The moment I met this dog I felt a connection. I wanted to help this dog to first of all come out of his kennel on his own and second walk to the back on his own. I am not an expert by any means. I just love dogs.
When Jack D. first arrived here in Wisconsin he was so scared and full of fleas. He just completely shut down. I knew that with the help and love from Lisa, Rylee and me we could help get his confidence back. We had to drag, pull and carry him to the back to go out for potties for the first 24 hours. This was not an easy task as he was and still is overweight at 46 lbs. Yes, it was a great reminder that I need to really start using my gym membership one of these days.
After the first 24 hours we saw a glimmer of who this dog could be. He started wagging his tail, still very low but still a wag none the less. He would kind of slink his way to the back like a cat. He was starting to trust us and get used to the routine. He even started to lick our hands from a distance and run around us in circles.
We had him a week at the daycare with us until a foster home opened up. We packed him all up that morning. His foster family came to meet him later that morning and took him to their house. He was having a good time playing with their two dogs for a while. When they stood up and decided to go in the house with him he got very scared and took off. They were able to surround him and were trying not to scare him more. He was just so overwhelmed and bolted. They live in a very wooded area which is beautiful but not easy when searching for a black dog that seems to blend in very well.
Long story short with the help, support and guidance from Lost Dogs of Wisconsin, brats and hot dogs and four hours sitting in the woods during a Packer game we were able to capture him.(My kids tried to send me back out to the woods so the Packers would win again. LOL) He spent 8 long days outside near the fosters house in the hottest weather of the year and terrible rain storms. It was truly 8 days of hell for all who loved Jack.
He went back to the daycare where he was the most safe...inside four walls and 8 ft. fencing. Everyday I fought the need to take this dog home with me. I kept telling myself that my dogs would have a field day with him because he's so scared. That they would pick up on that energy and not tolerate it. Still, I couldn't let it go. I just wanted to help this dog in the worst way.
I've been taking my dogs to a training class in Muskego for a few months now and absolutely love it. My dogs get real world experience like learning to sit and stay or walk past a running vacuum. Badger, my Catahoula hates vacuums and will attack it if I'm vacuuming for a long time which would be more than 10 minutes. I have been wanting to take Jack to our training classes to get him out of his shell. I finally made the decision to just do it after talking to Frank the trainer to make sure it was ok to bring him. Dana met him first and fell instantly in love. She helped me to build my confidence as did Frank. He did pretty good his first time and even stayed for some extra socialization with lots of bigger dogs. I had to ask Frank if he thought it would be ok to foster him. He looked at me and with a laugh said, "Your asking the wrong guy. I have 40 dogs." I said how I was nervous that my dogs would attack him because he's so scared. Here is my "AHA" moment. He said, "Don't let your dogs dictate what to do." Wow! I've been doing this for some time now. In fact I think we all do this. It's great to love dogs but they need boundaries and discipline just like kids.
It took a lot to get him here mainly because I'm a stubborn Sicilian girl just wanting what's best for Jack for now. So he's here in my home learning what it means to be a dog and a pack member waiting for his forever family.
Thanks for thinking rescue!
Saving one dog at a time,
Stephanie
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