Shady My Precious close Friend

Shady is my 12 year old Cocker

Spaniel foster dog, who I met about

16 months ago. He was raised from a

puppy by senior citizens who probably

were not able to fulfill his needs as

well as needed. This is usually

because of their physical states,

lack of knowledge, and energy level

and health. They probably loved him

very much and most likely treated him

like their child.

Dogs do not do well when treated like

human children. They must have a

pack leader who will set rules,

boundaries, and limitations which is

necessary for the dogs psychological

well being and feeling safe and

secure. As part of their nature if

there is no leader they feel it

necessary to take that position even

when they do not want this position.

As a result of Shady being forced

into the leader ship position, he

spent his life unsure, insecure, and

frightened. He was a natural

follower. His fear and other

unwanted insecurities and

uncertainties caused him great

instability. Having pent up energy

from not getting the exercise he

needed also caused Shady to have

additional issues and he therefore

began to get more unstable.

By the time her was 11 years old her

had became so unstable that losing

his people made things much worse for

him. Not understanding why things

were suddenly changing, he became

more fearful. The rescue saved him

from probably being put into a worse

situation. A member of the rescue; a

groomer; tried to groom him and got

bitten.

I asked to be Shady's foster person

because of his red zone dangerous

behavior which wasn't his fault.

Unfortunately when dogs become

unstable its most of the time because

of their needs not being met properly

and fully. I was afraid Shady would

pay with his life for something which

was not his fault and desperately

wanted to help him and give his as

good a life as possible.

Fortunately the rescue allowed me to

foster Shady. When I first met him

he was with another Cocker Spaniel

who was 14 years old. She was a

sweet little girl who was eventually

adopted. The very first thing I did

when they arrived was take them for a

walk and show them the neighborhood.

Dogs naturally follow their leader

and roam and explore their territory.

They love to migrate everyday as a

pack with their pack leader. So by

taking them for a walk I was doing

what is normal for them. Migration

and exploring their new territory. I

do my very best to try to work with

nature and do what is natural in the

dog world for my dog friends.

There is nothing better for a dog

than to follow the leader and go for

a long walk. I immediately took the

lead and mentally thought about them

following me. This works very well

because dogs pick up on what you

picture in your mind and think about.

They are very sensitive to your

spirit and emotions. My new animal

friends who are dogs and who have the

breed of Cocker Spaniel, and then

nice names, were very happy to

explore the area. I gave them

permission to sniff after they

followed me for a while. They

relieved themselves, enjoyed their

walk, and then we went into the

house.

I entered the house first, then

invited them to follow me. The first

and only room they were allowed to

explore was the kitchen and this is

because I wanted them to have the

time to get used to their new

situation and understand that I was

in charge and would take care of

them. After they calmed down and

seemed comfortable, I very slowly

invited them to come with me and see

a few more rooms in the house. I

showed them their beds where they

would sleep with me in the bedroom,

the living room where we would be

able to hang out with the birds, and

then we returned to the kitchen where

we stayed while I get their stuff

organized and set up so they had

places for getting food and water. I

made certain to set things up the way

they were going to remain because

dogs are creatures of habit and like

familiarity. Later just before diner

time we went for a walk to fufill

their need to migrate to find food

and water. With every move I made

the decision, lead the way, and

showed them what was expected of

them. This is security for dogs.

Upon returning, I prepared their food

and when I decided to give it to

them, I asked then to wait a moment.

This is so that they can calm down

and have a less excited frame of

mind. Food and excitement can be a

very, very dangerous combination.

Shady lives to eat. He inhaled his

food, so I gad to make certain he

didn't take food which did not belong

to him . A little while after they

ate we went outside again so they

could relieve themselves. This was

the beginning of their new pack

security. I fulfilled their basic

needs for food, water, exercise,

disapline, and affection. Later

before going to bed, I pet them and

gave them a treat.

After Shady had been with me for

three days, I was seriously wondering

why he bit the groomer. The first

night together Coco stood with her

front paws on my bed and I lifted her

off gently and indicated she should

lay on her bed. About half an hour

later there was front paws on my bed

again. I did the same thing again

and to my surprise teeth very firmly

and gently touched my hand. Ok, this

had to be Shady. A sign of what he

had penned up inside. Pent up energy

and fear and very, very dangerous

combination's. By the third day it

rained. When the dogs came in from

outside, I wiped their paws. Another

incident with this was when I gently

started to pick up Shady's paw. The

teeth came around again. He grabbed

me more strongly this time.

My best guess about putting the

picture together as to why Shady bit

the groomer is that something

happened either at the vets or the

groomers which frightened his and/or

was painful. One issue I needed to

work with him on was trust. He was

very fearful and un-trusting of being

handled and examined. I discovered

this when we went for his vet visit.

He became so fearful that he went

catatonic. Shaking so severely and

then becoming a statue is a sign of a

red zone dog who through no fault of

theirs, can be very extremely

unpredictable and dangerous. I knew

Shady had been misunderstood because

the person who brought him to me said

he was anti social and wanted to be

left alone. At the beginning, I

could sense this was the opposite of

what he longed fore and that he had

it in him to be a sweet, kind,

obedient companion. I decided to go

for walks to the vet and just go into

the waiting room and hang out for a

short time so that Shady would

eventually realize he didn't have to

be frightened of being at the vets.

They also do grooming, so it was

important for him to get used to the

groomers. During our visits Shady

got treats and was pet and by the

staff. He is doing extremely well

going to the vet now for check ups

and grooming. This process of

working with him so he is calm and

secure when visiting is still a work

in progress. It takes time and

leadership to help a dog

rehabilitate.

Right now Shady is more able to be

and act like a dog, have better

stability, and not be as afraid. I'm

extremely concerned about his health

and hope he will be with me longer.

Tuesday he has a vet appointment.

I'm glad he has learned to be a dog

and not have to be pressed into the

role of being human, and that her has

had the exercise, fulfillment he

needs, and the leadership he has

longed for and requires for a happy

life. I celebrate and rejoice in

knowing him. He had taught me so

much and given his all to me and the

people he had met. Shady is a very

sweet, knid, and loving dog who I

thank for teaching me about

friendship and leadership and how to

work with dogs who have been deprived

of the very basics they need to be

stable. Shady I love you, you are

worthy of and a valuable friend.

I hope we have more time together

with you being healthy and enjoying

life. Shady has a love for the

simple things in life and being with

people. He doesn't want to be alone.

I want Shady to be happy secure and

feeling safe along with not being

afraid, no matter what happens in the

future. He is a precious being and

has a sweet kind spirit who deserves

to have the very best life can give.

I love you Shady.
Bella is very concrned about Shady

and is leffing me know when ever

possible when Shady needs something.

She appears to sense and understand

better and more than me what is

happening with Shady. Bella is

helping Shady and me as much as she

is able. I'm getting upset again and

so should stop now. I don't want the

dogs or other animals to feel my pain

and grief at these events. I'll let

you know what happens with the vet

appointment. I'm hoping for the best

and preparing for....; I'm not going

to go there. I know Shady has a very

serious medical condition and being

12 years old this is extremely hard

on him. Because of the heat, events

in august, and I did not how sick

Shady is. Even had I known earlier,

I'm not sure if this would have made

a difference.

I told Shady last night how much I

loved him and that what ever he

needed to do is ok. He is still

trying to and wanting to enjoy life

as much as possible. Unfortunately

this is getting more difficult for

him. There isn't anything I can do

right now except wait and support him

every way possible and make him as

comfortable as possible. Because of

what I know about this past which

isn't much; and because of what I've

experienced and observed; it would be

a blessing for him to go to sleep and

move on. If he were healthy I would

love to spend many more years with

him. I hope there is something

medical which will help him have more

quality of life. He deserves the

best life and quality of life

possible with good health.

I lost the work just before saving and so had to copy paste the content. I hope to return and fix this back to the original in the future.