We are so very thankful to have each other ... in our own home ... with our two precious dogs.
Rehabilitation, that’s the word used most often when referring to the needs of these dogs, the “rescue dogs”. According to Thesaurus, English, U.S., it is treatment, therapy, healing, remedy, cure, analysis, psychoanalysis, psychotherapy, physiotherapy. The Encarta Dict
ionary, English, North America cites the definition as being: (1) help somebody return to normal life (2) restore somebody to rank or rights (3) restore somebody’s reputation (4) restore place to good condition.
Chester’s situation requires a better definition, or maybe an entirely different word to describe his needs. We don’t want him to return to anything pertaining to his previous life. We would, although, love to restore his rights as a sweet, gentle and loving animal in this world. His reputation should never have been tarnished, just that of his previous owner, the abusive person who turned him into a fearful shell of a dog.
Well … relating to Chester I am not sure we’ve done such a great job recently. Our intentions were good and we will do our best to remedy the situation as soon as possible. In six days we managed to see weeks of improvement disappear and in some respects Chester has regressed. He’s still a very fragile being. We’ve been so careful to properly manage his care; it breaks my heart to see him take steps backwards.
Just over a month into our permanent adoption of Chester, we had the opportunity to snowbird to warmer weather. For part of the time we’d be sharing a home with a family member, not the property owner. We would be out of the Pacific Northwest winter wind and rain and the muddy back yard, at least through the holidays. There would also be a larger yard for the dogs to enjoy. The opportunity wasn’t taken lightly because it involved closing our home up for the rest of the year. There was significant expense involved making the trip, but we decided to try it. Since our home is for sale, it also included heavy cleaning, boxing up and securing personal items. I even did more “staging” of the house that included removing any clutter, personal photos, extra items on the kitchen counters, etc. Arrangements were made for utility billings to be made online, a friend was hired to check on the house and forward some mail. Arrangements for prescription medications and medical follow-ups were handled. I also took the opportunity to paint a few rooms before we left. Figured that since we would be gone, the house might as well look more like a model home than one occupied by two people and two dogs.
Chester and Casey travel well. They each enjoy rides in the car or truck. Typically they sleep in the back seat when the vehicle is at freeway speeds and pop up to look around when we slow down as if they might recognize our location. In Casey’s case she looks into other vehicles at stoplights to smile and say “hi” to the occupants, assured that they’ll smile back or speak to her. She loves everyone and even when sitting she sometimes can’t keep her tail from wagging. Casey knows that people love her in return … typical Golden Retriever. Chester’s travel behavior is somewhat more relaxed. He simply enjoys being with us, particularly in a smaller and controlled location.
Our destination was over 700 miles away and would involve many hours in the vehicles, stops at unknown areas for water and potty breaks and an overnight at a hotel. We’ve never taken a road trip with dogs before and certainly not this much of a trek. Chester was terribly fearful any time we stopped to get out of the vehicles. Even at home we have to physically remove him from the back seat of the vehicle. He jumps into a vehicle willingly and loves to ride but hates to get back out. He might see strange people or animals that scare him. Chester is fearful of sights and sounds, but also of the unknown. The dogs handled the trip as well or better than we could have anticipated. They were model occupants at the hotel. Casey slept on the bed with Glenn. Chester, much to my surprise, climbed onto the other bed with me. Although he sleeps in a bedroom with one or both of us, he has never slept on the bed at home.
The first several weeks of our stay were fairly uneventful. Chester found hiding places, behind a sofa, under a table saw in the garage, under a patio chair. He seemed to be acclimating well to the new yard even in a neighborhood where other dogs bark a lot. At home we rarely hear another dog, although there are plenty of them in our little area. Casey and Chester spent a good part of their days in the garage with Glenn while he worked on projects. They had access, through a walk out door, to the back yard. From there they could drink from their water bowl or run and play or go potty whenever they needed. Chester seemed to enjoy stretching his legs in the larger yard. He was making improvements, romping in the yard with Casey and then jogging back to his safe place numerous times each day.
The last 6 days of our trip was another story. We were not aware that the other occupant of the house is an animal hater, especially dogs … not afraid of dogs, just hates them. Chester hid all day and night in one room when he wasn’t in the garage with Glenn. Casey wasn’t allowed to approach to be petted and was yelled at when she came into the same room. It was obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to continue Chester’s therapy and healing when he confined himself to a bedroom. We returned home.
On our return trip the dogs were again model passengers. They were well behaved at a hotel, no barking and no accidents. They slept on the floor by our beds. The next day was a 9-hour travel day, including pet stops, and they were each perfectly behaved.
Since we’ve been home Chester’s behavior has changed again. If we walk into the room where he is, he moves to another room. He doesn’t hide as much under tables, but he still prefers corners or protected areas. We removed his kennel/bed before we left on the trip and haven’t reintroduced it because he’s fine sleeping wherever Casey sleeps.
Rehabilitation … begins again slowly. The important thing is that it will continue in a safe, happy and loving environment … his home.
Chester’s situation requires a better definition, or maybe an entirely different word to describe his needs. We don’t want him to return to anything pertaining to his previous life. We would, although, love to restore his rights as a sweet, gentle and loving animal in this world. His reputation should never have been tarnished, just that of his previous owner, the abusive person who turned him into a fearful shell of a dog.
Well … relating to Chester I am not sure we’ve done such a great job recently. Our intentions were good and we will do our best to remedy the situation as soon as possible. In six days we managed to see weeks of improvement disappear and in some respects Chester has regressed. He’s still a very fragile being. We’ve been so careful to properly manage his care; it breaks my heart to see him take steps backwards.
Just over a month into our permanent adoption of Chester, we had the opportunity to snowbird to warmer weather. For part of the time we’d be sharing a home with a family member, not the property owner. We would be out of the Pacific Northwest winter wind and rain and the muddy back yard, at least through the holidays. There would also be a larger yard for the dogs to enjoy. The opportunity wasn’t taken lightly because it involved closing our home up for the rest of the year. There was significant expense involved making the trip, but we decided to try it. Since our home is for sale, it also included heavy cleaning, boxing up and securing personal items. I even did more “staging” of the house that included removing any clutter, personal photos, extra items on the kitchen counters, etc. Arrangements were made for utility billings to be made online, a friend was hired to check on the house and forward some mail. Arrangements for prescription medications and medical follow-ups were handled. I also took the opportunity to paint a few rooms before we left. Figured that since we would be gone, the house might as well look more like a model home than one occupied by two people and two dogs.
Chester and Casey travel well. They each enjoy rides in the car or truck. Typically they sleep in the back seat when the vehicle is at freeway speeds and pop up to look around when we slow down as if they might recognize our location. In Casey’s case she looks into other vehicles at stoplights to smile and say “hi” to the occupants, assured that they’ll smile back or speak to her. She loves everyone and even when sitting she sometimes can’t keep her tail from wagging. Casey knows that people love her in return … typical Golden Retriever. Chester’s travel behavior is somewhat more relaxed. He simply enjoys being with us, particularly in a smaller and controlled location.
Our destination was over 700 miles away and would involve many hours in the vehicles, stops at unknown areas for water and potty breaks and an overnight at a hotel. We’ve never taken a road trip with dogs before and certainly not this much of a trek. Chester was terribly fearful any time we stopped to get out of the vehicles. Even at home we have to physically remove him from the back seat of the vehicle. He jumps into a vehicle willingly and loves to ride but hates to get back out. He might see strange people or animals that scare him. Chester is fearful of sights and sounds, but also of the unknown. The dogs handled the trip as well or better than we could have anticipated. They were model occupants at the hotel. Casey slept on the bed with Glenn. Chester, much to my surprise, climbed onto the other bed with me. Although he sleeps in a bedroom with one or both of us, he has never slept on the bed at home.
The first several weeks of our stay were fairly uneventful. Chester found hiding places, behind a sofa, under a table saw in the garage, under a patio chair. He seemed to be acclimating well to the new yard even in a neighborhood where other dogs bark a lot. At home we rarely hear another dog, although there are plenty of them in our little area. Casey and Chester spent a good part of their days in the garage with Glenn while he worked on projects. They had access, through a walk out door, to the back yard. From there they could drink from their water bowl or run and play or go potty whenever they needed. Chester seemed to enjoy stretching his legs in the larger yard. He was making improvements, romping in the yard with Casey and then jogging back to his safe place numerous times each day.
The last 6 days of our trip was another story. We were not aware that the other occupant of the house is an animal hater, especially dogs … not afraid of dogs, just hates them. Chester hid all day and night in one room when he wasn’t in the garage with Glenn. Casey wasn’t allowed to approach to be petted and was yelled at when she came into the same room. It was obvious that I wasn’t going to be able to continue Chester’s therapy and healing when he confined himself to a bedroom. We returned home.
On our return trip the dogs were again model passengers. They were well behaved at a hotel, no barking and no accidents. They slept on the floor by our beds. The next day was a 9-hour travel day, including pet stops, and they were each perfectly behaved.
Since we’ve been home Chester’s behavior has changed again. If we walk into the room where he is, he moves to another room. He doesn’t hide as much under tables, but he still prefers corners or protected areas. We removed his kennel/bed before we left on the trip and haven’t reintroduced it because he’s fine sleeping wherever Casey sleeps.
Rehabilitation … begins again slowly. The important thing is that it will continue in a safe, happy and loving environment … his home.
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