited to see me, but the other didn’t move. I could count every rib on that dogs body while she laid there curled up in a ball. I stayed in my car and watched for signs of life; she was breathing so I went straight home and called Animal Control. Long story short: I have since gone back, untied, untwisted, and fed the dogs and Animal Control did leave them an animal cruelty notice. I need to follow up for the third time on those dogs. Darlin is the reason I found them and was able to feed them and contact authorities.
During my conversation with Animal Control I mentioned that I had been looking for a stray dog that I had been feeding. I assured the AC officer that she was not a problem and that I was trying to figure out where she was living. He mentioned that if I decided that I wanted to catch her that he would help me.
By February I realized I was going to have to trap her, but my husband spoke up right away and said I couldn’t bring her home. He’s a good man and helps out a lot with our other animals, but I knew where he was coming from. There are times we are overwhelmed with our own, not to mention what we could be getting in to bringing a stray fearful dog home. I also decided to keep a foster dog in February which meant we had four other dogs to consider.
I sent out an email to local rescues asking for help, telling them her story, and hoping someone would take her. Heck, I know nothing about fearful stray dogs and I didn’t know how she would react in captivity. Two rescues did respond to my email; they were touched by our story, but already overwhelmed with dogs and “didn’t hold out much hope for a feral dog like Darlin’. They also informed me that our local shelter would euthanize within 7 days, but a stray feral dog probably wouldn’t last 24 hrs. So I contacted Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. My dad and his wife have volunteered there and told me that the large dogs like Darlin usually stay there for life because they are so hard to rehabilitate. Best Friends did write back, they couldn’t take her for the same reasons…she was feral and they were over capacity on feral dogs.
I forwarded the emails to my husband at which time he said we could try and trap her and rehabilitate her before placing her up for adoption. As soon as I knew I had a place to take her, I began researching how to trap a stray dog and also started a thread on Pet Finder forums asking for help or advice. Most of what you’ll read here is a summary of my original posts there.
It took me a month to pull everything together. AC took a week to get back in touch with me when I called, then when we finally met he brought a trap that was too small. Once the bigger trap was delivered it was an antique rusty thing that I feared wouldn’t work. If it failed or if she got her tail caught, she may never go near a trap again.
The first trap was set by the tree where I fed her at a shopping center. I put a large sign on the tree, Property of Animal Control, This Dog Will be Rescued, and my phone number. I also chained the trap to the tree. It sat two nights and both nights I had to stop people from throwing food away from the trap while she was trying to approach the food! Long story, but they obviously thought they were saving her. I wanted to ask them if they wanted to feed her the rest of their lives! And where were they all those months that I had been feeding her?!!
At that point I decided to move the trap across the street, but I needed a bigger one as I was certain she would not crouch down to go into a trap. This dog is so cautious she looks over her shoulder with every bite of food and spooks easily. During feedings, if she heard a loud noise she would run back to wherever she lived and come back during the night to finish so I had to be sure that she would go inside.
Another week goes by looking for a large dog trap. Just when I was going to order one, County AC called and was willing it to deliver a large trap right away. That was Tuesday March 10, 2009. We set the trap behind a chain link fenced area where I have seen her come and go from feedings. The property belonged to a rock and gravel company. When I called to ask if she was their dog they said she was not but they saw her frequently so they agreed to let me come and go through the property and set traps for her.
That Tuesday morning when I met animal control with the 6 ft trap, he remarked that we had a nice breeze and if she was anywhere in the vicinity that she smelled my scent and knew I was there. Not a minute later I tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, “Look, there’s my dog!” I was emotional and almost started crying!
That was only the second time in six months of feeding her that I saw her in the day light. The other time was months before when I drove by that rock yard on a Saturday morning. I saw her out walking around some tall grass. That was one of those days I thought she belonged to the owner of the rock yard. Another time I thought she belonged to them was when I saw her run past a warehouse garage door in the dark. She also came across that highway by crawling under fence that separated the rock yard from the highway.
I prepared home cooked meats: chicken legs, pork spare ribs, meatballs, and chunks of smoked ham. I browned it off, added chicken stock, and reduced it until the meat started falling off the bones. Once it cooled I took all the meat off the bones, used a nice brown gravy, and mixed it all together. Since I had fed her every night for 6 months, I had to make the food hard to resist.
That Tuesday night when the trap was set was really hard on me emotionally. It's the first night in 6 months that I didn't feed her. It just so happened that I went to buy her a dog house and she was crossing the highway on my way home. I tried not to think about her sitting there waiting, but I knew that once she was hungry enough she would go near that trap.
The next morning I had a catch so I knew that trap was working. It wasn't my dog, but a possum. I gave him 2 1/2 hours to leave and he went right back to sleep. We tipped the trap up and he decided to climb, then we prodded him gently with a stick until he finally crawled out. Once I had him out, I cleaned up his mess and moved the trap about 10 ft away and hoped his smell wouldn't keep her away.
I put dinner in the oven at 6 pm and decided to go see if she was anywhere around. My husband drove me so it would be easier to see without traffic distracting me. As we drove by I saw her near the trap! I decided not to cover the trap so it being wire it was hard to tell if she was inside. We pulled into a business nearby and discovered she was inside the trap eating, but the trap door was open! I called my daughter and told her the good news, but since the door wasn't closed we would go eat and come back. If she was inside, then we would have her.
I just pulled dinner from the oven when my daughter walked in. I asked her why she was home because I didn't expect her unless we called for help. She said her and her boyfriend just had to go see for themselves and "for me to mark my calendar because we had her!"
We hugged and we cried! I couldn't believe it; I had her on the 2nd day! We were all overcome with emotion! I had so many emails, phone calls, and a lot of emotional energy tied up in trapping her, not to mention worrying about her getting hit by a car the last 6 months. We found a clear path to the trap and were able to carry her out of there and put her in our SUV. We had her home within 30 minutes!
click on images to enlarge.
She was scared to death. As we approached the trap she barked at us. That was the first time I ever heard her voice in all these months.
Once home, we put the trap against the open gate to the dog pen we bought for her. She didn't come out right way, but did as soon as we gave her space. She went and crouched down behind her dog house and that’s where she stayed all night.
Then one night in September I returned some movies around 9:30 and she was there again. That night everything was still open so I had my daughter keep an eye on her while I ran through the store grabbing food, water, and bowls. She was still there when I came out so I took food to a tree in the nearby landscaping and tried to call her over to me. I could see that she was wary of strangers so I got back in my car and drove far enough away so that I could watch her. As soon as I did she ran to the food.
The following evening I went back curious if she would be there again and she was, so again I ran in the store and bought food. I needed to check out quickly so I ran up the customer service counter. I told the cashier that I was feeding a dog outside and he replied, “Yeah, she’s out there every night. I thought, “She’s out there every night and looks like that!” That dog had been hungry for a long time!!
From that day on I drove to the grocery store to feed her and it didn’t take long to discover she was crossing a major highway an hour after dark to eat. She would show up, but she would not come closer than 20 ft. of me.
Initially I thought she belonged to someone, thinking perhaps she was underfed and neglected. I even thought she was getting out of a yard to go eat. There are so many dogs tied, chained, or living in backyards that are neglected and forgotten. I had lived in the area for 9 months and never saw her before August so I tried to think of several possible scenarios. The only strays I had seen were dogs that go out in my own neighborhood and they had homes.
The feedings became a routine so I knew what time she would be there and I started keeping food in all of our vehicles in case I needed it. Her crossing the highway scared me, but at the time there wasn’t too much traffic. However, when the time changed she changed with it and continued to cross the highway an hour after dark – at 6:30 at night during rush hour traffic!
There were more times than I can count when I was sitting there waiting for her to show and I looked across the highway and could see her pacing on the side of the highway waiting for a break in traffic. There were a lot of times I saw her run right in front of cars and they were beeping their horns at her too! On more than one occasion I could see her tail wagging in excitement because she could see my car across the road and I was so scared that she would get hit. On those nights I quickly ducked behind my car! And I was so afraid she would get hit by a car that I couldn’t drive the speed limit through there after dark because I was afraid I might be the one to do it! Imagine turning off a highway into a parking lot and your headlights hitting the back feet of the dog you are going to feed! It happened!
By December the nightly feedings were starting to interfere with my home life. I have a family, a small business, three dogs and three cats, and I began working in animal rescue. There were times I had to leave dinner and ask my husband to finish or nights when my daughter was leaving the house so I asked her to feed Darlin for me. If we went out of town I had to be home by 6:30 or I was calling someone at home to go feed her. They already knew that call was coming in and would assure me they were leaving the house or had already placed her food out.
I couldn't eat dinner if I knew she was there waiting for me. One night in December we went to a Christmas concert, afterwards we went to dinner. I could not have a good time because I knew she was there waiting. We were in my husbands SUV and didn't have dog food so I scraped our scraps together and planned on leaving it for her on our way home. We arrived about 3 1/2 hours late and to my surprise she was sleeping by the tree!
On Christmas Eve my husband and I drove to her feeding spot and left her a special bone with her food, but it was raining and windy so she hadn’t come. I was worried about her because I hadn’t seen her for at least two nights. I started thinking of the possibility of her owners being home, perhaps their schedule changed during the holidays and is why I didn’t see her. The food was eaten, but we are in a more rural area so it could have been a wild animal. On the nights that I didn’t see her I would find a reason to leave the house, even if it just meant checking her bowls to make sure she had been there.
My family asked me sometime around Christmas what my intentions were with Darlin. I told them that I had intended to keep her alive with food through winter, after that it was in Gods hands. She was fearful, she spooked easily, and she wouldn’t come near me so I couldn’t bring her home even if I could catch her.
In January 2009 I realized it was time for change. One day while I was out looking for where she might live I stumbled upon a gravel road with some small run down houses. There at the end of the road were two Pit Bulls chained to a tree. One seemed excited to see me, but the other didn’t move. I could count every rib on that dogs body while she laid there curled up in a ball. I stayed in my car and watched for signs of life; she was breathing so I went straight home and called Animal Control. Long story short: I have since gone back, untied, untwisted, and fed the dogs and Animal Control did leave them an animal cruelty notice. I need to follow up for the third time on those dogs. Darlin is the reason I found them and was able to feed them and contact authorities.
During my conversation with Animal Control I mentioned that I had been looking for a stray dog that I had been feeding. I assured the AC officer that she was not a problem and that I was trying to figure out where she was living. He mentioned that if I decided that I wanted to catch her that he would help me.
By February I realized I was going to have to trap her, but my husband spoke up right away and said I couldn’t bring her home. He’s a good man and helps out a lot with our other animals, but I knew where he was coming from. There are times we are overwhelmed with our own, not to mention what we could be getting in to bringing a stray fearful dog home. I also decided to keep a foster dog in February which meant we had four other dogs to consider.
I sent out an email to local rescues asking for help, telling them her story, and hoping someone would take her. Heck, I know nothing about fearful stray dogs and I didn’t know how she would react in captivity. Two rescues did respond to my email; they were touched by our story, but already overwhelmed with dogs and “didn’t hold out much hope for a feral dog like Darlin’. They also informed me that our local shelter would euthanize within 7 days, but a stray feral dog probably wouldn’t last 24 hrs. So I contacted Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah. My dad and his wife have volunteered there and told me that the large dogs like Darlin usually stay there for life because they are so hard to rehabilitate. Best Friends did write back, they couldn’t take her for the same reasons…she was feral and they were over capacity on feral dogs.
I forwarded the emails to my husband at which time he said we could try and trap her and rehabilitate her before placing her up for adoption. As soon as I knew I had a place to take her, I began researching how to trap a stray dog and also started a thread on Pet Finder forums asking for help or advice. Most of what you’ll read here is a summary of my original posts there.
It took me a month to pull everything together. AC took a week to get back in touch with me when I called, then when we finally met he brought a trap that was too small. Once the bigger trap was delivered it was an antique rusty thing that I feared wouldn’t work. If it failed or if she got her tail caught, she may never go near a trap again.
The first trap was set by the tree where I fed her at a shopping center. I put a large sign on the tree, Property of Animal Control, This Dog Will be Rescued, and my phone number. I also chained the trap to the tree. It sat two nights and both nights I had to stop people from throwing food away from the trap while she was trying to approach the food! Long story, but they obviously thought they were saving her. I wanted to ask them if they wanted to feed her the rest of their lives! And where were they all those months that I had been feeding her?!!
At that point I decided to move the trap across the street, but I needed a bigger one as I was certain she would not crouch down to go into a trap. This dog is so cautious she looks over her shoulder with every bite of food and spooks easily. During feedings, if she heard a loud noise she would run back to wherever she lived and come back during the night to finish so I had to be sure that she would go inside.
Another week goes by looking for a large dog trap. Just when I was going to order one, County AC called and was willing it to deliver a large trap right away. That was Tuesday March 10, 2009. We set the trap behind a chain link fenced area where I have seen her come and go from feedings. The property belonged to a rock and gravel company. When I called to ask if she was their dog they said she was not but they saw her frequently so they agreed to let me come and go through the property and set traps for her.
That Tuesday morning when I met animal control with the 6 ft trap, he remarked that we had a nice breeze and if she was anywhere in the vicinity that she smelled my scent and knew I was there. Not a minute later I tapped him on the shoulder and whispered, “Look, there’s my dog!” I was emotional and almost started crying!
That was only the second time in six months of feeding her that I saw her in the day light. The other time was months before when I drove by that rock yard on a Saturday morning. I saw her out walking around some tall grass. That was one of those days I thought she belonged to the owner of the rock yard. Another time I thought she belonged to them was when I saw her run past a warehouse garage door in the dark. She also came across that highway by crawling under fence that separated the rock yard from the highway.
I prepared home cooked meats: chicken legs, pork spare ribs, meatballs, and chunks of smoked ham. I browned it off, added chicken stock, and reduced it until the meat started falling off the bones. Once it cooled I took all the meat off the bones, used a nice brown gravy, and mixed it all together. Since I had fed her every night for 6 months, I had to make the food hard to resist.
That Tuesday night when the trap was set was really hard on me emotionally. It's the first night in 6 months that I didn't feed her. It just so happened that I went to buy her a dog house and she was crossing the highway on my way home. I tried not to think about her sitting there waiting, but I knew that once she was hungry enough she would go near that trap.
The next morning I had a catch so I knew that trap was working. It wasn't my dog, but a possum. I gave him 2 1/2 hours to leave and he went right back to sleep. We tipped the trap up and he decided to climb, then we prodded him gently with a stick until he finally crawled out. Once I had him out, I cleaned up his mess and moved the trap about 10 ft away and hoped his smell wouldn't keep her away.
I put dinner in the oven at 6 pm and decided to go see if she was anywhere around. My husband drove me so it would be easier to see without traffic distracting me. As we drove by I saw her near the trap! I decided not to cover the trap so it being wire it was hard to tell if she was inside. We pulled into a business nearby and discovered she was inside the trap eating, but the trap door was open! I called my daughter and told her the good news, but since the door wasn't closed we would go eat and come back. If she was inside, then we would have her.
I just pulled dinner from the oven when my daughter walked in. I asked her why she was home because I didn't expect her unless we called for help. She said her and her boyfriend just had to go see for themselves and "for me to mark my calendar because we had her!"
We hugged and we cried! I couldn't believe it; I had her on the 2nd day! We were all overcome with emotion! I had so many emails, phone calls, and a lot of emotional energy tied up in trapping her, not to mention worrying about her getting hit by a car the last 6 months. We found a clear path to the trap and were able to carry her out of there and put her in our SUV. We had her home within 30 minutes!
She was scared to death. As we approached the trap she barked at us. That was the first time I ever heard her voice in all these months.
Once home, we put the trap against the open gate to the dog pen we bought for her. She didn't come out right way, but did as soon as we gave her space. She went and crouched down behind her dog house and that’s where she stayed all night.
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