Paws in the Park

We didn't get to write about Paws in the Park last week, but Mom wanted to make sure she posted this week. It rained the whole time we were there, but we finished the walk and we visited all the vendors while we were there. The weather wasn't great for pictures, but Mom had to get one of the Dachshund Kissing Booth fundraiser.

Katy reached another level of achievement at this walk. Each year she's shown more independence and boldness. The first year she went she spent the whole walk tucked into Bailey's side for protection. Each year she's gotten a bit bolder, heading out at the head of the pack sometimes at a run, but then about half way through she suddenly seems to realize she's not with Bailey and drops back to finish the walk at a more leisurely pace.

This year despite the cold wet weather she headed out with one of her favorite extended family members at a run. They paused at the halfway mark where we normally take pictures, but the weather was too wet and dreary for pictures so we encouraged them to keep going. Katy quickly took the lead and for the first time crossed the end line first without Bailey at her side. This is just a charity walk not designed to be a race or a run, but for Katy she's had this desire to get there first for some time. She and her handler have been in discussions for training and strategies for the longer Whisker Walk coming in June. It is a longer walk and she will have to see if she has the stamina to stay at the head of the pack for the entire walk.

Bailey struggled with the cold and we've decided Mom will sit out the longer walk with him as he's taking it slower these days. On the upside, Dog Dad located a massage therapist at the fair that might work for helping Bailey with some of his challenges. We also found a bone vendor and got some awesome bully sticks to take home.

For the first time ever we met a family of Shelties. The tiny puppy almost made Mom rethink her ideas on getting a dog past those puppy years. He was one giant fur ball and oh so cute. This family had a collection of Sheltie colors, which again you don't see often.

One thing I felt bad about was every where we went when someone had a Purebred dog they felt the need to whisper that they went to a breeder to get the dog, as if it was a crime. One of the woman,a breed foster Mom felt the need to explain she has things she wants to train her dogs to do and prefers to choose them as pups for specific characteristics and then raise them to ensure she gets the behaviors she wants. I told her she should feel no compulsion to apologize. She clearly isn't using a puppy mill to get the quality of dogs she wants. She gives back to the community by fostering and volunteering to stand in the freezing rain to help these animals find homes with people like myself that may be OK not starting with a puppy. She looked amazed. I suspect she doesn't hear that often.

I love these events because they are great ways to spend time meeting other dog owners. As I said I rarely meet other Sheltie owners except at events like these. It is always fun. At this event I tried to connect a breed rescue with a dog blogger that I thought would be a good match. The rescue representative sounded interested in linking to the site to provide more information to people who want to adopt large breed dogs. It is a great way to meet local shelters and rescues. I was disappointed that the local Collie rescue wasn't present this year as I was tempted to talk to them to see if they have any ideas about what to do with the Bailey and Katy situation. Sadly, they didn't have a table this year and I don't see them listed yet for the Whisker Walk either. However, despite the rain there were lots of people at the shelter/rescue tables making connections and that is how we can promote rescue.

That being said one of the disappointments I had was the anti-puppy mill group focused on ending puppy mills which is great, but the focus is still on shaming those who don't go to shelters. I just can't support that attitude. I am for ending puppy mills. However, the best way to end them is to teach people about all their responsible choices, not just your preferred choice. There is a disconnect between reality and dreams. In the dream world everyone would find their ideal dog at the local shelter and there would be no homeless dogs. In the real world people have lots of reasons why they want a purebred dog from a breeder. That is for another article on another day.

Friday Flowers: Pansies

Over Patriots Day weekend Mom was starting to feel a need to get the veggie gardens started. It was too early, but she and DOg Dad went to look. They picked up some dirt, Mom says it's special dirt, some herbs to grow indoors and then they discovered these beautiful pansies.

Dog Dad wasn't sure they'd survive the cold, but they thrived despite the cold and Mom is enjoying her barrel of pansies.

Bailey's Green Bone

Bailey's never been a huge fan of plastic or rubber toys unless they were balls. Periodically he will be gifted with a package of toys that include rubber or plastic toys and we usually weed them out because they never get played with and just take up room. This bone some how cleared the purge at Christmas and wound up in the dogs' toy box where it spent its day lonely and unwanted.

Then came Easter and a little one was digging through the toy box to find a toy he thought was appropriate for Bailey to play with because he found the ball boring. He found the bone. I'm not sure what attracted him to the bone. Perhaps it was the bright green color and the idea that dogs like to play with bones. However, he proceeded to throw the bone and Bailey brought it back to him each and every time. That night after all the kids had left we found the bone on Bailey's mat. It hasn't left there since. He even managed to hide it when the rescue dog was here so he didn't lose it. It has become his favorite snuggle toy.

Recently we had the brother of the original little one who discovered the bone stop by the house. He too played with bone and sure enough when he left Bailey curled up with the bone and protected it carefully. I suspect we now have a bone ritual with a toy that is more like a teddy bear than an actual chew toy.

Friday Flowers

Friday flowers is back. We discovered these pretty tulips while out exploring the yard.

Paws in the Park Wayside Inn Sudbury, MA

Hi folks it is time for the annual Paws in the Park sponsored by Save a Dog this Sunday May 1 from 10-3. If you live in the Massachusetts area there is no better time to visit the beautiful historic Wayside Inn area in Sudbury and help raise money for animal shelters in the area.

Along with a beautiful short walk for you and the dogs there are also lots of fun activities for dogs, children, and adults. Our dogs love shopping there and the vendors always have something new to discover. Many local shelters have booths to raise awareness and funds for their local shelters as well.

Come out and join the fun on Sunday. For more information please visit their website here.

Update

We haven't been around and it after a few inquires it seemed like it was time to come back and talk about it. Bailey is fine, but changed by what happened as are all of us.

We heard about an available Sheltie right before Easter weekend. We went down to meet the dog the weekend after Easter and brought him home. While I haven't written to her, I can only thank Dachshund Nola's Mom for sharing her rescue experiences because it helped me think through what we were experiencing and to understand we couldn't accept what had happened. Perhaps sharing this may help others who have to make tough decisions when rescuing or encourage rescues to be more honest in what they tell potential adopters.

The one hard fast rule we had when approaching another rescue dog was that the dog had to be compatible with the two we had, no exceptions. We won't accept an aggressive dog. We were lied to and feel betrayed and after almost a month still angry. It is one thing not to know a history of a dog and make a bad placement. It is another to know a dog has problems and not disclose those issues to a prospective owner, thinking perhaps they will deal with it and not bring the dog back.

We had looked on the website and had seen several younger, very tempting dogs that were clearly labeled as not being able to be adopted with other dogs, in homes with other male dogs, male owners, etc. Not all dogs are listed on the website, the policy has always been that they will call people with applications on file with a match first. So, we had some confidence when we got the call that we would be getting a dog that was compatible with a male and female dog, since this dog hadn't been listed and they screened applications for compatibility. He was older than we'd hoped for, but we were willing to adopt a senior if he was a good match for our other two and we'd not have to deal with aggression issue.

Sadly, this was not the case and they knew it before they ever contacted us. This is what has taken me so long to calm down enough to write about is the anger and frustration this caused. None of this would have happened if honesty had been at the center of this adoption discussion. The dog had come in with a female and they were adopted separately. This we only discovered because two names were listed on the dog's adoption folder. This in itself is not unusual. Sadly, it is hard to find homes for one senior. Finding someone who can take on the challenge of two senior dogs can be insurmountable. However, in this case placing them together was never considered. We only discovered the full story after returning the dog. He had been very aggressive towards his female housemate and it was determined she would be happier away from him. Who thought placing him with another female was a good idea!!!!

I do take some of the blame I didn't listen to my gut. This is an important message I think all of us need to understand. There is a profound difference between doubts and a gut instinct that is telling you something is wrong. I had some questions when we got Katy because we were going in blind with her. They provided little background information on her. However, she didn't show any signs of aggression, more of shyness and fear. I had concerns, but I wasn't feeling that gut instinct, more mentally trying to figure out how we'd work around her challenges. With this dog it was different. My gut was screaming at me we were making a mistake when we were signing the paperwork for this dog. While I told myself I'd had the same concerns when we'd picked up Katy, I knew I was lying to myself. This situation was very different. We should have walked away.

When we brought him home he attacked Bailey and attempted the same behaviors with Katy that I found out later he had used on his previous housemate. His triggers were not consistent. He could be fine about something and then lose it. We quickly had to keep the dogs separate and that was not a workable solution to living with multiple dogs in the same home. In trying to locate some information about his previous housemate to see if that would give us some clues under her adoption notice, I found his had already been posted. While we'd never been given his adoption write up, here it was clearly posted on the adoption page. He was supposed to be an only dog as he didn't like to share attention with other dogs. At that point he had already been added to Katy's yearly vet appointment and I hoped perhaps the Vet could tell me what was causing this change in behavior since the foster indicated he'd been great around other dogs. After reading that notice I cut and pasted it into an email and sent a notice stating we were enforcing the contract and returning the dog within the two week trial period.

The one positive I walk away from this experience with is I believe he is more ready for life in a single animal home. He has been appropriately groomed (don't get me started on that), the Vet discovered he has arthritis in both knees so that can be treated. I hope we have demonstrated he should be an only dog as the original adoption notice indicated. That was one of the most frustrating things to discover. I think he would actually be a great only dog. Someone had taken the time to teach him commands, so that would be a plus for someone who wanted a dog that was trained. For someone who wanted a devoted dog, he's your dog. He just isn't going to be a dog you want in a home with other animals. This is why I haven't used his name or discussed where he came from in this post. My hope is he does find that single dog home where he and his new owners will be happy.

Before anyone mentions it I am aware that rescues are run on an all volunteer basis. It is hard work and believe me I more than appreciate the hard work, love and effort that brought us Katy and Bailey. This mistake is one that I'm hearing about all too often. This was not a matter of not knowing the dog had issues. This was a failure to inform. Had we been told the dog was aggressive, we'd never have brought him home. Talking to other adopters I've heard far too many stories of people not being informed of dogs having previously being returned for issues of aggression, or other serious issues that can impact a successful adoption. Clearly no dog is ever perfect, but knowing as much as you can about a dog you are thinking of adopting helps one make an informed choice and is likely to result in permanent home.

I am not sure where we go forward from here. This failed rescue weighs heavily on all of us. It did some damage not just physically, but emotionally to Bailey and Katy. Bailey and Katy grew apart while he was here because he bullied both of them. Thankfully, after they were sure he was gone, they seem to have resumed their relationship. Bailey however, is weaker than he was before. He has less energy and confidence and that only increases my guilt.

My DH and I also felt hugely guilty about giving up on the rescue, but our Vet really pushed home the damage being done to Bailey and that helped reinforce the choice to return him. I've never felt a moment of concern or doubt about the safety of letting Bailey and Katy roam freely in the house together. Sure they get into doggy mischief, but I never question that they'd hurt each other. I never had a moment of peace with the rescue here. The only time I knew that all dogs were safe was when he was crated, the other two were outside, or he was outside and they were inside. I will not live that way.

As I said, I'm not sure where this leaves us. We are still in the same situation we were before with Katy. Bailey is our miracle dog and according to the Vet is doing well against all odds. However, when the time comes she will not be happy as an only dog and I'm going to have to find a solution that brings another Sheltie or perhaps a Collie into the family. How that happens I don't know. I was always 100% sure it was going to be a rescue situation. Now I don't know where we go from here.

Service Dog Etiquette

While not wordless, I waited until Wednesday to post this in the hope of engaging Blogville in an effort to get the word out about behavior around service dogs. For years, we've discussed how to educate the public about approaching strange dogs, to make our own dogs safer. However, recently the topic of service dogs and strangers has become more personal as my niece has been struggling with the issue since getting her service dog, Darcy, pictured here. She was a rescue, who she had trained to be her service dog. While more people are getting service dogs, the public is still relatively unaware of how to behave around a working dog. This has made her life challenging, as people don't seem to understand the basic etiquette for service dogs. I hope we in Blogville can work towards changing that.

I believe we have made a difference in educating people about how to interact safely with our pet dogs. I think we can turn that towards educating the public about safely interacting with an ever growing number of service dogs. The range of jobs service dogs perform is growing. While the public seems to recognize the physical services dogs can perform, dogs are also being trained in medical detection and assistance, as well as in mental health capacities. When these dogs are in public, they are working dogs. It is important that people understand the different roles played by pet and service dog.

There is an important distinction between working professional and pet dog. Sadly not just children, but adults need to be reminded that service dogs are providing valuable assistance and distracting them from the work they do is irresponsible. While the dogs are trained to ignore distractions, the effort involved with ignoring those distractions is effort not being put towards the tasks assigned to the dog. The damage caused can range from minor annoyances to major issues. The ultimate goal is for service dogs to be no more of an interest to the public than a wheel chair or a cane. The fact that the dog is alive and cuter than most medical devises shouldn't mean people can't control themselves and act responsibly.

Think of the dog as a dentist working with a drill. Would you want someone walking into the dentist's office as he/she is drilling your teeth distracting him/her while the drill is doing critical work? That is the image to keep in mind when you see a dog working. You don't know what the dog's tasks are and how failure to achieve those tasks could impact the person.

Humans are curious by nature. However, it is important to remember is that it isn't our job to know what the diagnosis is that the dog is trained to manage unless the person wants us to know. You may see a stranger in a wheel chair, walking with a cane or walker, but how many of you feel you have a right to ask why he/she needs that medical device? How did he/she get one? How much did it cost? How long did he/she have to wait to get one? While dogs are not inanimate objects, they are medically prescribed and you have no more rights to ask a stranger why they have a service dog than why they have a medical device. As I said humans are curious, it doesn't mean we need to be rude. Some people are more than happy to discuss the dog with you. However, what if anything they wish to discuss is up to the individual.

As you may have noticed, I told you my niece has a service dog, but not why. That is her story to tell. When and who she chooses to share that with is her business. She was kind enough to share her pictures with me for this story. While she was willing to share more of her story, I chose not to for this article. It is enough to know she has a medical prescription for a service dog. Beyond that, there is no need to know, unless she chooses to share it with people. At some point, I may write another blog about Darcy and do that.

I think it is also important to know a person isn't necessarily being mean or rude if he/she chooses not to interact with you while out with the service dog. Some people are very enthusiastic and willing to talk about their experiences with the service dog. Others have a dog because it is the only way that person leaves the house and gets to his/her daily tasks. Like anything else people fall on a spectrum. Not everyone feels education and advocacy is one of his/her daily goals. Just because you see a dog, it doesn't mean it is the duty of that person to educate you or your child on the duties of the dog or give a show of what the dog can do. A working dog is not an entertainer; it is present to care for the person assigned to it. Don't take it personally. If you want to learn more about service animals there are plenty of ways to educate yourself and your children, random strangers are generally not the best option.

One thing not required by all states, but I do think helps the public is when services dogs are identified as such. If you notice in these pictures, Darcy is vested. Depending on the situation, the vest allows her to wear different patches to help the public be more aware of her job. While I can understand those with service animals may feel this is restrictive, it is a non-verbal message that identifies the dog as a working dog. While this won't work on all, as education becomes more wide spread about the work of service animals, being able to identify one should make it easier for those with working dogs to be left alone. It also makes for fewer questions when animals are entering areas where only service dogs are allowed, pets are not. It is a small price to pay to help create more awareness and tolerance for service dogs.

I know I'm preaching to the choir in Blogville, however, it is our mission to go beyond our borders to get the word out to others about this issue. The number of service dogs is increasing and the lack of knowledge about how to interact with them in public is creating challenges for those who need the animals to be focused on work and not be distracted by the uniformed and the curious. I don't think the vast majority of people mean to do harm, they just don't understand the harm they do. That is where we can make a difference through education and advocacy.