Last Saturday I adopted a 2 year old Black Lab who has a little bit of something mixed in, maybe Shepherd. She is black (duh) with some gray hair on the back of her rear legs, some on her tail, and a white star on her chest.
She has definitely seen some abuse, and has been ignored otherwise. I won’t go into the whole back story here, suffice it to say she has been in two homes so far, and neither one should ever ever have a pet again. She does not associate people with anything positive, and certainly not affection.
She has pneumonia right now, and is on meds for that. Once that is taken care of and she is deemed ready, we start on heart worm treatment. She has a slightly enlarged heart, but I am hoping that after the heart worm parasites are taken care of, she won’t have any long term impact.
Day one with me, all she wanted to do is hide in the bathroom. The small enclosed space was her comfort zone. Gradually I have worked with her over the last week to the point where, as I type this sitting on the couch with my feet propped up on the ottoman, she is stretched out on the carpet underneath my legs. She has gradually gotten more comfortable with being around me, and being scratched/petted.
I still have not seen a single tail wag, haven’t gotten a hand lick, and she will still sneak off to a quiet place by herself a few times a day.
Even with all the shit she has been through, she is not aggressive one bit.
It’s a long process, and she will get there. She is a super sweet dog.
Her rescue name was Rose, but I am calling her Charlie. She is a keeper.
Rose was her foster name. We knew we weren’t going to keep that name, since I have a co-worker, who is a not a nice person, named Rose. My neice met my new dog, and said “She looks like a Charlie” and we agreed it kind of fit her.
The Charlie - Rose combo never crossed our mind, but that is hilarious.
Good for you! She’s a beautiful girl, and lucky to have ended up in your family. Do you have other dogs? When we took in a stray who was similarly mistreated, it helped her to see other dogs not being afraid of us.
It sounds like you’re doing great. Giving her the last bite of everything you eat (unless it’s dessert) will help her feel like she’s part of the family. Good luck to you both.
She’ll come around. Right now she’s just sick, and might be hurting a little. You’re not going to see her true personality until she’s well. And with heartworms, it’s actually a plus that she’s confined and not bouncing off the furniture.
I used to foster chihuahuas. Is a lot of work, but so rewarding! It’s amazing how quickly they take to a new family. They bounce back better than people think!
Oh, and just because a dog cowers, doesn’t mean they were abused. We have a 13 yo purebred we have had since 8 wks old and he cowers when we reach to pick him up. It’s just his quirky way of showing submissiveness. It’s embarrassing in front of other people though. They probably think…how could they beat that little 5 lb boy? Ugh!
Much luck to you and Charlie! And thanks for adopting!
She’s still young. When she’s feeling better see if you can reach her through play. You may have to teach her. When I was a kid my parents adopted a stray cat. It took a whole afternoon of trailing string until she got the idea and played with it, after that she loved to play
Good luck, leftfield. I’m sure you’ll do a great job.
We had a similar story some time back with a cat. A neighbour found some kids trying to drown a baby cat (that’s what children did for fun in 1980s Spain) and rescued it. She then left the cat in a basket outside our house because she herself was pretty damn crazy.
The cat lived with us for 19 years before dying a quiet death. One of the best cats I’ve ever had, no question. It was obvious that the drowning incident left her scarred - she wouldn’t let anyone touch her face - but she grew up to be a very loving cat. Perhaps Charlie Rose (the dog) will never fully recover from his issues, but if you’re caring and patient, you might get something damn close to a full recovery.
She’s a beauty, and THANK YOU for adopting her! Be patient with her and I promise… she will come around.
My English Setter Sugar was supposed to be a foster dog. She came to me about a year ago, terrified. She had been abused, had broken ribs, and would wake up screaming in terror in the middle of the night. I fell head over heels in love with her and adopted her myself.
It has taken all this time but she is FINALLY giving kisses. She has learned how to play with toys, and it still makes me tear up when she brings me one to play. She is the most precious thing in my life.
Big moment today, although it won’t sound like much. Charlie actually sought me out today! I let her off the leash in what has become her “safe room” when we came in from a midmorning walk. We come in the back door which leads into a finished room in our walk-in basement. This is the TV/lounge/den room where I spend much of my time when at home, and it’s the room that Charlie has become most comfortable hanging out in. So, long story short (too late?) I go up to our middle floor where my home office is, and settle into an overly exciting WebEx conference call. Up until today, Charlie would have made herself comfortable in the basement, and would NOT come upstairs. So imagine my surprise when she comes quietly up the stairs, walks past me, and lays down on the carpet next to my desk!
You’re beginning to reap the rewards of your kindness. I’m sure a lot of small and large steps will follow and I predict a lovely future for you and Charlie.
Charlie looks lovely. Looks like she has a little something shepherd in her, as you said. Does her tail curl up or go straight like lab’s? (Perhaps you’re yet to find out, if it’s mostly down at the moment?)
I’ll keep my fingers crossed for the many more little steps that are yet to come. Such a great thing you are doing, in giving Charlie a family. Looking over at my own lab’s sweet face, and how she looks at me and trusts me more than anything, I know that every dog deserves that peace and trust in a family.
I wonder if you might be fortunate in this: if the first two homes were nothing but bad, not a good moment to be had, that the thought of *trickery *might not be in Charlie’s mindset. Ex; “Hey they spoke nice to me, then they hit me. I have to watch out when people are nice to me.” may not have happened, and strangely thus you will have less to overcome.
Abuse and bad homes are horrible enough. Playing mind games (even with a dog) would be all the worse, and make it harder for recover (I am of a thought).
Here’s hoping all will continue to improve quickly. From the sound of it Charlie is one lucky dog in having you.
I go up to our middle floor where my home office is, and settle into an overly exciting WebEx conference call. Up until today, Charlie would have made herself comfortable in the basement, and would NOT come upstairs. So imagine my surprise when she comes quietly up the stairs, walks past me, and lays down on the carpet next to my desk!