Fall and Rise

I found my dog Feather at the animal shelter.  She sat in the corner of the run not interacting with her kennel mates and only briefly making eye contact before dropping her gaze.  I knew I had to have her.  I performed the paperwork and couldn’t even get her to walk with me at all. I had to pick all 40 some pounds of her up and carry her to my SUV.  After getting her home she took up residence under a small table in the living room.  She smelled of dog cologne spray. We had to take food and water to her as whe wouldn’t come out to eat or drink. We carried her out on a leash to potty.  She was scared even of the wind.  For 6 months she never came out from the table more than a couple of feet as we moved her food and drink trying to gain her trust and coax her out.  For three weeks I slept in a chair in the living room with her so she could see I was really there for her.  She never made a noise.  Not a growl, a whine, a bark.  Slowly she began to trust enough to come sit with me on the couch before retreating to her table, but still not a sound from her.  After over a year she unexpectedly barked one afternoon when the doorbell rang.  The whole family just stood and stared.  She finally had trusted us enough to claim us and try to protect us in her own little way.  Now after three years of loving her she goes to the dog park and runs around with a smile on her face.  Whatever terrible thing happened to her to make her so timid has been worked through and now I have a happy, loving faithful friend.  I love you my Feather!

Dogs are treated in some family not only as a pet but treat them as their child. I am having a cousin who has no children .So he wanted a company for his family. He bought of high breed of dog. He and his wife are very fond with that dog and treating it as one of their family like their own child, even letting them wear dog pajamas to keep warm at night. If any one tells it is a dog they will get wild and ask them to call it as their child only. Here I want to explain how they are taking care of the dog. They will give only good quality of food prepared by them self. They will be preparing food for the dog with vegetables with meat scrap. They are purely vegetarian. For the sake of the dog they had employed a cook to prepare food for the dog in a separate vessel. Like human being they will give only mineral water to the dog. Daily they used to give high branded dog biscuit. They will take the dog daily out both in morning and evening for a long walk to have an exercise to it. They will bath the dog once in fortnight with shampoo and dog soap. They notice any hot spots, inflammation, irritation; they would take the dog to vet doctor and will give treatment. Once in 6 months they will the dog to vet doctor for regular check up like human being. Any people who are very much fond with dogs may follow my cousin.

Our family normally has at least two dogs at any given time and many of these have been adopted from shelters.  Many people think shelter animals are too set in their ways to change or have learned bad habits. Having volunteered at a no-kill shelter we saw firsthand animals brought in for nothing more than their owners being tired of them.  The best dogs we have ever had in our family have been our rescues, our latest a St. Bernard who was four when we brought him home. He was considered aggressive and interested parties would come out to see him but get one look at this gigantic barking, growling pile of fur and run the other way. Two and a half years later he is now the sweetest animal as this behavior has given forth to his true St. Bernard personality, both trusting and loving. It took time and patience but all it really required was socializing him. He also loved the gifts we gave him, like dog Christmas stockings and toys. We knew we had turned a corner when we saw our seven year old grandson throw his arms around this dog, once considered the scariest at the shelter, and tell him, You’re my buddy!