With a Little Help from my Friends

June 09, 2014

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So right after Kurtis got adopted, I had a dog named Lucy come to my house as my next foster. Then shortly after that, I had Amber come in with a pretty bad case of scabies….then Fairfield ….and then senior beagle Wally.

Somewhere in between all that was my foster Lucy. She had learned to get along with the dogs in the house really well but was pretty much a mess every time I took her in public and on the Sunday hikes. For those of you that don’t know you can read her story HERE. She was so reactive to dogs outside of the house that I sub-consciously gave up on her. I stopped posting about her, I just kept her in the house in her safe zone and took her on the Priceless Pets Sunday hike every week. Sure, she would bark and lunge at the dogs and I would try to correct it then but for the next 6 days I did nothing to follow up and just expect her to be better on that 7^th day. And man, was it easy to forget about her. She was good in my house, Penny and Elvis needed their CGC training and I had another foster in the house that needed medical care. Lucy made no fuss at my house. She ate her food and was genuinely in a good mood. She didn’t mess anything up in the house and was relatively quiet. There was only one problem….she wasn’t my dog. She’s my foster. My JOB as a foster is to find her a home!! Before Lucy came into the picture, I felt pretty good about my ability to correct a dog’s behavior and insecurities. Lucy came in and stripped all that away from me.

So I started asking for help. I was speaking to fellow Pittie Crew member, Leslie, about Lucy and explaining to her about my frustrations with Lucy. Leslie’s dog had the same issues and she gave me some very good tips about how to correct it. She reminded me to be patient and consistent; two things I preach all the time but obviously forgot when it came to Lucy. Sometimes we need to be reminded of things to get back on the right track.

The next day, I found myself talking to another Pittie Crew member, Drew. I was telling him how frustrated I was with Lucy because she got along with the dogs in the house but was so bad everywhere else. I haven’t known Drew that long but I respect him because I’ve seen the work he’s done with his dogs and his work with the other dogs at Priceless Pets. He told me, “Lucy is good at your house because of the energy in the house, it’s calm and you give her confidence at the house. All you need to do is bring that same energy when you leave the house with her.” So the next day was the Sunday hike and I did exactly what he said….I took part of that energy from my house on the hike and that “energy” was in the form of a dog named, Elvis.

Yesterday’s hike was the BEST Lucy has been ever!! She wasn’t perfect but usually I have to stay away from the pack to walk her. This time she hung by Elvis and was walking WITH the pack! She was still a little anxious but she wasn’t lunging at any of the dogs. And when she started to get too anxious, I used some of the tips that Leslie gave me. I stayed calm, didn’t get mad and just let Lucy know just what I expected out of her.

After the hike we stayed at The Orphanage so I could let her be seen. Elvis had gone back home for the day so now it was up to me to keep Lucy balanced. I was in such a different mindset with her that even as she walked past the barking dogs in their crates, she just ignored them and walked by. I put an “adopt me” vest on her and we sat out front so people could see her. Lucy was so peaceful and relaxed. It was like we were at my house.

Not too long after we were out there a family pulled up with two little kids. The youngest girl bee lined straight for Lucy and Lucy gave her the sweetest kiss. The parents couldn’t get enough of how gentle she was with both kids. The dad later came out with a dog in his arms, leaned down to pet Lucy and Lucy had zero reaction. About 5 minutes after that, another dog came out and Lucy’s tail got stiff as a board and I could tell she was tense and was about start barking and going after this dog….not this time. Before I could do anything, this man’s son put his hand on Lucy’s head and started patting her on the head. In an instant, Lucy sat down, took a deep breath and went back to being relaxed again. The best part was I don’t know if this kid did it to calm her down or if it was just good timing. I explained to the parents about Lucy’s story and they did not seem phased by it. They were in the process of moving and just stopped by Priceless Pets because they were in the area. They all gave Lucy a kiss and went on their way….

All day, Lucy was getting love and as other dogs came by she seemed to care less and less. I’ve been a mediocre foster parent to Lucy at best and Lucy, I apologize to you. All I needed was a little advice and guidance from my Pittie Crew team and as Macie, Paige and Terra (fellow Pittie Crew members) would say, I’m in “Lucy Mode” now! I really hope that family ends up adopting Lucy but even if they don’t, yesterday was a reminder that the hope doesn’t lie in these dogs…it lies in us.

Lucy is still looking for her forever home. If you’re interested please contact www.pricelesspetrescue.org