A Rebuttal to: "Fur babies are just not a thing"

This is a different kind of blog today. I stumbled upon another blogger’s entry the other day and while I normally just chalk those up to people having different opinions, which is a good thing, I feel compelled to write a rebuttal. Not just because I have a different opinion, but also because, from a dog behavior standpoint, there are just many wrong, and possibly dangerous, statements in there. (I will provide the original link in the reference section *a).

The author starts with the disclaimer “First let me say this. I am an animal lover.” – Good, so am I. In addition to being a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, inspiring Behaviorist and a dog rescue volunteer for about 15 years.

The premise of her blog is that “fur babies are just not a thing.” At this point we can still somewhat agree. In my profession and working with a scientific background, I know that anthropomorphizing is frowned upon when approaching behavior scientifically. However, do we really need to get caught up on the word? I have met many people who don’t have ANYbody. Maybe they had kids, but they are off living their lives and never bring the grandkids. Maybe they got divorced and have depression and don’t ever go out of the house. Maybe they are homeless and shunned by the world. Their only companions – their pets. But for them it is more than that. Until we invent a better term, why not let them call them “fur babies”?

The real whopper that inspired this rebuttal comes only 4 paragraphs in: “Dogs – the animal that inspires the most intense faux parents – can switch homes and owners with relative ease as long as they continue to be well loved and cared for. So enough of the dramatic media show during public celebrity splits over who gets the dogs – it’s absurd and minimizes the real trauma that happens when families split, and children get caught in the middle.” While I agree with today’s media being overly sensational, the rest of the statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Dogs, as all our domestic pets, are sentient beings. Many countries like New Zealand, Canada and France are light-years ahead of the US in acknowledging it legally. But recently the Oregon Supreme Court also handed down a ruling in that regard (*b). Re-homing a dog is a very traumatic event in that dog’s life. The author even acknowledges that “animals will generally remain loyal no matter what their owners say or do.”  So why then, do we think it’s ok to just re-home them? If you have ever seen a dog being picked up from boarding, you will somewhat understand. They were probably “happy” during their stay, played with other dogs. But the eruption of joy when they see their owners again will tell you differently. The truth is, dogs are very apt at survival and will hide their discomfort, but experienced guardians will see the stress: loose stools, not eating well, shedding, barking and high arousal in play. Every time you re-home a dog, you change the behavior of that dog. While everything may seem ok on the outside, a storm has started brewing inside and if you are lucky, nothing bad ever happens. But if compounded by multiple re-homings, you may very well end up with a dog that strikes at a person “with no warning” and all the behavior protocols in the world can’t help and the dog has to be put down.

And that doesn’t even cover separating “bonded pairs”. I blame today’s throwaway society for the trend of re-homing. That – and attitudes like the above. You made a commitment to take care of an animal until it’s last day. Don’t leave it behind because you are moving, don’t throw it away, because you are pregnant. Would you leave your child behind because there is no room in the car when you are moving? Yes, I went there! (*c)

“The behavior needs and expectations of animals are also mostly unchanging.” If that is your belief, you should get a stuffed animal. Yes, you have to feed, water and walk your dog. Maybe even play with him a little and some cuddling. But it is also why my profession as a dog trainer exists. It is not just to teach your dog your basic manners. People call me when there are behavior problems. And those problems mostly develop, because of the above mentality. If you don’t realize that your dog has other, ever evolving needs, than just eat, drink, poop, walk, sleep, repeat, you WILL have problems later on. (*d)

“Having an animal under your care is not the same as parenting a child.” – Tell that to the dog owners who drop off their dogs with me for boarding. Oh wait, that is exactly your point. Ok, let’s get more scientific. Dogs have the “mental ability approximating that of humans between two and three years of age” (Stanley Coren *e). In my opinion we have only begun to scratch the surface on what dogs are capable of and I excitedly follow Brian Hare’s research at Duke University. (*f)

To me the phrase “simply a pet owner” is just as insulting as me saying “you are just a parent.” It devalues all the work that great pet owners do with their animals: training, sports, hiking, meeting their emotional needs. The author describes how it would be neglect to leave her toddler in a crate and have a neighbor come over occasionally to walk him/her around the block. That is certainly true. But it doesn’t automatically infer that it is ok to do that with a dog. While it is true that you CAN do that to a dog, it doesn’t mean that you should leave your 12 week old puppy in crate for 8 -10 hours with only a potty break from a neighbor. Just because animal control won’t issue a citation for that, doesn’t mean that it is not damaging to that puppy. All it means is that our animal protection laws are severely lacking. Forget for a moment that a puppy can’t hold it’s bladder for that long and you are risking bladder infections, you can potentially do behavioral damage that is very traumatic and difficult to modify. 

“Pet owners who call themselves parents trivialize the very real, ever-changing lifetime commitment that parenting is.” Well, I say: just because you are a parent that doesn’t give you the right to trivialize the very real, ever-changing lifetime commitment that pet-ownership is. I congratulate you on working “effing hard to call [your]self a parent”, because you are right, not everybody can say that. But I know a whole lot of pet owners who work really, really hard at being great pet parents. And that is not very common either. And just because we are calling them pet parents doesn’t take anything away from your status as the parent of a human child. Maybe it just means, that we don’t have a word for it yet. Since a sentient being can’t or shouldn’t be “owned”, “pet owners” is not the right word anymore. “Pet guardians”? Maybe … But for some people that is not strong enough to define the bond that exists with their furry companions, especially if they have nobody else. So let them call themselves pet parents!

“15 things that are wildly different about being a parent than being a pet owner” (I won’t re-type what the author wrote, just because of the sheer volume. I’ll just write my rebuttal and you can read the original by clicking on the link below).

1) Not sure what how a dog ages has to do with them not being fur babies. But first of all, the 1/7 years ratio is not correct (*g) and second of all, pet parents would argue that having your dog with you for only 13-15 years is a lot harder than hopefully seeing your child grow up and leaving this world before them. Most of us have the opportunity of caring for 4 dogs in our lifetime (if you have them back to back or slightly overlapping) and it is very hard to be the one left behind!

2) Ah leashes for kids – I’m on the fence about it, too. But just because you CAN leave a dog tied to a pole outside of a store or in your back or front yard, doesn’t mean you should do it. Apart of the risk of your dog being stolen, you can create very serious behavior problems. (*h)

3) A lot of people have their kids’ basic needs taken cared of by caretakers who are paid for it. Yes, it’s mostly rich people with nannies and you probably wouldn’t drop your kid off somewhere, but a weak argument.

4) Keeping dogs in the yard – see #2. (*i) Leaving dogs at home with  wee wee pads and food and water – already discussed. Ah – and the boarding … yes, you wouldn’t drop your kid off at a place like that. But you must be the only parent, who never dropped her kids off at grandma and grandpa’s to have a weekend getaway with her husband. 

5) Again – just because you CAN place your dog on Facebook for re-homing, doesn’t mean you should. You are actually proving my point that I already discussed in the beginning. Giving your dog away because he doesn’t fit in your new apartment. Definitely frowned upon and not the sign of a good pet parent.

6) Well, you won’t fix her to avoid unwanted early grandmahood, but chances are you will – at the very least - talk to her about condoms and possibly put her on the pill. Remember, your dog has the cognitive ability of a 2-3 year old child. Would you talk to your 2 year old about safe sex? As pet guardians we have to make some decisions for our pets that WE think are best for them. This is one of them.

7) Not even sure what to say to that. Your child already can fly with you in a seat. Why would you want to put her in a bag under your seat? Many pet parents I know would happily pay for a seat for their dog if that meant they could fly together.

8) Again with the: Just because you CAN do something, doesn’t mean you should. There are breeders out there, very good breeders. And they sell their dogs for a lot of money – to good pet parents. Jo-schmo breeding their dog and selling them is definitely not a good thing and the reason for very serious pet overpopulation and health and behavioral issues in dogs.

9) While pets don’t need clothes, there is a lot of stuff you need to buy when caring for your pet. Not the least of it is veterinary care, which is not cheap. Oh, what’s that? You have health insurance for your child?

10) Every interaction with your dog is a training opportunity. (*k) A dog is a trial-and-error learner. If they “get away” with something and it had a pay off, they are likely going to do it again. That means that when you have a young puppy, especially, you need to be on your toes ALL THE TIME. If you want a well-behaved adult dog that is. If not, just let them run amok.

11) Not sure what that comparison is all about. Maybe if she explained what she thinks hanging out at the local dog park looks like.

12) Puberty – oh yeah, dogs have that, too. It’s worse than puppyhood. Because now you have a dog that doesn’t have that “cuteness factor” anymore and you went to puppy classes and did everything right, and you thought you had your puppy trained. And then – puberty!

13) It may not be $60000 that is putting the weight on your shoulders. But try this on for size: Your dog was injured by another dog and you can help him recover and he will be good as new, but it will cost you $5000. If you have the money – great, you probably won’t hesitate. But what if you don’t? You have to tell the vet to euthanize your loving companion and to add insult to injury you have to pay for that as well.

14) Some people would argue that if your dog has puppies you would be a “fur grandma”…. But for your argument’s sake. Ok, you have me on this point. When my dog is gone, I won’t be held accountable anymore. Only for the 13-15 years she is with me. And it’s going to be hard to let her go. In time a new dog will – not replace her – but fill a void, and she will hold me accountable.

15) Yeah – you got me on that one, too. But again: imagine having to say goodbye to somebody you love unconditionally every 15 years!

In the beginning the author says “to make family that includes something ‘other’ [and] is super valuable for kids growing up.” She hopes to be able to “offer [her] daughter that very experience.” For the animal’s sake that enters her household I hope she looks at some of the references at the end of my blog and will realize how misguided her statements are. I hope that whatever animal enters her household will not be left in the yard all day, or the crate with only a potty break, or re-homed when they move or when another sibling comes along. And most of all I hope she will realize that calling them “fur babies” takes nothing away from her as a parent. From her hard work and commitment to her child. It just means that there are people that feel the same for their furry companions and that the vocabulary in our ever changing evolving world has not caught up yet.

Let’s let go of the anger and animosity, embrace our differences and be willing to learn from each other!

Original Blog

*a) http://www.littlethings.com/dog-owners-are-not-parents/

References

*b) http://barkpost.com/oregon-court-finds-dogs-are-sentient-beings/

*c) http://www.wimp.com/a-dog-is-reunited-with-her-owner-after-two-years-and-hundreds-of-miles/

*d) http://dvddepot.tawzerdog.com/enrichment-and-why-your-dog-needs-it.html

*e) https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201107/what-are-the-limits-canine-learning

*f) www.dognition.com

*g) http://www.akc.org/learn/family-dog/how-to-calculate-dog-years-to-human-years/

*h) http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/chaining_tethering/facts/chaining_tethering_facts.html?credit=web_id83608263#How_does_tethering_dogs_pose

*i) http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/is-it-ok-to-leave-my-dog-alone-in-the-yard

*k) https://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/dr-yins-top-10-dog-training-tips/

"Can you train my dog to be a Service Dog?"

This blog has been written many times recently and I could just link to any of them and save myself some time. However, as a training professional, ethically, I think it is my duty to be as informed as possible in order to give my clients the correct advice, so I decided to do some research and digging myself. seems that in the past few months every other call we receive is: “I just adopted a dog and I want to make him/her my service dog. Can you help me?” - or “Do you train service dogs?” 

Upon further investigation, we usually discover that really what they want is a dog that helps them with some anxiety issues and/or specifically PTSD. Then you have the people who moved in somewhere and they don’t allow pets and they have “heard” or somebody told them that Emotional Support Animals can’t be kicked out. And last but not least are the people who “want to take my dog to the hospital to help the kids.”

And this is the crux of the problem - those are literally 3 different things. But the general public either loops them all together or uses the terms interchangeably.

So here is my attempt to clarify and to explain the differences:

1 - The Service Dog

A service dog is not a pet. Often times a Service Dog is a lifeline for a disabled person, who wouldn’t be able to function without said Service Dog. In that respect you could view a Service Dog as an “assistive device” for that person (some examples are seeing eye dogs, seizure alert dogs and also psychiatric service dogs that alert to an oncoming panic attack). Service dogs are covered by the American with Disabilities Act, which requires a Service Dog to

1)    belong to a person with a life limiting disability

2)    be trained to recognize said disability by doing work or tasks

3)    not cause a disruption in public

Through the ADA a Service Dog has access wherever the public is allowed. If a dog is an obvious Service Dog (such as a seeing eye dog), their presence in public may not be challenged. If it is not so obvious that they are Service Dogs, a business owner may ask 2 questions of the handler:

1)    Is this dog a service animal because of a disability? and

2)    What work or tasks has this dog been trained to perform?

So here it is - a Service Dog needs to be trained to perform a certain task for ONE person. The training does not have to be done by a professional, but can be self-taught. As a minimum they need to always be “under control” of their handler and be house trained. A Service Dog is generally trained to ignore other people (as opposed to a therapy dog), because they need to be focused on their handler and their job. That is also the reason why you should not pet a service dog, because a distraction could literally mean life or death for the handler.

Service Dogs “in training” generally are not protected under the ADA, but certain states may have different rules. Because of them having to be housebroken and well-behaved in public, generally, I would only consider a Service Dog to be “in training” when they could pass the Canine Good Citizen test. It is also good to remember that it can take 1-2 years to fully train a Service Dog. That is provided that they have the temperament for it. So adopting a rescue dog and expecting them to become your Service Dog with a couple of training classes is not as easy as that sounds. That is not to say that rescue dogs can’t be Service Dogs.

Contrary to popular belief there is no need for special vests, patches, harnesses, or special id tags. There is also no certification needed. The following statement is taken directly from the ADA website: “There are individuals and organizations that sell service dog animal certifications or registration documents online. These documents do not cover any rights under the ADA and the Department of Justice does not recognize them as proof that the dog is a service animal.”

There is no breed restriction or exemption on a Service Dog and even if you live in an area with Breed Specific Legislation, or in housing that doesn’t allow pets or restricts breeds and/or sizes,  your service dog must be allowed!

2 - The Emotional Support Animal

An ESA is a pet that provides disability relieving emotional support to an individual, but is not necessarily trained to do so. An ESA therefore has no public access rights, but is covered under the Air Carrier Act to be able to fly with their person in the cabin without extra fees, and under the Fair Housing Act to be able to live in housing that normally wouldn’t allow pets. Even in housing that allows pets but charges extra pet deposits and/or rent for animals, you are not required to pay those fees for an ESA. 

Contrary to a Service Animal an airline employee or landlord can ask you for documentation for an ESA. They can NOT ask you what your condition is. Documentation usually consists of a letter on a doctor’s or therapist’s/counselor’s letterhead, stating that this animal is providing disability relieving emotional support and that it is necessary for your well-being and being able to function, that this animal is with you.

Again, no registration, special vests or patches are needed. But the animal needs to be well behaved and potty trained. By the way - an emotional support animal is not restricted to dogs; it could be a cat, a pig or even a miniature horse! There is also no breed restriction or exemption on an ESA and even if you live in an area with Breed Specific Legislation or your housing has breed/size/weight restrictions, your ESA must be allowed.

3 - The Therapy Dog

A Therapy Dog is a pet that is trained to interact with many people other than their handler to make those people feel better. Examples are dogs that visit nursing homes and hospitals; dogs that go to court to sit with minors or other traumatized witnesses while they give testimony; dogs that go to the library, so that kids can read to them.

A Therapy Dog does not have public access rights and is only allowed in certain places by prior arrangement.

There is no required registration or certification for Therapy Dogs, however, most places you will want to visit with your Therapy Dog will want you and your dog to be registered or certified by one organization or another, mainly for insurance purposes. At minimum they will require you to have a Canine Good Citizen Test. There are several Therapy Dog Registries with different requirements. (Examples for those are Therapy Dogs International, Pet Partners or Assistance Dogs International).

There is also no breed restriction on a Therapy Dog, however, since they don’t enjoy public access rights, you are not protected in areas of Breed-Specific-Legislation and if the institution you want to visit decides to put breed restrictions in place, you have to follow the rules.

Conclusion

You can see that, with no registration or even identifying requirements, it would be relatively easy to pass your dog off as a Service Dog, just so he can go with you everywhere or also as an ESA to get around housing requirements or Breed Specific Legislation. But please, resist that urge! “Fake Service Dogs” is a current trend that makes it a lot harder for people who legitimately need their dogs to navigate this world. It is not cool! We all would love to have our dogs by our sides - always. Make up for it by picking up a sport or taking them to fun classes during your time off!

The other trend of “can you just train my adopted rescue dog to be my Service Dog” is a little more acceptable, but not always possible. There is a reason that trained Service Dogs cost a lot of money. They are selectively bred for temperament, and they are trained for 1 - 2 years before they are even paired with an individual. That is not to say that a rescue dog cannot become a Service Dog, ESA or Therapy Animal. I know of many rescue dogs that do just that! At least two alumni of Lucky Dog Rescue are registered and certified Therapy Dogs today. And their stories are amazing; but it took time and dedication of their adopters, as well as a lot of training to make it happen. That being said - if you are looking to adopt a dog with the intention of making him/her a Service Dog or Therapy Dog, please hire a trainer before the adoption. Many trainers will go with you and temperament test the dog for you and let you know if they have the potential to fulfill those tasks. And keep in mind that you will still have to put in a lot of time, effort and yes, some money, to get them trained. Either way it will be immensely rewarding. For an ESA, since they don’t have to be trained, it is still a good idea to have a trainer temperament test, but the most important part is the emotional connection you have with the animal.

References

Here are some great websites that I used for my research for this article, and they go in much more detail than I did in this article.

www.psychdogpartners.org

www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf

www.animallaw.com/laws.cfm

https://www.animallaw.info/article/faqs-emotional-support-animals

Easy Overview

Cute or Dangerous?

I had another blog ready to go, but poor timing on my part – I decided to write a new one for National Dog Bite Prevention Week.

Being that my Facebook photo album about the same topic had over 80 shares, it prompted me to talk about this in more detail. Dog trainers or really anybody that knows about dog body language usually cringe at the “cute” dog/kid pictures and/or videos on social media. Yet we get flack for it when we speak up. Why?

A friend of mine a few days ago made a post about this exact same topic (and actually inspired my album). Her friends posted photo comments about their dogs. “Yes, but look here, my dog is giving kisses.” Or “My dog loves her kids.” (showing a girl hugging a dog that is clearly uncomfortable.) – effectively proving her point, however they didn’t see anything wrong with it, because THEIR dogs are different. My pointing out the obvious was not well received. Why?

Maybe people feel personally attacked when we tell them that it is not a good idea to let their kid hug a dog and snap a picture. Maybe they think we are telling them they are bad parents, when we tell them to put the video camera down and tell their child not to ride the dog like a horse, instead of filming it. We hear “My dog would never do this.”; “My dog is good with kids.”; “He loves his kids.”; “I’m supervising them.” – And then when the unthinkable happens we hear “It was out of the blue.”; “We never saw it coming.”, or “But he has never even growled at anybody.”

The problem is – we never think it could happen to us. Our dog is different, he grew up with the kids. I get it, I’m guilty of it myself. Did you know there is a difference between “active supervision” and “passive supervision”? Are you watching your kids around your dog and are in the same room with them, or are you just in the same house? A dog can bite 3-5 times in the span of a second! Let that sink in for a moment. Do you really think you can be faster than that? Active supervision means to watch your kids and intervene when you see inappropriate behavior toward the dog. Teaching the kids respect for dogs (really all animals) and being preemptive is the key – you are not going to be able to jump in between when the dog is at the point that he needs to bite. Yes, I said ‘need’. Our dogs – our family dogs – don’t ‘want’ to bite us. They usually do give us every sign that they are uncomfortable and would like us to back off. Sometimes subtle and sometimes they are figuratively screaming at us. But we can’t hear it? Why? Because we are too busy trying to defend ourselves instead of listening to well-meaning advice.

Seriously – we are not judging you (well … we might if you start arguing and come back at us with the above arguments). In this business we see the tragic outcomes and because we cannot train every single dog in the world, we are desperately trying to get the word out and educate people on the subtle nuances of dog body language. A couple of years ago I went to a Dog Bite Prevention Conference hosted by Victoria Stilwell. Some of the speakers were the parents of Liam J Perk, whose son died from a bite of their family dog of 8 years. When they finished their story there was not a dry eye in the house. They, too, made the typical statements “never saw it coming; wish we had known”. Imagine the crushing loss of a child, and in addition the guilt they felt of this possibly being preventable. And on top of it, they also had to deal with the loss of a dog, a friend and companion they had longer than they had their child!

So, please, we are not saying you are bad parents. We KNOW you are not bad parents. Did you know that out of all dog bites on children 77% of them happen in their own homes and with either their own dog or a dog they know? And where on the body do most bites on children happen? Look at the pictures in the linked Facebook album and draw your own conclusions! For your childrens’ and for your dogs’ sakes – and in the end it is always the dog that pays – please keep reading and listen to our advice. We are giving it away for free and it just could save a life.

Let’s start with the subtle signs: Looking and/or leaning away, excessive panting when not hot, yawning, lip licking – while a dog could be tired or hungry – consider the context of the situation. Those can be signs of stress or appeasement signals (meaning, they are saying “I’m not a threat, please leave me alone, back off, you’re too close). For example, as a general rule, dogs do not enjoy being hugged. Yes, I know … “but my dog loves to snuggle, we hug and kiss all the time.” I’m guilty of it myself. But just because they tolerate it, doesn’t mean they like it. Next time you hug your dog pay attention. Do they get stiff? Turn their head away? Maybe even start lip licking? Trust me – they let you do it, because they love you, but they are trying to tell you something. Whale eye and a furrowed brow, licking your kid in the face when they put their face into the dog’s face. Those are a little less subtle. Your dog is clearly worried. And the cute kisses he is giving – an escalation of the lip licking “please get out of my face, I mean you no harm” (again, consider the context, your kid could have a peanut butter mustache).

Now let’s say, one day it is just getting too much and your dog growls at you when you hug him and don’t let go. You freak out and yell at him and go right back to hugging, because, well, “he is not the boss of you.” If you continue to punish a growl, you have now taken away a very effective communication tool. A growl is a clear warning from a dog to please back off! Again – he doesn’t want to bite and a growl is practically a scream to go away. Count your blessings that your dog has such a clear warning and heed it. Punishing your dog does not show leadership. He will not respect you more. But you now have effectively taken away his tool to let you know when enough is enough. Next time he may go to a snap directly or even to a bite. And let’s talk about that ‘snap’ for a minute. Knowing now how fast dogs really are. Do you honestly think that your dog ‘missed’? A snap is not a missed bite. Again – count your blessings, because your dog does not want to bite you! But he had to resort to yet another escalated sign that he is uncomfortable. The next time he may not have any other option left.

Whenever you pick up the camera next to snap that cute shot or make a vine or youtube video, step back and assess the situation. What is the dog really saying? Is a “cute” picture worth the risk. If I have made you put your camera down and intervene I have done my job! If I just make one person step back and think, it is all worth it! You don’t even have to acknowledge me.

If you don’t want to take MY word for it, please check out the references listed below. The key is to educate ourselves on dog body language and to teach our kids respect for animals and also get them started young on the body language. I am a “Be A Tree” presenter and come to schools and boy/girl scout troops for free. We also have an afterschool program as well as a Summercamp. Ultimately my passion is dogs and I will do anything to save as many as I can and that includes educating the next generation so that we leave behind a better world than we have now!

References/Resources

www.doggonesafe.com

www.be-a-tree.com

www.liamjperkfoundation.org

https://positively.com/animal-advocacy/dog-bite-prevention/

https://www.avma.org/Events/pethealth/Pages/Dog-Bite-Prevention-Week.aspx

So you want to be a Pack Leader?

What kind of relationship do you want with your dog? Do you want to be the benevolent leader that your dog looks up to and respects, or do you want to be a leader that your dog obeys because he is afraid of you? Think back to your school days. Did you respect and look up to the teacher that was strict yet fair or to the teacher that threatened you with detention and gave you extra homework for passing a note in class?

You have probably heard the phrases “you need to be the leader of your pack” or “nothing in life is free”. Those two concepts in recent years have become almost taboo in the dog training world. At the very least they are becoming very outdated. Why? They are tainted by a faulty pack and dominance theory, but that is a whole other article.

In a nutshell: Today we know that “A wolf pack is a cohesive family unit consisting of the adult parents and their offspring …” (wolf.org) the terms alpha male and alpha female have been replaced with ‘breeding pair’ or simply ‘parents’. Furthermore dogs are not directly descendent from wolves just as humans do not directly descent from chimpanzees. Therefore comparisons between wolf behavior and dog behavior will always be flawed. Studies of ‘wild’ or feral dogs in Romania have shown that they do not form packs, but only brief relationships (Jean Donaldson 2009). Dr. Ian Dunbar describes them as “loose, transitory associations”. “Since even wolves organize themselves into family units, we can aspire to be not dominant pack members but good parents instead. Loving caretakers and dedicated teachers of our dependent dogs”. (Sdao)

Does this mean that there are no rules and no consequences when using positive reinforcement? No – quite the opposite. Contrary to popular belief, dogs want rules and want somebody to tell them what to do. If they don’t have that – especially if it is an insecure dog already – they start making their own decisions and usually those are bad, because they don’t know any better. It is all about establishing boundaries for your dog. Ken Ramirez defines dog training as “teaching a dog to live as a dog in a human world and learning the rules”. Really it is just communicating effectively with your dog. After all, they come from a world where it is ok to say hello by sniffing somebody’s butt or to scavenge for food. How are they supposed to know that humans frown upon such behavior and do not like it when the trashcan is dumped and its contents are littered all over the house. Imagine yourself being dropped into a culture that is entirely foreign to you, where you don’t speak the language, and you don’t know the customs. How do you find out what is appropriate behavior when you can’t communicate?

What does that mean for our relationship with dogs? “Good leaders spend their energy thoughtfully arranging the learner’s environment to promote good behavior, proactively planning to avoid problems and steering clear of interventions that create fear and avoidance.” (Sdao) That means we reinforce behaviors we like and would like to see again and ignore and/or prevent reinforcement of behaviors we don’t like and would like to be extinguished.

One way of achieving this is the use of the Premack Principles. In the 1960s Dr. David Premack came up with the principle that a “high probablility behavior reinforces a low probability behavior”. For example: For a dog that loves walks, going for a walk (highly probable) would reinforce the behavior of sitting to clip the leash on (less probable). “Dr. Premack’s pioneering insight is that an animal’s behavior is reinforced whenever the consequence of that behavior [sitting] is that that the animal gets to engage in an activity he would freely choose to do at that moment. [walk]” (Sdao). The beauty of positive reinforcement training is that reinforcement does not have to be a thing (treat) but can also be access to a preferred activity. And the Premack Principle is so amazing, because it “is like gravity, it’s in effect all the time.” (Sdao)

I know what you’re thinking – that sounds like we are back to “nothing in life is free”. The dog should do something every time he wants something. I myself like chocolate way too much to only have it as a dessert. Sometimes I want to eat a piece ‘just because’. So I am opting for a ‘limited NILF’ – I call it “pick your battles”. Remember you are teaching your dog the rules appropriate for living with a human. You come up with your rules and enforce them. While jumping up at your friends’ faces to greet them may not be appropriate, you may be ok with Buffy jumping up to ‘dance’ with you. You might enjoy snuggling on the couch, but Buffy can’t just jump up, you have to invite her (yet another family may not allow their dogs on the couch at all). Buffy paws and claws you for attention while you are watching a movie; while you don’t mind petting her ‘just because’, the scratching is not ok, so she’ll have to have all feet on the floor, or stop pawing you for at least 3 seconds, before you touch her. “NILF is to control. In the long run communication trumps control.” (Sdao)

The easiest way to communicate with your dog is to allow them to make choices without coercion. “Our role is to notice more of those choices, inform the dog when he’s chosen correctly and reward the dog so he’ll be more likely to choose that way in the future.” (Sdao). Our Reward Toolbox contains the Premack Principles, toys, food (after his basic physical needs are met) and, of course, treats. In addition you can designate some foods (or other reinforces) that are never free and ‘earned only’. “They are the heavy hitters on the reinforcement line-up.” (Sdao)

Give your dog the credit he deserves. They are very capable of figuring things out. Set your rules and give your dog the opportunity to figure them out by offering you behaviors. Be a loving leader who teaches your dog right from wrong (by human standards) by offering guidance not force. Be that teacher you admired and respected in school and become the person your dog already thinks you are.

References

Ken Ramirez – Keynote address APDT Conference 2013

Kathy Sdao – Plenty in Life is Free

http://www.wolf.org/learn/basic-wolf-info/wolf-faqs/#f

Dr. Ian Dunbar

Jean Donaldson

Dr. David Premack - (Premack Principle)

Dr. Sophia Yin (cartoons)

... and then my life changed!

Alrighty .... I'm lagging a little behind with writing a new entry. Life has been busy. So to tide you over ... an oldie but a goodie! I know it is long. But it is near and dear to my heart and it explains very well how I got to where I am today.

March 2006

As this time of volunteering and then working at the ALDF rescue shelter in Sanford is winding down and nearing the end I am sitting here reflecting back and wanted to bring my thoughts to "paper".

It all started a little over a year ago when I called my friend (the wrestler) Amy to ask her for tickets for...... no..... wait a minute ..... I think I actually have to go back even further - I think you'll see why.
So.... it actually started when I was about 13 years old. Yes, even back then I knew I wanted to work with animals. I had seen a TV documentary about the famous animal behaviorist Konrad Lorenz and his study on wild geese. It so impressed me, that I read his book(s) and immediately knew that's what I wanted to do when I grew up. Well..... that was 30 years ago and unless you were a famous behaviorist, like Lorenz, there wasn't really anything you "could do" with that profession. "I want to be a veterinarian, then" ... I said. My Mom in her infinite wisdom was very supportive. "If that's really what you want to do. But you need to keep in mind that you may have to "hurt" the animals sometimes. You have to give them injections. And sometimes you may have to end their suffering by euthanizing them. Can you really do that?" - Ooops... out the window that went! As much as I know it is necessary, I think I probably still couldn't do it even today. But I was determined. At least I wanted to study Biology, somehow with animals and then we would see. I took my Latin classes which were a prerequisite to even make it into a college Biology class. But when the time came I had missed the required GPA by 0.1 point and I was so fed up with school anyway, I didn't want to go for four years or even longer. And as there still wasn't really any professional prospect except maybe research for animal behaviorists - I went after a "solid" profession, "something to fall back on".

Fast forward a "few years"; I finally fulfilled my dream of moving to America. Working with animals is still somewhat forgotten, but Sylvia and I now have 2 cats. Well, actually they live with Sylvia now. The trailer park that was my first home in the US had a colony of stray cats, actually it was more a feral colony than anything else, but I didn't know that at the time. They seemed to adopt me. I started feeding them; one Mom even brought her kittens to me when she gave birth, because she knew they would be safe. At the time I earned close to minimum wage, and the extra food was all I could afford. I didn't have the means to take anybody to the vet or adopt any of them. Neither did I know about TNR (trap/neuter/return) or how to get help with it. I wasn't as internet savvy yet, as I am now, so didn't know how to find the resources.

At about the same time I moved out of the trailer park I decided to go on vacation to this special place that Sylvia had "found". She received a flier in the mail about an amazing animal Sanctuary "Best Friends" which is in my favorite area in the world (the Southwest). I had kept this flier for reference when she first sent it to me a couple of years before with the remarks "wow - I want to work here." So I packed my bags and headed to Utah to volunteer on my vacation. What can I say - I think it was a life changing experience. Or maybe it just jolted back into my heart what was still left there from before. I absolutely loved it. Of course, the gorgeous scenery might have helped.

Around that same time I became interested in pro-wrestling. What does pro-wrestling have to do with the animals you ask? Bear with me…….. I discovered that some of the wrestlers (and one female) were from North Carolina and flew out of our airport every weekend. I began looking out for them and eventually befriended them. Right when I started becoming really good friends with them, the girl in the group broke her neck and was on the injured list for a long time. So I never really got close to her, but I continued to send her well wishes through my friend Matt. She finished writing her book, I read it and there was an amazing connection. Turns out, the lady was just as crazy about animals as I am. For her birthday (or maybe it was Christmas) I got her the Best Friends book and she was really appreciative. When she started flying again she treated me like an old friend she hadn’t seen for a while (although we had never really gotten close before her injury) and we instantly had a level to bond outside of wrestling. She proceeded to tell me about her vision to found an animal charity and asked me to help her come up with a name. Although I can’t take any credit for the name A.D.O.R.E (Amy Dumas Operation Rescue & Education) I worked on it really hard for a while there. When her first fundraiser took place I tried to get off work, but couldn’t. That did not discourage her and next time she gave me plenty of advance notice and gave me a “personal invitation”. She said “I really want you to come, even if you just hang out for an hour or so.” Well, I did one better – I signed up to help out at the event. Amy insisted that’s not why she told me and I should just come have a good time, but I wanted to help out. This is the first time I met my current “boss” Leighann. When the ADORE website was planned Amy asked me to write some of the content, when it launched I became one of the moderators on her message board.

Still don’t know how this all pieces together? Well, here it comes: One night late 2004 I called Miss Amy to ask her for tickets to an upcoming wrestling show. She said no problem and then “can you hear them in the background”. Could I hear them? – heck yes, the barking was deafening. “Where are you at?” And she proceeded to tell me, that a puppy mill had been busted and they had seized some of the dogs and she was at a makeshift shelter, where the dogs had just been brought to, in Sanford. That’s how it started….. I asked how I can help and I started volunteering there from then on – twice a week (on my days off) for 8 hours a day. The following April ALDF won custody for the rest of the dogs (about 300) of them and they were moved to a now bigger makeshift shelter that had been rounded up the months before. It was April 13th, 2005 – I remember, because it is my sister’s birthday!

In the beginning I didn’t participate in naming the dogs. I didn’t want names, I didn’t want to get attached, because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to let go or that I would be heartbroken if I let go. Thankfully, one after the other found foster homes. The incredible number of over 300 dogs began to shrink, and it became easier to look after the remaining ones. Easier and more fun. Plus, now faces started to look familiar. And even though I started to get closer to the dogs, I was still glad to see them go with somebody who would love them and would have so much more time to devote to them. I began to see that this is really what I wanted to do and I soaked up every ounce of information about how this operation was run.

Nobody thought it would take this long. I mean, honestly, wouldn’t you think a court case involving living beings would be sped up to resolve the issue and get proper care for the poor creatures? But no – the woman filed an appeal. And the dogs are the ones suffering in a legal limbo. In any case – fast forward to the end of 2005. All of a sudden I find myself in need of a part time job and ALDF finds themselves in need of a part time shift coordinator. Was that fate, or what? I am doing exactly what I needed to learn – supervising volunteers, making them feel welcome and needed, feed the dogs, care for the dogs and also talk to potential foster parents, show them around, inform them. Invaluable experience in light of looking towards the future.

It is nuts, but now at 42 I finally know what I want to do with the rest of my life. My life-chart is coming full circle. I can see it. People come into our lives for a reason, things happen to us for a reason. In order to work with the animals I had to move to America, I had to befriend Amy and I had to rediscover my love for animals, just as she did, when she was sidelined with her injury. Life’s journey can be quite amazing. I want to work with animals. I want my own sanctuary – but if somehow that should not come to pass, I will work at one. I know I won’t get rich doing that, but I will - if that makes sense. My heart and soul will be rich beyond measure. How good it feels to have somebody wagging their whole body just because they see you approaching. How good it feels to see a dog that used to cower in a corner come out of his shell and trust you enough to finally come and let you touch him. Those experiences and emotions are indescribable. Yes, there is heartache – as there is now, with only a few dogs remaining. A few, that you know the names of, know their every little weirdness. Saying goodbye to one after the other – it is tough. Even though we know they’re going to a better place, it is bittersweet. It is a little like sending your kids off to college. You want them to become independent, but on the other hand it is hard to see that they can exist without you.

My friend and colleague Cathy Casper wrote a couple of little “exposes” on two events that touched us both deeply and I will cite little excerpts here. The first event was the tragic end of the Min Pin “Crazy Ruby”. I actually remember Ruby from the day all the 300 dogs came to us. She was one of the first ones into a crate, because she was labeled “biter” and nobody could really touch her. There was a big red sign on her crate and only the shift coordinators were supposed to care for her. I felt sorry for the poor thing that was cowering in the back of her crate and was never afraid to open the door and clean out her crate or give her fresh water. She would observe me anxiously, but she was just as afraid of me as I may have been of her. I felt by showing her unconditional love and showing that nobody will hurt her anymore she would finally come around. Sadly, Ruby was never able to overcome her fears and mistrust. Even when she moved into a bigger run with a friend, she would always mistrust those big, two legged-dogs. The saddest part of this story is that a very good soul had finally decided to take Ruby into her home and give her as much space and time as she needed to at least get her out of the stressful shelter environment. Right then, however, fate struck another blow to her and her cancer that had been treated for a while exploded. Ruby Min Pin passed away. Here is what Cathy wrote:

“Ruby Min Pin died yesterday quietly!

Ruby Min Pin had the best months of her life at the end. Ruby had been rescued in April from horrible living conditions at a puppy mill. Alas, we did not rescue her soon enough as she did not live a year after her rescue. However, it was the best 9 months of her life.

Ruby Min Pin was found in a wooden crate with a lid on it. She was living in her own filth. She had been bitten by a snake and the wound had become infected. She had not been treated. Ruby Min Pin was rescued that day, April 13, 2005. Her face was in horrible condition. Skin grafts had to be done to repair her face.  She did not trust a human soul. She bit anyone who tried to touch her. Finally, she healed well enough to be placed in a 10x10 kennel with her sister, Tannis. It was the best life that she had known for years.

In the fall, Ruby Min Pin was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on her ear canal. It was the ear on the side of her head where she had been snake bitten. She underwent chemotherapy. A kind soul offered a warm, safe, cuddly, quiet place for Ruby to live out the rest of her life. Today, January 20, 2006, Ruby took a turn for the worse and had to be transported from Dunn, NC to Cary, NC to the kind veterinarian who was treating Ruby. She will probably not live the weekend.

The next female dog who comes to live in my home, even if it is years from now, will be named Ruby. The next male dog who comes to live in my home will be named Reuben. Although I was never able to hold Ruby in a loving way, and she never really trusted me, and she spent most of her time pacing, I loved Ruby Min Pin, lovingly called Crazy Ruby. After Ruby's history, she had earned the right to be crazy. She is a poster child for puppy mills and the horror that happens to the dogs who are unfortunate enough to live there. She was underfed and over bred. But, that changed when she came to us. It just wasn't soon enough.

Ruby Min Pin will be in heaven where serpents of any form can no longer harm her. She can sleep on a cloud and will always have the best dog food. I hope to one day see Ruby Min Pin again. I have been honored to have known her.”

The second event is the “Mass Exodus” of 12 dogs on a cross country trip in a minivan from NC to Phoenix AZ for some and Glendale, CA for the rest. It was such a huge enterprise that I wished I could be part of it, but on the other hand it seemed like a horror to have to do this. In any event, it wasn’t easy for those of us who stayed behind. Most of these dogs were labeled “hard to place” either because they had issues with certain people or issues with other dogs. I felt privileged to be one of the people that our “Alpha” boxer Maximus would let in his kennel and plant wet kisses on. Sometimes it was hard to believe it was the same dog, when he charged the fence as somebody walked by he wasn’t quite as equally fond of. The same was true for Vic He was the sweetest dog – with people! But show him another dog and he would turn into a flesh eating monster. What happened to these dogs in their life before they were rescued? Again, I want to cite Cathy, who summed up her experience so beautifully and who speaks from my heart, as well:
“For the love of Vic and Max
When I began volunteering at the HOH, I knew nothing about Boxers. Now, I feel I know everything. A lot of my knowledge comes from Vic and Max, both of whom I have provided care since June, 2005. I remember both of them from the early days. Vic was labeled dog aggressive from the beginning for good reason. Max’s label of human aggressive came later. None the less, they were our resident bad guys.

A lot of energy was put into maintaining Vic and Max. Protocols for their exercise were established because they were so challenging to handle. Muzzles, gloves, specific leashes were utilized. Katy and I developed these protocols and strictly implemented them on our watch... It isn’t what we wanted. It is what became necessary.

Today, February 17, 2006, Vic and Max will began their journey to sanctuary. They will live out their lives in a place that will accommodate them. It is my loss, but their gain. I will miss them as though they were my children going off to college. I know this is best for them, but there is a chasm left in my heart. I have cared for these dogs since June of 2005 and they have become a part of my pack. I send them off with a hug and a kiss and a part of my heart. I do not now, nor ever have felt that their aggressive tendencies were their own doing. I felt it was a breeding warp, which raises its ugly head in puppy mills. Barbara Woodley, you are responsible.

This is something no person, place or entity can take away from me. There are the loving kisses given to me every day I have spent at the HOH, from Vic and Max. Those mean old Boxers who were notorious for eating others up if you got in their way, gave me nothing but affection. Both would kiss my mouth through their kennels. Both would play with me when I went inside their kennels, or play with me whenever they were exercised outside their kennels. They are leaving us for a better life and my heart is sad and heavy for that, but, like a mother sending their child to college for the first time, I am jubilant and heartbroken at the same time.

I will never see them again. Both dogs took a huge chunk of my heart and my life for the past six months. I will never forget them. I hope to see them again on our journey to another life experience. I love Max and Vic. I am a better person for having known them. I hope I have been, along with others, a positive influence in their otherwise pitiful lives. The future is theirs. Today, I would put my life and the lives of my children in their paws. I would be safe. I never feared being alone at the HOH as long as they were there. I don’t know if I will have that feeling of confidence there again. My hat goes off to them. Go forward, noble dogs. Live a great life. Never forget those who saved you from your miserable life.

They are going to Hollywood. They are going to be big stars. And, we all knew them at the genesis of their true lives.

Go forward, you two princes of this rescue. You deserve it. “

So as this experience draws to a close, what do I take away from it?

That time heals all wounds
-..... well, at least the physical ones. It is amazing what a little good food and care can do. The transformation in those poor little creatures was amazing. The emotional scarring is another thing. Those sit deeper. Some of the dogs responded to a little kindness immediately, others took longer to start to trust us. Some, even though they started to trust us, let us pet them and hold them would still crouch down when you approached or reached out to touch them. It would break my heart every time. And then again there were a few that wanted to be loved, but just couldn't jump over their own shadow and would never let us approach them. This made it very hard to love them but we did nevertheless, in hopes we could change their mind. That abused animals react in quite the same manner as abused humans do -...... We tend to think that after escaping hell, the rescued would embrace their new life and their rescuers. But some still "love" their abusers. Everyday THAT woman exercised her visitation rights we watched in utter horrified amazement that some of the dogs, particularly those that would not be approachable by us, came running to her, wagging their tails. Complicated psychological issues those are.

That you can become quite desensitized to doggie pee and poop.
-.....In the beginning it was quite horrific as we had to crate dogs at night. They didn't know not to poop in their crates and were an utter mess in the morning, as were the crates. We had paper suits to wear over our clothes, exam gloves for the hands. Some of us even wore masks over their noses and mouths, because, frankly it just made you gag. I gave up on the paper suit when the NC summer started - it was just too hot! Next the gloves came off - the hands were sweating in them and "pruning". That is such an "icky" feeling, what are soap and water for anyway! Now, after a year, very little makes me gag! Hands are washed pretty much only if you actually touch "the matter" or right before eating.

That scooping poop can be therapeutic.
-.... well ... I knew that already from volunteering at Best Friends. And, of course, it's not just the actual scooping, but also the change you see in the animals. The unconditional love you receive back. I am still utterly amazed how some of those animals can even begin to trust into a human being again. The few times I couldn't make it to the shelter I felt empty and really missed my weekly dose of wet nosed kisses.

That I hate people ... well ... not really ....
-...... you know this already, I've had a blog on it a while back. But really, when I think about it. I don't even hate THAT woman. I hate what she did to the dogs, I hated when she came in and picked them up by one leg, I hated when she came in and shoved them back into their kennel when they came running to her, wagging their tails, I hate that she is not the only person out there like this. I even had to turn away, go to a different part of the building so as to not lose my temper and jeopardize the case. All of you who know me that it take a lot for me to lose my temper - she didn't have to do much. Just a little shove of the hand did it for me. Oh how badly I wanted to make some sarcastic remarks when she accused us of not treating "her" dogs right, of abusing them. Saying that they had air conditioned runs at her property but we let them suffer in the heat without water. I had to bite my tongue, believe you me! But confusingly enough, I can't hate her. I have thought about this a lot and wondered what is wrong with me because all I feel about her is indifference. I guess it is because hate is too strong an emotion for me. Not that I'm not emotionally involved in this case, obviously I am. But I do not want to be emotionally involved with THAT woman. Does that make sense? She just doesn't deserve it. It doesn't matter to me what happens to her, other than her punishment for this and that I don't want her to be able to have any animals ever again. Does that make me a bad person? Maybe, but after all this (and I am told I haven't even seen the worst video footage yet) - there is nothing left in me towards her but emptiness.  On the other hand, there is this little part of me that almost feels sorry for her, because seeing as how erratic she behaved I can't but conclude that she is mentally ill. Either that or she would have to be really conniving and evil, which I don't think she is smart enough for. But even mental illness, to me, is no excuse for what she did. Still - astonishingly..... no hate felt here! Just emptiness when I think about her.

That I can do this
-..... whether I'll have my own place or not, I can do this. My own place - even with little or no money it is possible to run an operation like this and give excellent animal care. Anytime I go to Best Friends it is a little daunting to me, because they run such an excellent operation. I think it is the perfectionist in me. I want everything perfect immediately. But I can have a small facility, and I don't have to be that perfect at first. I can start running it and realize myself how it works best for me and then make it perfect. If my own place is not meant for me, I'm still doing this. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have done some networking by working for ALDF, it is an excellent bullet point on my resume. Quite sadly, actually, after all I have done so far, it is almost the only one that matters anymore for my future. I know I won't get rich doing it, but it will enrich my soul. As long as it pays enough for me to pay my bills (and maybe a few extras) so that I don't have to work a second job for the rest of my life, it will be like heaven. I know burnout is high in this field, but I think I'll be able to work through it. There are so many workshops I want to attend, so much more I want to learn about animals and their care.

That you can name them, get attached to them and still be able to let go.
-....... In the beginning I didn't want to know any names. I was afraid I would want to "take them all home" if I got too close, too attached. And it was easy not to - there were soooooo many of them. Who could remember them all? But bonding became inevitable. Especially towards the end, as there were less and less animals to take care of. We got to know them all intimately, all the little quirks, their likes and dislikes. Still, amazingly there is only one dog I have wanted to take home, and only now - Ginger. But as of yet, I can't. Yes, it does hurt, when they leave. It is a bittersweet sensation, like when children go off to college. You want them to get out, you're even glad they are -but they leave a terrible void. If only I could keep getting updates from them, to see how they are doing now. Some of them we do, and it's so wonderful to hear.

I cried when Max and Vic left, I'm quite sure I'll cry when I go home for the last time and leave Ginger behind. The last ones I mentioned from after the move are obviously the ones I got most attached to. None as much as Ginger recently. If I had a house I would make it work with the cats. But the one-bedroom apt is just not conducive. Will I ever find out how all my "kids" are doing? I sure hope so, but I can't be sure. It saddens me deeply. But at the same time I am glad because I know I have been part of something important, something very beautiful. All these dogs have a new lease on life. They are now doing better than they have ever done in their life and it will be paradise for them once they find their own family. That's why I am happy. I know they are going to good places and I can hope that maybe some of them will remember me in a little tiny part in their heart.

Random kids I remember: Walter,   of course, the very skinny, very cuddly Boston. All he ever wanted to do was snuggle in your lap and sleep. (I've seen him a few times since then - he's not skinny anymore, but still a character). During the mass-exodus I doggie-sat Walter and his buddy Zeke at the shelter while his foster Mom made the trip. While I couldn’t remember Zeke from the beginning we had a wonderful for the few days I had them back. There were the three Boxer pups, maybe 6 months old. They usually had the run of the whole place. Just because they were pretty big and needed to get some of that energy out. I remember thinking how beautiful they looked, how well built and how gorgeous to see the coordination of their muscles when they darted along. I'd never really been exposed to Boston Terriers. Even didn't like dogs with the "punched-in noses". But the woman's favorites seem to have been Bostons. And I've grown somewhat fond of them. Their little "Geiger-counter" noises when they rummage around, too funny! There was the Boston Terrier Buster. A kind soul bought him his own doggie pillow and we put his name on it and made sure it would be returned to him after the wash.
The pillow had a “sheepskin” side and a blue side. Buster’s favorite was the blue side, which had to face up in his crate! There was the Boston Terrier Tess, who had such severe separation anxiety that while in her foster home, she moved her crate (while being in it) through the whole room. She had to be returned to the shelter and now has a home where somebody is home all day and can work with her. There was the Boston Terrier Charlie, which for a short period of time had lost his identity. The ID tag had come off and nobody was quite sure who the little bugger was. By the process of elimination it was figured out and ironically he was the first dog ever to come off the property – V1. Henceforth his aka became “Mr. X”. There was the day the two mamas came in with their newborn litters. One little, very friendly mama, Petunia, with one single pup - Pearl. And the other, skittish and fearful one, Ruby with her brood.

The babies were so little, they could fit in the palm of my hand. They still had their eyes closed. But oh my, how quickly they grew. Soon you couldn't even get in their pen, because you literally would have puppies hanging from your pants legs and shoe ties. Like a bunch of piranhas, they would gauge your hand and arms to the bone, if you lowered them to their level. Energetic little buggers! There was "Old Man" the blind yorkie and his buddy, who were inseparable. There was peanut the min pin, and the other little min pin whose marking looked like a Mickey mouse on her back (gotta find that picture). There were Chyna and Dollie, the two red min pins who were as wide as they were tall. There was Willie the Dachshund who loved, I mean lovvvvvved the squeaky toys. There were, of course, the pugs, with their funny noises - Giggles, who knew how to work it so she would be picked up most and Ted (for Ted Kennedy, an all grey pug, who looked just like his namesake). There was the huge Boston, Wild Child, who was aptly named. Then came the move to the warehouse and the whole big lot of them and they do blur together with a few exceptions. Crazy min-pin Ruby, who was labeled a biter from the beginning. She just cowered in the back of her crate and I never had any problems cleaning her up or feeding her. Later Ruby was partnered with Tannis, who was also shy, but not a fear biter. Both dogs improved from the company, Tannis more so than Ruby and when she passed away, Tannis was truly sad and obviously missed her mate. There was scratchy-doo, Sonya, a Jack Russell with a terrible skin condition. She was one of the first ones into a crate that day. She also wasn't very friendly at first - nobody blamed her. She just wanted to be left alone. As I looked at her snoozing in her crate all I could say to her was "You're ok now, nobody is ever going to hurt you again!” Later, Sonya lived with Lita (Maggie), who was returned by her family, because she couldn’t get along with the kids. My wrestling fan friends will recognize the name sake. Of course, we had to include her! Sonya actually seemed to benefit from having a kennel-mate and for the first time I was able to approach her, touch her and leave her, without being chased out of the kennel! There was a Malamute - a gorgeous dog,

friendly as can be. Picture a Husky, but much bigger, like a wolf almost, just beautiful. There was Tiny the Boxer. The granddaddy of them all. We always needed two people to enter his kennel. Not because he was aggressive, but because he wanted out and wanted to run and he was so strong there was nothing holding him back if he pushed past you. There was Mudflap, the brown and white boxer with the unusual markings. There were Barbie and Susie the two Boxers whose run was one of those you couldn't help but gagging, always, without fail, the worst of all. There was another Boxer, Wendy, who was returned because she would always bolt out of the house and was also aggressive towards the cat. She was very, very shy but it didn’t take long and she found a new home with another Boxer and is coming out of her shell. There was the Jack Russell puppy Jackson. He was one of the puppies born in our care (mom was already pregnant when we got her). He was high-energy, typical for his breed and we were glad when he found a home where he can run around outside all day and get all that energy out! There was the older Boston Terrier Bruce was going blind from cataracts. We had him from the beginning, with the first batch of 30. A kind soul offered to pay for his surgery, and even though he managed and adjusted to losing his vision, he is much better off now and a happy camper with a newfound outlook on life. There was the little tiny min-pin Pete. He had lost all of his teeth and was so nervous we couldn’t put any weight on him. In the winter time we had to bundle him up because he didn’t have enough body fat to keep him warm. There was Kate the English Bulldog, who wanted to be a lapdog and adopted a kiddiepool as her bed. There was Sugar, the Boston Terrier/Chihuahua Mix, was one of those who would bark and bark and bark and come nipping at your heels if you turned your back, but still "loved" her abuser. There was Sweetpea who adopted one of the red chairs as her primary sitting spot. Then as the majority had left, we moved to the smaller room. Right before that there was the incident when Perry, the min-pin started howling at...... who knows at what?! Point is – the whole room joined in - it was very animalistic. I felt transported back to the time we went to Wolfhaven and tried to animate the pack to join into our howl! This time I joined the HOH-Pack with my best howl! Oh yes, Perry, the min pin who had to have so many teeth pulled that he looked like he had a permanent grin. After the move there was the Boxer Maximus, our Alpha male, who picked "his" people very carefully. I was one of the lucky ones he just couldn't give enough slobbery kisses to. But beware if he didn't like you - he was ready to kill! I was never afraid in the building alone at night, because I knew I could just go into Max's Kennel and he would protect me. There was the Boxer Vic, the second in command, who was friendly enough with people. But boy, don't show him another dog or his evil twin would come out. There was Christopher the beautiful Jack Russell who wanted so much to be loved but would run away every time I tried to touch him. There was the Jack Russell Steve(-o)
who had to be in a run with a roof, because he knew how to climb. Once he got restricted in that way he would stick his nose out the fence and sit like that for hours, very pathetically pleading to get out. There was the Boston Terrier Liza, who like Sugar tried to convince us that she was quite evil, but whose game of "I have the kong and you can't have it" became more and more intricate. There was the Boston Terrier Thelma, who I had the pleasure of flying to Detroit, together with Petunia. In her run she never let me touch her, but in the airport she hung n to us catlike, with her claws, terrified. There was the Boston Terrier Johnny who loved his toys and who lived in his alien pod. Anything you have lost in this world..... just check his pod, I'm sure it is in there. There was the Boxer Smarty, our "Junkyard" dog, who always slept on top of his crate instead of in it.

Problem Child, because he wouldn't gain any weight, due to an untreated irritable bowel syndrome. With a strict diet and medication that made him pee on end he finally put on two pounds and now has found a home. I'm told he has not once peed in the house yet! There was the Boston Terrier "Bubba", our funny little old man. He preferred his food off the floor. Also he was quite the escape artist, every time we turned around he would have bent up the fence and slipped out. Just recently I have seen this little "rotund" pup trying to climb the fence that we had enforced with x-pen pieces. There were the min-pins Rodney and Lucas, little "round" Lucas, who didn't know to eat anywhere but in his crate (where we HAD to feed him because he would fight with Rodney over it). There was the boxer Ethyl with the under bite, who loved to wrestle. There was our beautiful Rottie "Rock" who was later renamed. He just joined us after Max had left, because I am told he was the most vicious beast on the property the day he was seized, only to be overcome with a tranquilizer dart.
He was aptly renamed "Sirius (Black)" and now thinks he is a lapdog. The other dog named influenced by Harry Potter was Clyde. He was boarded at a doggie day care so I don’t have any funny stories to tell. He was one of the ones that took the legendary road trip to Phoenix, so I met him right before he left. He was renamed Dobby
– and I think you will understand why once you look at this picture. At the very end here I was re-introduced to Cliff, a Jack Russell terrier I couldn’t remember. He was also boarded at the doggie day care and not at the shelter. I had the honor of delivering him to his new family in Arizona the other day. He was a very sweet little boy the whole way and to see the joy in those people’s eyes made the whole tiring trip worthwhile. Honestly, I didn’t think I would remember that many. I am amazed! And as I sit here trying to get this all on paper, looking at pictures, the “people” just keep coming back to me! Here are some honorable mentions, who I remember, but don’t remember any particular incidences about: min pin Gabe, Boston Terriers Tinkerbell, Gidget, Wink and Teddy, min pin Joey, Dachshund Gracie and Welsh Corgy Jimmy. And last but not least, there is the Chow-Mix Ginger. "my" girl. Quite shy in the beginning, she is still very submissive, but now follows me with her eyes wherever I go. Her little tail starts wagging every time I move. She loves to hang out with me on the sofa in the break room. Did I mention she caught one of the rats the other day? If she could only get along with other dogs and with cats.