Update on Natasha

I received a call earlier this morning from Natasha's new home. It sounds like things are going great and she is settling in well. She is already taking walks along the Mississippi River and has met several new people and dogs. I'm so happy for this sweet girl!

Natasha Has a New Home!

Natasha went to her new home this afternoon. It's sure true that dogs pick their owners, she took to him immediately! I'll post updates as soon as I receive them.

Plan B

After a lot of thought, discussion with a vet, and helpful hints on working with feral dogs from Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah we have com up with a Plan B, which will take place next Tuesday the 20th. We will be taking Nina and Nevada (with the use of an oral sedative - they gulp down anything wrapped in hamburger) to Critters and Such for spaying and vaccinating. While they are still sedated we will move Nevada to Emily's who has an indoor/outdoor run set up that comes into her house, and bringing Nina back here and putting her in our big fenced yard that our dogs use. I'm setting up some gates so she will be able to come in the back room of the house without me having to leash her, she can just follow the other dogs in.

Meanwhile I have started Nina on her collar training, slipping a loose collar over her head and taking it off again. She did great and did not balk even once.

More exciting news for the day, we have an approved application for Natasha! It sounds like a wonderful match for her and they will be meeting on Wednesday this week. I'll keep you posted!

Natasha Goes to Town

Since Nora got adopted Natasha has been getting a lot more one on one time. Here are some photos of her out and about - she even got invited into one of the stores! She did great.

Nora Update

I received another update on Nora in her new home and am thrilled to hear how well she's adjusting....

"I have good news about Nora. She is doing very well. Everyday she acts more comfortable and happy. She is getting good at playing fetch and loves exploring outside. She doesn't mind being touched or handled most of the time. She still backs away when she sees hands reaching out for her but after her initial backing up she usually allows us to pet her, take hold of her collar, put on a leash, or even pick her up. She follows me around, cries when left alone in the kitchen and is happy to see us when we return. Her training is going well, she is very smart and a quick learner. Her progress over the last 5 days leaves us with little doubt that she will be a "normal" dog."

Reality Bites

I've been very lucky up until this point that all I've had to give you were happy progress stories. Unfortunately in this line of work, especially with these types of situations, we're bound to hit a bump, in this case practically a road block. Part of the responsibility leading a blog is the honest truth, so here goes. As you know last Monday was supposed to be moving day for Nina and Nevada. Unfortunately things didn't go nearly as well as it did when we moved Nora and Natasha. Emily and I followed the exact pattern that we had used with the other two. We were prepared, organized and we handled it exactly the same as before. However this time these two girls didn't react in the way we had hoped. For those of you with a sensitive stomach I'll save you the details, but both Emily and I had to be treated for bite wounds. We were anticipating the possibility of this behavior with Nevada, since she has alwasy been the most reserved and as a young puppy was the quickest to use her mouth, but we weren't anticipating this behavior from Nina. They both bit hard, repetitively, and never settled. To say that this has been a difficult week for me would be an understatement. I have become so attached to all four of these special girls and want to see all of them have happy endings. I have spent hours thinking about how to handle this situation. I have a timeline and a deadline, set outside of my control by their age. Obviously we all know that Nina and Nevada can't live in my back yard in their "safe" pen forever. Once they reach 6 months old they will need to be spayed as well as receive other veterinary care. They will reach that point in about 6 weeks. By that time if they are not able to be handled in a way where they can be transported and examined by a veterinarian a decision will have to be made. Right now because of the severe reaction they had to being handled in a way they didn't like, they are not adoptable. I have contacted 3 sanctuaries (and am looking for more) about the possibility of transferring them, it would allow them to be in a place where they could be housed and worked with long term. I'm still waiting to hear back from two of them and I will keep you posted on that. In the meantime I will continue to work with them with the goal of being able to put collars on them to do leash work and other training that could happen outside their pen. It was a bad day for them too, but they recovered almost immediately. Today was their best training day to date. Nina actually sought out petting from me, and stood calmly while I massaged her neck. With the use of food I was petting Nevada almost all over her body. We've forgiven one another.

Update on Nora in her new home...

Here is an email I received this morning from Nora's new family, sounds like things are going well!

"I wanted to let you know Nora is adjusting to her new home better than expected. As you predicted she is getting along well with our other dog. This morning she is playful and energetic. She is seeking out people and attention as long as it is her idea. Nora is getting more comfortable with us handling her and putting on her leash to go outside. She is also doing better at being on a leash. Thank you for all your hard work. We will keep you updated."

I'm so relieved to hear her first night went so well. I will post any more updates that I receive.