August 22nd, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
Shelter Dogs: They DO Change and the Rewards Will Blow Your MIND This eBook was created using the Zinepal Online eBook Creator. Use Zinepal to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub and Kindle/Mobipocket formats. Upgrade to a Zinepal Pro Account to unlock more features and hide this message.
Shelter Dogs: They DO Change and the Rewards Will Blow Your MIND Meet Chico my dog in the video below If I’m totally accurate I should say ‘shelter dog‘. But I don’t think of him in that way. He is my loyal companion and best friend! Although I only adopted Chico six months ago I’d been visiting him for several months before that at his shelter. And during this whole time he has made progress that has blown my mind. This was Chico before I brought him home.
He had been in the shelter for nearly 2 and a half years and was brought there from an abusive ‘breeder’ who kept over 150 cocker spaniels locked up in her home. She barely fed or watered the dogs and I suspect she or her partner hit the dogs too The first time I met Chico a year ago he barked me away from his cage at the shelter and I was told he was a dominant, aggressive dog who didn’t trust humans. At the time I thought that wouldn’t suit my personality (!) so I put Chico out of my mind. Yet a friend called me two months later and asked if I’d visit him. She assured me that he was different outside of his cage. She was right. I began visiting Chico as a shelter volunteer and over several months grew to care for him more and more. He had a calmness about him that I really enjoyed and a sweetness to him too I fell in doggy love!! ♥ And on a weekend that I was tossing and turning with the decision….I asked the Universe to give me a sign if I should go for it….and….at that very moment, my eyes got drawn to a couple next to me who happened to be pushing a ‘Chicco’ baby buggy…. I knew in that moment what I had to do!!!! Lol!
Created using Zinepal. Go online to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub, Kindle and Mobipocket formats.
1
August 22nd, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
So when I finally adopted him in February 2012 I was warned by the shelter that he was still prone to biting people and that I’d have to handle him with care.
But…between all of us, we managed to hold him down and comfort him whilst she groomed him so that he knew he was in loving hands.
I was also told that the only way to groom him was to put him to sleep, under general anesthetic, so that a vet could shave his coat.
After the worst was over – Chico’s paws – she told us that he wasn’t a true dominant dog because he had allowed his paws to be touched very easily.
Doggy Depression
And Chico began visibly relaxing after that point and didn’t resist any more at all. He wasn’t joyous to be there but he wasn’t growling or moving or trying to stop us
I did this in April and something about the combination of going away for 5 days previously (I went to Chicago) and the experience of being at the vets shortly after led Chico into a ‘dog depression’. He refused to leave our place for nearly a week and for two months after he was more subdued than before. I could no longer schedule any appointments with him as he’d often refuse to leave his basket. I even made this video of him and posted it on Facebook, asking my friends for their advice. So fast-forward to August and Chico’s coat had grown back. Not only that, we’re now living in a place that has two gardens and tons of rugged countyside all around us. Chico prefers this, I can tell – because he runs around each day and swims in rivers! But as a cocker spaniel his paws and body are susceptible to the dreaded ‘grass seeds’ that gets into dogs paws during summer time. I was therefore faced with a conundrum. Should I have Chico put under general anesthetic again to have his coat groomed and risk another ‘depression’? Or find another solution? As the Universe would have it, I stumbled across a kindly vet who treated Chico for grass seeds in his paw and saw more hope in him than his previous vet. That vet had told me ‘I’m amazed anyone adopted this dog. He is a really difficult case‘ and asked if I was ever intending to have children because Chico would not be safe around them Yet the new vet saw another side to Chico and she thought it was possible, in the right environment, for him to be groomed ‘normally’, without any drugs. She referred us to a grooming place nearby and we went to visit. Fresh from the vets Chico had no desire to go in so we just made an appointment.
D DAY But when we went back two days ago we HAD to get him on the table. One of my friends helped hugely with this by slipping Chico’s new muzzle on before he noticed what was going on and then gently picking him up to go on the table.
He patiently allowed himself to be shaved, EVERYWHERE!! And at the end he was as happy as a little puppy. It took an hour and a half to groom him but it was well worth it to see Chico running around afterwards like a pup, happy and lighter than when he had a big coat.
Anything is Possible It also reminded me that everything can change.
Animals are totally present in each moment and although they can have triggers – they are open to change if they sense the environment has changed. Seeing Chico be groomed on a groomers table, whilst awake and present – and not drugged and unconscious, made my heart sing. It made it sing because I remembered how much of a transformation this was – in a relatively short period of time. It’s something that we human beings can learn from! Huge transformation IS possible! Big changes and progress do not have to take years and years. In just 6 months Chico has gone from being an aggressive dominant dog that many people were scared to touch, to allowing himself to be groomed by a stranger and showing his human companion (me!) more love than she could ever have hoped for.
Thank you Chico, I’m so glad you came into my life! And if you are reading this and have considered or are considered adopting a shelter dog, or you know of friends who are…please take these words into your heart and know that even if many people think shelter dogs are difficult and more trouble than they’re worth….(many people told me this before I adopted Chico)…it’s just
NOT TRUE. Adopting a shelter dog and showering them with so much love, caring and affection that they change before your very eyes, is so rewarding it will blow your mind.
The groomer was initally nervous. She could sense how scared Chico was and he tensed up and tried to jump off the table (Chico, not the groomer!!). Created using Zinepal. Go online to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub, Kindle and Mobipocket formats.
2
August 22nd, 2013
Published by: SandyLeveque
I highly recommend it and given the huge numbers of dogs like Chico who are looking for homes, I truly don’t understand why anyone would go to a breeder to buy a dog. It was a ‘breeder’ who gave Chico an abusive, mean and heartless start in life. And whilst I know there are many kind breeders out there, I also know there are many, many lonely shelter dogs who are just waiting to shower their owners and companions with the kind of love that Chico has showered me with. Please share this article with anyone for whom it may be relevant and help to raise awareness of what adopting a shelter dog can look like.
What would the world look like if we treated every animal with the kindness they so often treat us? Woofily yours, Sandy! If you enjoyed this read this: Shelter Dogs like Chico and Lola Need Homes – Let’s Stop Buying Puppy Farm Dogs PS. If you have a story to tell too, did you know you can write it on a blogging platform like this and kill two birds with one stone? (sorry for the metaphor!). You can share your story AND create passive income for yourself, and your animals!! Click on the photo below for more information.
Created using Zinepal. Go online to create your own eBooks in PDF, ePub, Kindle and Mobipocket formats.
3