Dexter’s Tale to Become a Film

Acompelling tale of the rescue and rehabilitation of a neglected canine stranded in the Adirondack Mountains is in the beginning stages of becoming a Netflix film.

The 208-page true story titled “I am

Dexter,” published this year and coauthored by Steve and Dr. Dru Pollinger and Helayne Rosenbaum, encompasses the journey of Dexter from being a lonely, 17-pound stray to a domesticated animal with a strong sense of identity, purpose and belonging.

The story is told uniquely in three perspectives over a three-year span, with first-hand accounts from the Pollingers and the attempt to get inside the mind of Dexter on his new endeavor and comeback story.

For 40 years, the Pollingers have owned and operated the Fair Haven Animal Hospital in Fair Haven, Vermont. Thousands of animals have been treated, diagnosed and assisted over the years, but none like the newest member to their family of five dogs, Dexter.

In the summer of 2018, Steve Pollinger received a phone call from a representative of the Upstate New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) about the potential of he and his wife taking in Dexter, who had been located and captured by a coyote trapper and animal rehabilitator named

Mark Laske. Laske had informed the

SPCA that Dexter displayed overwhelming signs of fear and was very difficult to approach.

“The chances for adoption for a dog so distressed are impossible,” Steve Pollinger said.

The Pollingers assumed this was due to years of abuse by either humans, animals in the wild, or maybe worse, both, ultimately resulting in post-traumatic stress.

“As the authors of this book, it by no means gives us permission to call ourselves ‘experts’ in the term others might use to describe Dexter’s condition,” Dr.

Pollinger said in the book. “Forty years of hands-on-experience with dogs, our extensive reading and discussions with academics should qualify us to equate this dog’s behavior to PTSD, a human condition.

“But we cannot do that, nor should anyone. There isn’t a way to translate an unknown past evil event in this dog’s life into words. He can’t tell us. Going even further, those words are not easily come by in humans.”

However, Steve Pollinger, who is known 2 4 Legs & a Tail for training and rehabbing dogs that have been abused, decided to take the challenge despite knowing how testing and time consuming it would be.

“He (Dexter) showed us through his body language and startle response that there had never been any good touch in his life – only physical abuse,” Dru Pollinger said in the book. “Another major accomplishment occurred when he was finally able to be properly leash walked. As awkward as it appeared initially, it meant to us that eventually he would learn how fulfilling that could be.”

The “state of helpless connection” Dru Pollinger described Dexter being in for a substantial period of time made the task even more challenging.

The “baby-steps” of regimented structure in leashed walks, crushing food for consumption by hand to leave a scent of authority and welcoming and developing a bond verbally and physically over the year and a half Dexter was residing at the animal hospital went a long way.

“While living at the hospital he (Dexter) had free access to the outdoors. We gave him CHOICE, hoping at some point that he would want to be with us. Our patience was unending, our time with him was unlimited and our ultimate goal was to provide a secure, nurturing, and stimulating environment,” Dru Pollinger said in the book.

“When we were in the hospital working, we were continually attempting to engage him with our voice, our eyes and with food treats.”

Although Dexter’s exact age is unknown, the Pollingers said they believe the dog is around six years old and has tripled his weight since he was rescued.

After conducting a breed identity test through EMBARK roughly a year into having Dexter, the Pollingers found out Dexter is 39.7% Treeing Walker Coonhound, 24.4% Rottweiler, 12.9% Cocker Spaniel, 8.7% Bluetick Coonhound and 14.3% Supermutt (Collie and Dalmatian).

Many times with adopted rescues, the families taking in the pet feel as if they are the ones being saved. Both Steve and Dru Pollinger faced personal tragedies and demons over their lifespans and detail their experiences in the book.

“On February 1, 2011, our youngest son died from a drug overdose. He was 19 years young, smart, a great athlete, handsome and loving. Tommy had never wanted to disappoint his mom and dad. Part of me died that day too,” Dru Pollinger said in the book. “Over a long period of time and with the help of my family, my community, my job and my animals, I have forgiven myself for not being able to save my boy.

“On August 6, 2018, Steve brought Dexter into the animal hospital and within hours of observing this pathetic creature, I knew I could not let him down. I was 100% committed to rehabilitating him with Steve. On a conscious level, I began using the knowledge of my own healing process to help Dex live his life.”

Moving forward with the potential of a Netflix film, Steve Pollinger said he wasn’t too surprised there would be interest in making a movie as “dog movies sell well.”

“It depends on if you can get the essence of the story,” he said.

Steve Pollinger said he could see Paul Newman or Kevin Costner cast as himself but would love to have Robert De Niro fill the role.

The story continues to this day with Dexter serving as a beloved member of the Pollinger family and a friendly face around the animal hospital, while also being a reminder that anything is possible if you’re committed to the cause.

“It tells me that any dog is rehab-able,” Steve Pollinger said. “I prefer working with dogs that really have been abused and hopefully seeing that I can bring them back to some sense of reality and some sense of normality.”

“I am Dexter” is available at Barnes & Noble. Fair Haven Animal Hospital is located at 799 Vermont State Route 22A in Fair Haven and can be reached at 802-265-3822 if you’d like a direct copy. Fair Haven Animal Hospital is available for all your pet training and rehab needs!