Meet Pumpkin, a seven year old female American Cocker Spaniel. Pumpkin was rescued from a puppy mill and taken into NMDR on 7/28/2012. She was one of three female Cocker Spaniels brought in at the same time. All three would hide at the far back of their kennel, huddled together, trying to be invisible. "Flight risk" was all over the front of their kennel, they were so scared that if they got out it would be very difficult to catch them again.
The trio was split up, each getting a new and friendly kennel mate to help bring them out of their shells. Now one of the three is in foster care and two are at Lily's Haven. All three still need loving forever homes.
This is where I come in.
One day walking through Lily's Haven, looking for kennels that needed cleaning I saw a red blur dash into the outside half of the run. Slowly I walked over and read the information about her, which is posted on the door to her run. One of my previous projects had just been adopted and I had the time to work with her and felt I could help.
I started by sitting for an hour in her run, not looking at her, not talking, not moving. When the hour was up I got up and left. I wanted to give her something to think about, the idea that maybe humans aren't all scary.
Over the last few months we went from her being terrified of human contact, to her following me around, wanting attention. Now that she is more comfortable around me I have been asking others to pay attention to her as well, help her learn that I am not the only kind human.
My goals for Pumpkin: (Both long term and short term)
- Take her to an adoption fair for at least a couple of hours.
- Start working on some basic obedience. She is about 50% leash trained, and for the moment that's all.
- Teach her about stairs.
- And of course, find her, her forever home.
Meet Mushu, a seven year old male Pekingese who was taken in to NMDR on 9/9/2012.
When Mushu was first brought to NMDR he was covered in filth and hair mats. NMDR's wonderful grooming team went to work on him but quickly discovered he was afraid of the groomers. Specifically, he didn't want his paws, ears, hind end or tail touched. It was also discovered that the flap of skin above his nose had trapped bacteria and grime underneath it and was possibly impairing his vision. As if the poor guy didn't have enough wrong he is very underweight with his ribs and spine easily felt.
One day while I was out volunteering one of the groomers asked if I would hold a dog for awhile. This was not an unusual request and I agreed. She expressed her concerns about his health and attitude, and knowing I often work with the dogs asked if I would help her with him. Looking down into his face, feeling his bones press in to me, I couldn't say no.
We went back into the grooming room and I fed him bits of turkey hot dog while she gently worked at the mats in his tail and on his rear end. He did not like being groomed, but was willing to tolerate it while distracted with delicious food.
When we had finished I noticed something else, he shook and bobbed in a way that looked neurological to me. We flagged down a member of our vet staff and expressed our concerns about him. She gave him the ok to be put on wet food for his weight and said he would be looked at by our vet as soon as the vet could manage.
My goals for Mushu: (Both long term and short term)
- Desensitize him to all aspects of grooming.
- Help keep an eye on him, health wise.
- Socialize him, teach him that humans are ok. He isn't terrified of people, but certainly shy.
- Help him find his foster or forever home.
- I am not a professional dog trainer, though I one day hope to be. I am in an apprenticeship program for dog training and will not take on a dog that is more then I can safely handle. Please do not ask me to help you with your dog, I am not qualified to answer.
- All photos belong to the wonderful volunteers who took and uploaded them in the hopes of helping these dog's find their homes.
- If you are interested in adopting one of my project dogs or any puppy mill survivor check out National Mill Dog Rescue's website: https://milldogrescue.org/
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