Dalmatian Rescue of Puget Sound
After months of thinking about it, and writing the occasional blog post, I’m moving to the next level. This week, I started working on the Dalmatian Rescue of Puget Sound (http://DalmatianRescueofPugetSound.org) web site. Now I just need to find some Dalmatian lovers who are willing to give a temporary or permanent home to a Dalmatian in need. If you love Dalmatians, or know someone who does, please have them visit http://DalmatianRescueofPugetSound.org.
Since losing Jasmine, I’ve been making efforts to help dogs in need. The sad tale of Buckwheat and Fearless inspired me to want to do more, but time and the work involved with caring for 4 dogs held me back. Last weekend, I learned about Opie, Spooky and Lucy. Their owner was recently killed in a motorcycle accident. The dogs are still in their home, being cared for by friends and family, but they are very stressed. They spend their days licking each other and waiting for their owner to return. Because we don’t have a local rescue group, we’ve had to ask for help from groups in Colorado and Florida. It is wonderful that they are able and willing to help, but we still need a local group. Right now it is a group of one, but I have faith that there are more like minded people here in Puget Sound. My job is to find them.
It’s not the dog, it’s the owner
I love shows like “It’s Me or the Dog” because the problems they are dealing with always make my dog problems look small. Typically, the owner’s behavior influences the dog’s behavior. My favorite episode was about a lady who served her dogs tea in the afternoon, and bought them treats from the ice cream truck. The dogs were full of sugar and caffeine, instead of nutritious, dog appropriate foods, and they weren’t getting any exercise or discipline. It was obvious the owner was the problem. Once Victoria Stilwell straightened the lady out, getting the dogs under control was easy.
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/its-me-or-the-dog-strangest-cases/
We recently sent Friday to “A Canine Experience” for “boarding school” while we were in Florida. He was with them for 2 weeks, learning obedience. I’d taken him for an evaluation a couple weeks earlier, because I was concerned about the growing tension between Friday and Harley. Before he came home, they had us come in and work with him for a couple hours. Then they brought him to the house and worked with him while he transitioned back to life at home. They even showed me how to get him to use the treadmill. I’m really glad that we did it, because it showed that Friday is a good dog. He listens to people he believes are in authority, and he gets along well with other dogs.
Twenty minutes after the trainer left, Friday was settling back into his old habits. He started trouble with Harley, he annoyed Baby and chased the cat. I calmly corrected him, and he soon settled down. That lasted until 7pm, when our son brought his Beagle, Mario, to spend the weekend. I realize this was not the best time to add the excitement of a fifth dog, but Mario needed a place to go, and human family takes priority over canine family. We had a few mishaps over the weekend, but it wasn’t too bad.
In general, Friday is more obedient than he was before. He is very good about sitting and waiting at the door, and he is much more patient. He will even respond while we are out on a walk, as long as there isn’t anything exciting going on. Once he is excited, I cease to exist, unless of course he needs something to jump on. He still doesn’t respect me at all, and I seem to lack the communication skills to earn his respect. I’ve tried using the pinch collar, like the trainer recommended, but my heart just isn’t in it. I feel like a bully when I use it. I wish Patricia McConnell were here to tell me what to do.
And they all lived happily ever after…
At least I hope so! After 6 weeks on Petfinder, we found a really wonderful family for Friday. The only problem was that they didn’t have another dog. They had recently lost their Dalmatian, and were looking for another. They would have given Friday a wonderful life, but we were very concerned that his anxiety over being alone would result in problems for them. As luck would have it, another young Dalmatian named Zorro was surrendered to the Chehalis shelter about the same time. I check for Dalmatians on Petfinder.com daily, and contact shelters that have Dalmatians to determine if they are at risk, so I don’t have another “Very sad day”. To make a long story short, we’ll skip to the numerous happy endings. Zorro has been adopted by the wonderful family that would have adopted Friday, and Friday is going to stay with us. He celebrated by helping my husband play video games.
Doesn’t he look helpful?
Scrubbed, but not spotless
We had a big adventure over the weekend, when we took all three of the boys to Scrub-a-Mutt, a charity dog wash that raised funds for local animal groups, including our beloved Old Dog Haven. The event was organized by Harley’s foster mom. It was great for him to be reunited with old friends, and they really gave him the royal treatment. He adored it, as you can see from the photo! The dogs really enjoyed the socializing, but Friday was not so enthused about the bath. After seeing how much fun the old dogs had, we decided to take them to the Mutt Strut in Everett this Saturday.