I’ve never truly fostered a dog before. For the most part, I have cheated and stolen the cute/well behaved foster dogs away from my mom for a day or two. I’ve also helped her walk them, take them to the vet, and do everything I could as often as I could. I always wanted to foster on my own, but I just didn’t have the time or the emotional stability for that matter. The whole giving the dog to their new owners after I have inevitably formed a strong bond with them thing would be crushing to say the least. Sometimes, it can feel like you’re giving away your own dog. I’ve seen my mom go through it time and time again. She finds these dogs wonderful new homes and then when it’s time to say goodbye, she’s thrilled but heartbroken at the same time. Although it is for the best, and everyone tells her it’s such a good thing she’s doing, it usually doesn’t feel so good until time has passed and they are all settled in their new homes. It is really hard to say goodbye, plain and simple.

You already know where this is going don’t you...

So one Friday afternoon my mom texted Kyle and I a picture of a four-year-old Great Pyrenees named Belle. Kyle immediately responded with, “We will take her!” I told him, “You just made the biggest mistake ever.” Sure enough four hours later, she was at our door. You see, Belle was brought up here (to Chicago) from a pound in Kentucky a year and a half ago. The rescue (Find A Home Pet Rescue - Naperville, IL) that my mom works with placed Belle in a her new home and that was the end, or so they thought. They received a call, a year and a half later, that her owner was done with her. She no longer wanted Belle because Belle “barked at her mother who opened a drawer too fast and made a loud noise that scared Belle.” That was it. After much prying and questioning it became apparent that this woman just didn’t want this dog anymore. She may have wanted her, she just didn’t want to do any of the work required to keep Belle. So they asked my mom to foster her. My mom was hesitant because her house was so chaotic and she thought Belle may need a quieter home to recuperate from the loss that was about to blindside her. So she thought of us.

I didn’t say no, but I didn’t say yes. I was super nervous that she would be a nightmare after having just been uprooted from her life and I didn’t want to deal with that. I am not good in those types of situations. After seeing several dogs fight (for lack of a better word) for one reason or another, I have become very nervous and I know that the dogs can sense that, making the situation worse. So I said maybe, I wanted to see how Belle would react to Porter and if they were ok, then we would foster her. That afternoon, Belle’s previous owner dropped her and a truck load of her belongings off at my house. This woman was a mess. She was sobbing and chasing me around my back yard trying to give me instructions and say goodbye to Belle. Belle had no clue what was going on and just kept trying to get away from us and get back into her owner’s car. It was heartbreaking to watch. I literally felt sick to my stomach. I told the woman I would take good care of Belle and that she needed to leave because she was making this harder on everyone. I just kept thinking, if she is this upset then why is she getting rid of Belle? She doesn’t have to do this.

Finally, she left and I turned around and began walking towards my mom and Belle, and as soon as Belle saw me coming, she began growling at me. Strike one. I was not about to have a dog growling at me, that was scary shit! She is 110 lbs. and she could easily take me down which would cause a major fight between her and Porter as well. In order to distract her and calm her down, we went into the house. Belle seemed to be ok with Kyle and I, but still unsure of Porter. As soon as we closed the door, Porter tried to walked past Belle to get to Kyle and she whipped around and pounced on him, growling and barking like he had just threatened her with her life. Strike two. Growing more and more upset, I thought about how I didn’t want this going on in my house for the next couple of weeks. My dog didn’t ask for this, this was his house. I was mad at my mom for even asking me to foster, I was mad at Belle for acting like this when we were taking her in, and I was furious with her previous owner for just tossing her aside and leaving such a mess for me to deal with. But at that moment, I made the choice to try and rehabilitate Belle. I was not going to blame her for her owner’s actions. We had a lot of work to do and I prayed that I would be strong & patient enough to do it.

My mom left a couple minutes later because she had to meet some friends for dinner. So Kyle and I fed the dogs, ate dinner, and went downstairs to watch a movie. Belle and Porter sat next to Kyle the entire time, each one pawing at him for affection. I breathed a sigh of relief, it appeared everything was ok and that she just needed some time to relax. Her and Porter were getting along and she just wanted some attention from Kyle and I! I spoke WAY too soon. Unfortunately, the next few days were filled with instances of Belle going after Porter; trying to take toys, treats, & bones from him, and constantly fighting him for our attention. If he got too close she would turn around and growl at him or even worse, pin him to the ground causing me to have a mini heart attack each time. It was non-stop insanity. At one point, we had to leave to get groceries and I was terrified I would come home to find that she had severely hurt Porter over something stupid. My mom explained to me that this was all stemming from fear. Belle was afraid and trying to show that she wasn’t a dog to be messed with, and she used aggression to convey that. Belle needed a “safe place”. A place to go when she got overwhelmed or scared or needed a sense of security. So that night we put Porter’s crate back up. It was a pain in the ass, but it was our only option at this point. The crate is massive, it’s meant for a 200+ lb. dog so there is plenty of room. We put Belle’s bed in there, her blanket, and a giant teddy bear to cuddle with. We covered the top and one side with blankets and let me tell you, I would even sleep in there. It looked so comfortable!

To test it out, I opened the door and threw a treat in to see how Belle would respond to her new “safe place”. She wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. I tried to force her in, she almost knocked my tooth out trying to get away. I tried to bribe her, I tried to sit in there, I tried to sit in there with Porter, I put a bone with peanut butter in it, anything to get her to come near. She was petrified. So I left it alone. Later that night, I sat on the couch next to Kyle feeling completely defeated. Belle hated the crate and she didn’t like Porter. How was I ever going to make this work? Then all of a sudden, Belle walked up to Porter (who was lying on the couch) and pressed her nose against his; I held my breath waiting to see what would happen next. Porter looked at her for a minute then jumped down off the couch and pawed at Belle. And just like that, they began playing. They were rolling around, pawing at each other, licking each other’s noses, and sharing toys. I turned to look at Kyle who had the biggest smile on his face and I burst into tears. I couldn’t believe it.

We had tackled one obstacle, now I had to figure out how to get Belle comfortable with the crate. My mom told me to start feeding her breakfast and dinner in her crate just to get her used to it. I didn’t shut the door, I just let her eat. At first she wouldn’t eat, so I put her food at the front door of the crate. Then I moved it closer and closer to the back until finally she would eat her food all the way in the crate and we were able to shut the door if we needed. I locked her in a couple times so we could go run an errand or have dinner and she did well. She didn’t regress and become fearful so we continued training her this way and then one evening we had a breakthrough. I was sitting and folding laundry and Porter was on the couch next to me. I heard a noise behind me in the crate. Belle had voluntarily gone into her crate, laid down, and closed her beautiful brown eyes. I teared up at the sight of her. I couldn’t believe how she went from completely terrified to totally comfortable. I felt like we were making some real progress with her and finally I had hope that Belle was going to be just fine. 

Now for the next major hurdle, getting Belle used to people and dogs going in and out of our house. She had become so comfortable and connected with Kyle, Porter, and I that she was now trying to protect us from anyone who entered our house or anyone we encountered on our walks. Being a Great Pyrenees, this type of behavior is what these dogs were bred to do - protect. I didn’t hold it against her and Kyle actually loved her protective nature. The problem is, she needs to learn to take cues from us, if we are ok with someone, she has to be too. We are in charge. So we had people come over and at first Belle was nuts, she would bark and growl like a maniac when they first arrived, but eventually she would calm down. Then one day I decided to put Porter’s e-collar on her and see how she did. When I use the e-collar, I rarely use the shock and even when I do, it is such a low level shock anyway. The best part is, I don’t even have to with Belle. All I have to do is put the collar on and she instantly becomes more submissive listening to my every command. If she begins to get get scared and growl, I just buzz (a mild vibration) her once and she snaps out of it.

One morning, Kyle’s Dad came over and I thought for sure she would be terrified and bark & growl at him. He is built like a football player, and I thought him towering over her would scare the shit out of her, and we could have a potentially bad situation on our hands. So before he walked into the house, I put the e-collar on Belle on and waited anxiously to see what she would do. As soon as he walked in though, she ran up to him, smelled him, and pawed at him to pet her! Kyle’s Dad said, “She’s not bad at all! What were you talking about Al??” The thing is, she isn’t bad. The behavior she was exhibiting was bad. It was scary and very hard to witness. I knew that Belle was not a bad dog though and all we had to do was work with her and retrain her. It wasn’t easy, but it was so worth it. After that day, we kept having breakthrough after breakthrough; to say I was thrilled is an understatement.  

Belle has been with me a month and although she still gets nervous or scared or overly protective, it’s ok, because the second I give a command, she listens! It is such a beautiful and rewarding feeling. Belle is still learning and becoming more and more comfortable every single day. Her previous owner didn’t know how to handle a dog, let alone a very large dog. Whenever she had people, kids, or dogs come over, Belle got locked up in a basement. That is no way for a dog to live. Belle was trained to be fearful and nervous, now I am doing my best to un-do what her previous owner has done. Today, Belle is to the point where she doesn’t even need to be on a leash as long as she has the e-collar on. Every single day I introduce Belle to new situations, new people, and new dogs and so far she is doing amazing.

Belle has come such a long way in such a short time and I so desperately hope we can find her a forever family that not only loves her, but continues with the training I have started. She deserves nothing but the best home out there. I know when the time comes to say goodbye, it is going to break my heart into a million pieces, but it’ll all be worth it in the end. Belle has taught me so much during her short stay at my house. If I could, I would just keep her, but that is not how fostering works. I have a new respect for the people who open up their homes to these animals in need. They don’t just hang onto them until they find a new home; they take care of them, train them, and love them like their own. It takes a really special person to foster an animal and I am proud to finally be one of them.

Lucky Puppy & Lucky He Is!

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry for not being able to post for two weeks.  I had a house full of company, plus 5 dogs.  Everyone enjoyed helping the puppies get socialized and Lucy is becoming more trusting.  I was also very busy caring for the smallest puppy Peanut, whose new name is Lucky Mocho.

About 3 weeks ago the puppies went outside to play in my back yard.  Unfortunately, it was still too cold…

Layla

Rescue from the Hart