Tracy J. Libby - The Rescued Dog Problem Solver: Stories of Inspiration and Step-by-Step Training Techniques to Ensure Your Rescue Success

Foreword

On December 14, 2011, my parents and I stopped at a local shelter and rescued Jmeea scruffy white Terrier mix. She is not my familys first rescue dog, nor will she be our last. Yet, she got me thinking, What if? Could I connect the world of rescue using images and stories of success to drive change in the publics perception of rescue dogs? Watching Jmee change from a worried, confused little gal into a confident, wonderfully silly, loving companion was the catalyst, the inspiration that turned stories and images into messages of hope.

I have tried to capture the unique life and personality within each dog, the soul inside the endless contrasts of breed, size, personality, scars, scruffy coats, and experiences these dogs have encountered over the years that they have been loved, lost, abandoned, abused, surrendered, or, in some cases, forgotten.

I have tried, as much as possible, to pare away the more shocking details and instead focus on unleashing the true essence of each dog, as well as their typical and sometimes unique training challenges. Each of these dogs is incredible in his or her own way, as are their owners. Im so thankful to have had the lucky privilege to meet them, to spend time with them, and to have the opportunity to share their ridiculously cute, quirky personalities and stories of success. They make my heart sing, make me giggle, and make me cry happy tears for having been lucky enough to meet them.

Hats off and a million thanks to the owners who shared their dogs stories so I could bring them to all of you.

I dedicate this book to the shelter dogs who waited patiently for their permanent homes, and to those who continue to wait. To the dogs who make our lives worth living. The dogs who hunt, herd, retrieve, catch Frisb ees, chase balls, and swim. To the dogs who warm our hearts, make us grin from ear to ear, remind us of the beauty of love, and fill our lives with purpose and passion.

CaseyA Relationship Built on Trust

It was love at first sight for Casey and his rescue family.

Born a beautiful bundle of black and white and copper, Casey was the quintessential black tri Australian Shepherd. A puppy filled with boundless energy and limitless potentialmaybe a future herding or agility superstar or a treasured jogging companion. Unknown circumstances landed Casey in a Colorado humane society, and owner ignorance landed him back in various sheltersthree, possibly four times in his short three years of life. Like so many misunderstood dogs, Casey bounced around from shelter to shelter and owner to owner for breaking rules he didnt even know existed.

At one time Casey (formerly Dino) may have been a well-cared for and loved family pet. He knew Sit and Down, but how he ended up in a shelter the first time is anyones guess. Perhaps his owner passed away or, as some suspect, he inadvertently became lost and was picked up as a stray and taken to a local shelter. Maybe his owner surrendered him to the shelter, unable to manage the breeds personality and temperament. Arriving at the shelter with no identification, its impossible to say with any certainty how the black tri Aussie ended up in the system where steel gates slammed shut behind him.

Casey was adopted and returned to a different shelter before finding his way to the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden, Colorado, where he was surrendered because he chewed his bed and crate, and, when confined alone in a laundry room, he chewed the door and drywall. Separation anxiety was the owners official diagnosis. An owner who was seemingly unable or unwilling to put in the time and effort learning to deal with the physical and mental requirements of a three-year-old turbo-charged breed. An owner who did not understand that isolation will drive most dogs insane. Caseys scarred gums and worn, broken teeth are a sad and unforgiving memento telling the story of a promising young dogs mismanagement.

Casey was adopted by another familyhis third family in as many yearsbut was returned three days later. Settling into a new home is stressful for most dogs, and it can take a few days, a few weeks, or a few months. When you take an already anxious, stressed, and emotionally lost herding dog who is tossing out a zillion stress signals, mix in a thunderstorm, add inexperienced owners, and top it off with a small child who feels compelled to smother the dog with hugsyou have a recipe for disaster. The first night in his new home, so the story goes, Casey nipped the child who was trying to hug him because he was afraid of the thunder. Three days later, the aggressive dog once again found himself relegated to a shelter environment for failing to live up to unrealistic human expectations.

Many dogs end up in shelters because they are misunderstood. Behavioral issues, or behavioral issues that owners perceive as problematic, cost many dogs their lives, especially when humans give up on them. More often than not, problems arise because owners neglect to set boundaries or guidelines or provide structure when the dogs are young and most impressionable. It may be cute and funny when an eight-pound puppy nips at your pant legs, but not so funny when hes sixty-pounds of dynamite biting and shredding your pant leg.

Caseys saving grace was Troy Kerstetter, director of operations at Foothills Animal Shelter, who also owns Maty, the three-legged Australian Shepherd mix (whose story appears in Chapter 12). Kerstetter understands how living for extended periods in a shelter environment can quickly chip away at a dogs spirit. Bad behavior isnt always what it seems, and dogs living in a shelter environment are often scared, confused, lonely, and act out as a result. For this reason, a dogs true personality and temperament are often difficult to assess. Kerstetter attributes Caseys issues with dogs his size to being housed for too long in a shelter situation with other wayward dogs. Its the fight-or-flight instinct, in which some dogs, depending on their temperament, personality, and history, completely shut down while others act out. For Casey, acting out and showing aggression toward other dogs became a coping mechanism. Thats the theory, anyway. However, it is hard to say with absolute certainty why Casey feels threatened by dogs his size.

Sadly, dogs who are labeled as anxious, destructive, or aggressive are almost always harder to place in permanent homes. The longer they languish in shelters, the more they mentally deteriorate. It becomes a vicious circle, and adopting them into loving homes becomes harder with each passing day. Without Kerstetters intervention, there was a high probability Casey would have perished.

Believing Casey could flourish given the right owners and not wanting him to languish and subsequently deteriorate further in a shelter setting, Kerstetter fostered the black-tri boy not knowing whether he would ever find a permanent, loving home. He was a perfect house companion with me and learned to catch a Frisbee in the air in less than fifteen minutes, says Kerstetter. I never worried about aggression, but I didnt want him to bounce from home to home any longer.

Isolation drove Casey to problem chewing.

Casey is included in every family vacation!