Shelter Journal 10/17/13

Last night I had a dream about Chiques where I woke up, went to the shelter, and she had been put down. These shy, scared dogs really tug at my heart. Today before starting with any dogs I asked about Linnie who I've had out a few times and has been at the shelter a long time. I wanted to know if there were any notes that gave an indication of why she might still be here. I was told she doesn't "show" well at the front of the kennel which is something I can work on. I also asked about Chiques to get more info. First thing was we agreed she needs a new name, but we don't know what yet. I got some info about her history. Her owner had to surrender her after they lost their house along with two older dogs. The owner requested the older ones be put to sleep because of their failing health and they'd recently stopped eating. Chiques lost her home, her owner, and her buddies all at once and was placed by herself in a kennel. No wonder she's so terrified! Chiques is a staff favorite, and one of the staff members has her out frequently to take walks in the back. We chatted some and I mentioned how hard it was for me to put her back in her kennel on Tuesday, and I wanted to look at her again today and would maybe call my husband to see if he'd be willing to foster her.

I got some treats then went to the front of Linnie's kennel. She did stand up on her back legs and jump a bit, which is not always good for potentials adopters to see as it makes her look huge, and the jumping makes people think she's very high energy. I waited for her to get down then gave her a treat. I told her to sit and she did, so I gave a couple more treats. I practiced walking by her kennel and giving her a treat at her nose level so she can learn to keep her feet down. After a few passes she was learning that sitting got her treats, whereas if she jumped I would stand still, and even turn my back if it was an enthusiastic jump or she kept bouncing. I also also popping treats into the mouths of her neighbors to reward them for their good behavior too.

Then I went to get Chiques. She seemed to recognize me, not nearly so scared as before but definitely still very scared. In the yard she was doing well, walking maybe a little taller, not quite so skittish. Then a volunteer I know came into the yard next to us. Chiques really perked up! She hopped around, gave a play bow, was prancing along the fence. It was great to see. I called the husband to get a general idea of his thoughts. He needed more details, as did I, about the fostering process and what we'd need to do, what the shelter would pay for and cover, how we market the dog to get her adopted, and so on but was not against the idea of fostering her. I went to put Chiques back and bumped into a staff member on the way. We chatted, she gave me a lot of info, formed a general plan that I would go home to get Denali and Zebulon to do a dog test and cat test, and if things went well then I'd be taking her home with me. I put her away, called husband again to talk, told him the plan, and he was on board. On my way out I talked to another staff member and she was thrilled about me fostering this dog. At home I picked things up, shut all the doors, and rearranged the car so I could puta  crate in the back. Everything was ready.

I came back with both pets. I walked in empty handed so we could figure out where to do interacts. I went and got Zebulon and left him in the office with a staff member. He was instantly a big hit with everyone, they all love him and his chill personality! I went to get Denali to do an interact by the yards. I let the staff woman know that Denali's fur always goes up because she's excited, she'll sniff butts, then offer a play bow. That's exactly what she did. Chiques wasn't ready to play so Denali defaulted to sniffing around. She was very polite in giving Chiques space. Chiques followed her, sniffing her a couple times, and they did fine together. We headed to the office where Denali was thrilled to see her kitty that a staff woman was holding. Chiques didn't even seem to notice Zeb.

The staff woman was sitting down, still holding Zeb when Chiques finally took an interest. I had talked about making sure Chiques smelled his butt first but things happened too quickly for me to speak up. Chiques calmly approached, they sniffed noses, then Chiques nipped at his face. Zeb recoiled and hissed, but didn't even poof his tail or spray. He was fine. After that, Chiques was fixated on Zeb. She did calm down for a moment so I took Zeb and knelt down as I normally do, showing his butt to her, and she sniffed then did a little nip. That ended everything right then and there. My pets will always come first, as they should, and it would be stupid to risk the lives of my cats by bringing her into our home. I'll keep interacting with her at the shelter and I will do my best for her, and do anything I can to help her find a home.