Farewell, My Friends

This has been one of the sadder periods I've had in 6 years of volunteering for Give a Dog a Bone. Two of our long-term charges, Minna and Momo, were euthanized recently after spending 14 months in our care. Sad as it is, it was the right decision--Minna was too fearful and Momo too unpredictable to make viable pets or rescue dogs. They both failed multiple temperament tests. The damage was done long before they came into the program and--with a shelter and city full of unwanted animals--they simply didn't have a chance.


In a program like this saying goodbye is something you have to be prepared for. A lot of the dogs that come through our doors simply don't get back out. It's a cold, hard reality and, as much as we'd like it to be, our role isn't to rehabilitate every single pup into an adoptable, pet-worthy dog. Sometimes our gift is to give them a chance, even if brief, to be a dog for a change: to sniff and mark, to get their ears scratched, or maybe even learn a few behaviors "sit" or "come". In cases like Momo and Minna, the dogs have endured prolonged abuse at the hands of their owners and they haven't had the chance to learn how to be normal around other dogs or people. All we can do is work with them, play with them, be patient and kind with them and show them that not all people are cruel.

I say all this now as I try to reconcile the loss of these two friends. Saying goodbye to a dog at GADAB is a bittersweet thing--no matter the context. Sometimes you wish them the best as they return to a home you know in your heart of hearts is not right for them and that they'll probably be back. Other times, as with Momo and Minna, they work their way into your heart and, in turn, you work as hard as you can to change the odds--knowing full well the chances are slim. From time to time, though, there is a happy ending and a dog like Murphy or Franco makes it to a rescue group or loving, adoptive home.

This is indeed a heartbreaker because we tried really hard with Momo and Minna--hoping against hope that they'd fall into that last, special group. As sad as this moment is, though, it underscores the need for a program like GADAB to not only care for dogs like Minna and Momo who've been dealt a rotten hand but to also get the word out that there is a very real and horribly sad consequence to irresponsible pet ownership.

Momo and Minna, it was an honor to know you.

Little Papa in Action

What LP lacks in brains he makes up for in pure zest for life. All this guy cares about is playing and receiving affection. Sounds simple but, when you think about it, not a whole lot else matters.

Good Luck, Murphy

How about a big give-me-paw for our longtime resident, Surfin' Murph. Murphy won his cruelty case and was officially handed over to SF Animal Care & Control last week. Bulldog Rescue swooped in to claim him and that is what we at GADAB call a happy ending. Murph, it's been a pleasure working with you. May you have an endless supply of red bandanas and snout scratches. For those interested, you can check out all of Murph's best pictures from the last year (yes a whole year).

Capone leaping towards adoption!

Oh, happy day! Great day in the mornin'! Capone (renamed Pony) been moved over to the available section of the shelter, so now he's got a chance for a good home. You don't have to look much past the crummy ear cut to see the loving, playful Pony. He's a great guy, a favorite of the volunteers and staff. Loves to chase stuffed toys and like every good pit bull, can't get enough affection.

Thinking about a GIANT bone . . .

Big, big yawn from our Snoop . . . . too much fun today, buddy???

And that’s mostly what Snoop is learning with us – how to enjoy life.

Every dog in our care has a “DogLog” – it’s how we track milestones, successes, what works for individual dogs, what one dog might like and another dog might not, along those lines. Although all the dogs for whom we care may not have that happy ending, we give them the best that we can while they’re with us.

Here’s Snoop’s personal DogLog - I don’t think he’d mind if you take a peek –

12/27 Corinne. Snoop’s neighbor is trying to engage him in fence fighting but Snoop is not interested. Good boy, Snoop. Came up to the front of his kennel to greet me, not moving too quickly, head lowered slightly. Hand fed him at his eye level and then kept moving my treat hand up so his head would move up – my theory that body movement can shape emotions seems to be true a lot. In Snoop’s case, he kept his head up even after we began doing other things. Seems like a very sweet dog, very responsive - tries hard, but does have trouble with find-its. He does squint some.

12/28 Kelley. Relaxed in kennel today. -- Takes treats gently. Seems to enjoy hearing a voice. Likes to play *find-it* in the blankets.

12/30 Mark. Snoop is very similar to Capone -- skittish and fearful when I first entered the kennel. Need to be very measured and slow with your movements around them -- Snoop would not leave my side in the park and every object (balls, pool, ramp) was initially cause for some alarm. He is very affectionate and loves having his ears rubbed.

12/31 Susan. Nice visit, nice dog.

1/2/07 Corinne. Had a lot of the same experience with him that Mark did. Startled at the garage door opening - initially stayed close by me, then began running after thrown balls and stuffed toys playfully, dashing back to me and jumping up happily at me. Working on that. Need to keep four on the floor, good buddy. Unsocialized to pretty much everything – was he a backyard dog? Very tolerant to handling, a wanna-be lap dog. He learned today that life can be fun and I think he will break out of his hesitancy and wariness about stuff in the world to which we introduce him. Curious, sniffing around a lot and left my side several times. I put the agility jump down very low and he jumped over it with me several times, went into the kiddie pool, loves praise and affection.

1/5 Leslie. A real sweetie. Very jumpy so we worked to shape a “sit” and he’s almost got it. Lots of stroking and affection when he wasn’t zooming around.

1/6 Mark. First day of confidence-building workshop. Took Snoop out to the yard and got him used to the blue agility tube. Let him sniff it, etc. Tossed some treats in but he showed no interest. Threw the squeaky toy through and got perky ears. While he was sniffing the toy, I walked to the other end of the tube, dropped a treat and called out his name in a high voice. He came all the way through to the other side. Yay, Snoops. Also was able to get him to hop over the jump -- set very low.

1/7 Susan. Moo tube visit.

1/8 Leslie. Crazy time trying to get his collar on to go out -- he was so excited. Once out though, he alternated between zoomies and coming over for stroking.

1/9 Corinne/Kelley. We had a blast today - discovering while filling the pool that Snoop loves to eat the water coming out of the hose. So he got a real workout, dashing about after the hose, in the pool, to the wall, following the hose squiggling around. We then put up the agility jump and he jumped over back and forth to follow the hose end. Not once did he come up on it - strictly a toy for him. He was one tired lad when we brought him back in, ready to settle down with a good chewie after a rubdown to dry him off. He loved every second of that too.

Corinne

A Star is Born

I discovered this video below in my wanderings today on the Haute Dog site from Southern California. Though there's a bit of a bias toward bulldogs (take note, Murphy) they've got an interesting thing going as a group of dedicated to " help inspire a better understanding and appreciation of dogs, dispel damaging myths, encourage responsible ownership practices, and offer practical adoption and rescue opportunities." Best of all they do it with a sense of humor. Hope we can work together some day.


Make sure you watch with your sound on....

Meet Capone

Capone joined us in late December '06 along with Snoops, Mommies and a litter of newly born puppies. All the dogs are with us during an ongoing cruelty investigation. Capone is a pitbull mix with very amateurly cropped ears. Despite his intended-to-be imposing appearance, he's really anything but. He's very shy and scared. This photo was taken on his first outing to the shelter park where I just let him be a dog for 20-25 minutes. He did a lot of sniffing and marking and investigating but always made sure I was close by. We'll work on instilling some confidence in him over the rest of his stay.