Diary of a Rescue Effort

UAF volunteer Kim shares her experience in fostering and working with two newly rescued lab mixes: Baron and Willow. Table Scraps happily presents Kim's entries as part of our "Diary of a Rescue Effort" series. Read below to find out how Baron and Willow are settling in!

First day:
Picked black lab 1 and black lab 2 up at Chino Valley Animal Hospital. Couldn't seem to convince either one to come along quietly. With a well orchestrated team effort, both dogs were lowered into individual crates and lifted into my truck for the long trip back to Peeples Valley.

Once I got home and opened the crates it became obvious that the trip was traumatic for both of them. Black lab 1 came out of the crate and ran to the back of the truck. Black lab 2 didn't move. Go about my business. Let them settle in at their own pace in the garage. Indoor dog run door open and out door run also. Check back an hour later. Black lab 1 nosing around, black lab 2 still in the crate. Around midnight, neither dog showed any inclination toward being corralled into the indoor dog run. Shut the door to the outdoor run and went to bed hoping they wouldn't tear my garage totally apart while I slept.

Week One Recap:
First week was spent getting them used to be corralled from their day spot to their night spot. Black lab 1 now called Baron was warming up slowly, black lab two now called Willow clung to her brother like a shadow.

Week Two:
Short casual introductions to the other 4 dogs in the household. Baron was good. Not engaging but comfortable. Willow was reactive. By the end of the week Baron was in the house with everyone in the evening. Good house manners. Acted like he had been there before. His bent and broken tail in constant motion. What a happy boy. Progress for Willow was coming from the back of the garage to laying near the door at the front of the garage where she could watch us all in the living room. Baby step succcesses are huge in the recovery of a rescue dog.

Big goal for this week is to get Willow's collar off of her. It was put on tight initially so she wouldn't back out of it during one of her wrestling matches with people who were trying to help her. Now she had gained some weight and although she wasn't choking, it had to feel restrictive. In order to do that she is going to have to start letting me touch her.

Plan A: Go into the dog run with her and and wait her out. A few minutes of circling the run and banging off the walls she relented. Three caresses of her head area and I left. Later same routine 6 caresses of her head and I left. Next day caresses long enough to unsnap the collar. Voila!!!!

Sister in town. Back up for the plan to introduce Willow to the rest of the pack. Removed Baron from the mix and one by one she met them all. Petey first, never any drama, that went fine. Rodeo next, they look like they could be litter-mates. After a momentary standoff based on zero self confidence in either one of them, that smoothed out too. Next is Lady, the only other female in the group. She can be troublesome. One low growl to establish her command and everyone understood each other.

Everyone hanging out together in the house was a matter of routine now. Willow, the more playful of the two, tried to initiate play with Rodeo. He's not accepting the gesture. Something odd about these two. They make the others nervous for no good reason that is obvious to me. It is not bad or unfriendly; it just feels kind of forced. Can't quite figure it out.

OMG. Willow crawled onto the couch to lay with me. She is huggable . Gotta be her idea though.

More later as Kim's wonderful journey with Baron and Willow ensues!