I haven’t added a success story for a long time! So will remember to add another dog periodically.
This is Kiche. She came to us as a feral dog that hated to be touched, wouldn’t come up to you at all, was afraid of everything and would bolt if she got out of the fenced in yard. It was ironic when we got her. Kiche was in her 2nd foster home since being pulled into SCL along with her 4 puppies (that were not even 2 weeks old) and she had gotten away from him and had disappeared into the woods. She was loose for 3 weeks. He was putting out food for her but she would not go into any of the dog traps that were set up.
Well, one day my beautiful dog Venus, (only 7 years old but plagued by cluster seizures that the vet thought were caused by a brain tumor) decided that she didn’t want to be on this earth any longer. We had her put down in the morning. Well, that afternoon Kiche walked into the dog trap and was caught. I just think that Venus had something to do with that!! So we decided to be Kiche’s 3rd (and last) foster home and brought her to our house.
I often tell people that this kind of dog that was never socialized as a puppy and was pretty much feral, takes a longgg time to trust and have the confidence to not fear everything in their path. It took Kiche pretty much years before she would trust us. She hated to be touched and if we ever had to catch her….well, it just rarely happened. She lived with other dogs and loved them. She loved to play and we really worked off that to help her come around.
Just today (January of 2011) I was smiling at her trying to remember this dog that hated to be touched. Now, she isn’t the most social dog, but this girl will weave her way into the pack and she LOVES pets. Her neck, her front chest and recently has realized how good a but and hip rub feels. She comes when we call her and we often take her on walks, still on a leash, but I know that we could run her off leash and she would stick with us.
So, if you ever end up getting a dog that is shy, spooky, untrusting with no confidence—realize that it might take years for that dog to come around. But when they do, oh the smiles on your face.