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Takoda , GSRNE #195
Takoda was found as a
stray wandering the streets of Swansea, MA and ended up in the local
shelter, who contacted GSRNE in November 2005 after efforts to find his
owners proved fruitless. As with all of us who do foster or adopt, I would
so very much love to know what his history had been prior to that. I choose
to believe that he was loved by a woman somewhere, but got lost on a trip,
or perhaps the husband didn’t care for him. His behavior with women (loves
us) and men (scaaary folks) lead me to that conclusion. I hope that Glenn
and I are doing a job that would make his original Mom happy – I think we
are.
How did we end up with
him? Glenn had a German shepherd, Heide that would take a whole article of
her own to describe – a wonderful dog, and the one that hooked him on
Shepherds for life. I had a Golden, Rusty, who was my “heart” dog. We
care about and love all of our dogs, but a heart dog is special, the bond so
extraordinary that when you lose them a piece of you is gone. A canine soul
mate, if you will.
When Rusty died in
December 2006, I thought that I could never look at another dog, but soon
the hole in my life became unbearable. I couldn’t bear the thought of
“replacing” him, so we decided to foster for GSRNE and help a dog go to his
forever home. We thought, since we both had experience with training, that
they’d send us a typical young surrender – you know, a 1-3 year-old whose
owners had no idea what they were getting into with this breed. We’d work
with it, train it to a little obedience, teach it some house manners, and
off it would go, leaving both of us with a glow of pleasure at having helped
a dog and me a little further away from the pain of Rusty’s passing. We went
through the nerve-wracking interview process for becoming a foster home –
would they think we were a suitable home? Would Heide’s behavior measure up?
She had a history of dog aggression, but we’d worked very hard with her on
it. When we were approved, it was clear they had a dog in mind for us, and
we would get our foster task quickly. We did, but it couldn’t have been
further from our expectations. We knew because of Heide’s alpha (read
“bitchy”) behavior that it would be a male, as that’s what would have the
best chance of being accepted by her, but that’s where the similarity to our
foster dream ended. Takoda was a very large, somewhat overweight gentleman
aged about 10 who had been brought back into the foster program after having
been adopted out for nearly a year. After first being brought under the
GSRNE umbrella from his beginnings wandering in Swansea, he’d been fostered
for nearly a year. A diagnosis of Lyme disease that required treatment
before he could be adopted was followed by a seizure, which required more
treatment and observation over time so that a prospective adopter would know
what they were getting into. Finally an adoptive home was found that was
willing to take on the age of this dog and the possibility of seizures.
After a move by the family to a city, and an incident of growling at someone
in the household, the family sadly surrendered him back to GSRNE. After nine
months they loved Takoda very much, but their circumstances made a possible
bite too much of a risk to take. Takoda is sound sensitive, hates bustle and
confusion, and turned out to have contracted Rocky Mountain Spotted Tick
Fever, as well as testing positive for Lyme again. No wonder he was a bit
crabby! Apparently he’d gotten both diseases in the country, and then moved
to a big city with all its stresses. When we came onboard for fostering in
January 2007, he was in a kennel being treated for both, and not flourishing
in a kennel environment, as most GSDs do not.
He was so sad; it was
as though he just didn’t believe anything good could ever happen, not
permanently at least. Despite the best efforts of the girls at the kennel to
walk him when they could, the muscles in his hind end were not in good
shape. Glenn said we probably wouldn’t have to worry if he ever got loose –
Glenn could catch him pretty easily at the rate of speed Takoda could work
up. Heide seemed to know that this dog needed us and that she had to accept
him into the house. She did, but that’s as far as it ever went. They never
really warmed up to each other, just learned to live politely together like
two dissimilar strangers in a rooming house. Tolerated but not loved. Takoda
was so confused, by everything it seemed. We’d take the dogs someplace in
the car and when we arrived back at our house he’d get up, peek out the back
of the Jeep, sigh, and go back in it and lie down again. ”Nope, this isn’t
the right place,” he seemed to be saying. Or maybe it was, “This isn’t where
I thought I was going.” He did not acknowledge his name by as much as a
twitched whisker when called. If you wanted him you had to go get a leash,
clip it on, and gently tug to get him started along with you, whether it was
out of the Jeep, out of the house, or back into the house. Nothing was good
enough to get him excited, not even food, although he certainly ate well
enough at meals.
After a while of this
monotone living we looked into taking him off the Phenobarbital. Since he
had never had a second seizure, our veterinarian agreed it wasn’t necessary,
and it might be contributing to his lack of emotion. He’d also finished his
treatment for Lyme and Rocky Mountain and seemed a bit better physically,
but perhaps that was just because he and Heide were taken on a couple of
pretty good walks each day, and he’d slowly begun to build that muscle
tissue back up. At first he needed a boost into the Jeep, but then began to
hop up by himself, which was heartening. Under our vet’s supervision we
slowly weaned him off the barbiturate, but it only helped a little. He
seemed less confused but no happier. Takoda still didn’t believe good things
would ever happen to the likes of him.
Strangely, I never
really worked with him in obedience in any way. Every animal I have ever had
a relationship with, part of that relationship has been the excitement and
give and take of training. Koda, well, he just never seemed interested, so I
didn’t push it. He learned house manners of course, to wait for an
invitation before going through doors, to sit for dinner and the like, but
nothing further. He still would not respond to his name, happy noises, toys,
etc. He did seem to want to be with me whenever he could, at least to be in
the same room. Glenn still seemed to be a little scary despite working
carefully with him. We loved Takoda, but we didn’t really understand him. At
one point, while socializing him, we took both dogs to a small local flea
market. Although undemonstrative up to this point with us or anyone else
(although perfectly sweet), Takoda suddenly showed the first signs of
animation we’d seen. He spotted a woman 50 feet away, and his head came up,
his tail lifted in joy and actually WAGGED, and he pulled on the leash
tugging to get to her. I allowed him to move towards her, but when we got
within about 10 feet, it all disappeared again. He positively slumped. It
was clear to me that he’d thought he recognized this person, and when we got
closer her scent tipped him off that it wasn’t who he thought it was. He was
very sad, and my heart went out to him. I would have given nearly anything
to be able to reunite him with the person he thought he’d found again, but
the shelter hadn’t succeeded, and the trail would be pretty cold after so
much time.
In April 2007 we went
to GSRNE’s silent auction, and brought the dogs to leave in the car as the
weather was cloudy and cool. Takoda had a lot of fans since he’d been in the
GSRNE system unusually long, and we knew they’d want to see him. He spent
the day with folks coming out to the car with us, he and Heide hopping out
to be petted and admired, and hopping back in. He was kind of getting to
like all the attention and pets, and the cookies didn’t hurt, either. We ran
into his previous foster mom, who had loved him very much and would probably
have adopted him if her personal circumstances had allowed it. She burst
into tears at hearing that he was doing well and was actually right outside
in the car, and that she could visit with him. Out we went to the car, and
Koda saw us coming, sitting (illegally) in the driver’s seat and sticking
his paws across to lean into the passenger’s seat ready to greet the guests
– when he suddenly recognized his former mom, and drew back into the
driver’s side, refusing to come out of the car. After a few moments and some
coaxing from both of us, he got out. He really was happy to see her, but
after a moment leaning up against her, which had been their means of
exchanging love, he got up, wagged while looking at her, and came over to me
and sat at my side. Another clear communication from Koda – “ I love you,
other mom, but I really just want to not get passed around anymore.” We
didn’t realize what we had done until then. Poor Koda wasn’t stupid. What
happens when you are a rescue GSD and you spend some time with people, then
go someplace in a car where lots of people look at you? Well, you go home
with another set of folks in another car, don’t you? And maybe you never see
the last set again? Right then and there, amidst the tears of both me and
the first foster mom, and if the truth be told, Glenn’s too, we committed to
adopt this dog. I promised him right then he would NEVER go anyplace without
us again.
We officially adopted
him at the member’s picnic in June. And we’ve kept our word. We only
vacation where dogs are welcome; he’s spent every night since then with one
or both of us.
Glenn and I bought 75
acres in Maine on January 4, 2008. He and Heide pretty much moved up there
right away, and Takoda and the cats and I stayed in Revere while I continued
to work until mid May. Takoda developed some digestive issues during this
time and had to either go to day care – which stressed him out and made his
diarrhea and vomiting worse – or had to stay in the car so I could take him
out several times a day. It was thought that he had Irritable Bowel Disease,
one of the auto-immune problems that affect our breed, but since he’s been
in pretty good shape for several months now, we think he may well have been
surreptitiously eating the top layer of cement around the pool in Revere.
Did I mention that whenever he is upset, he licks the floor or ground,
crunching up dirt, gravel, ice, snow, or things that I simply don’t want to
know about? And he was upset at the pack breaking up.
Once I moved up here
full time, his life got good again: long walks in the woods, sometimes with
Heide and Glenn, sometimes just me and Koda. It’s so rural here he doesn’t
need to be leashed – he may still not acknowledge his name, but he won’t go
out of sight of me voluntarily. We spend a lot of time together, and he is
happy to help me with anything – he helps cook in the kitchen, assisting
with bowl cleaning and taste testing. He helps me relax and read, keeping
the couch warm. He likes to mark trails around the woods, and if we
occasionally flush a woodcock, he is happy to quietly observe their flight
from on the path. Since Heide passed away in August, it was lonely for a
little while. It was clear that he missed her, and we were distraught as
well. Glenn said the only thing to do would be foster another one. In
October we got Ysa (eeh-sah) to work with. Here’s the dog we thought we were
getting the first time we fostered! She is just over a year old and full of
beans. At first she and Takoda were not certain they wanted to be friends –
she is a high energy, faster than a speeding bullet, rowdy little girl, and
Takoda is a non-interactive geriatric with degenerative myelopathy that
makes it hard for him to walk at times. Well, they may be unlikely friends
but friends they have become. Ysa has taught Koda how to play – at least how
to chase her, that’s the only one he’s picked up although she keeps trying
to get other concepts across. She’d love to play keep away, and roughhouse,
and bite-your-butt-and-run – oh wait, she does play that, that’s why he
chases her! It’s wonderful to see. We say she has “youthened” him. He is
happy to get up in the morning, goes out the door at a jog, and chases her
all over creation, doing his best to keep up. He has developed a funny
little running bunny hop to keep up as much as possible, and although his
rear end fairly frequently goes out from under him on turns, he just levers
himself back up to continue the chase. Glenn says wisdom and guile out do
youth and speed - Koda fakes her and manages to bite her butt every now and
then. I wonder what he'll think when she finds her forever home? Maybe we'll
have to get another foster for him.
We walk and visit
neighbors all together, and the dogs even got invited to part of a New
Year’s Eve celebration, where they were very well behaved. At least Ysa was,
at one point Koda was found to be cruising for ice cubes in the champagne
ice buckets.
I often wonder why I
never did any obedience training with Takoda – he still doesn’t always
acknowledge his name, and his only trained behaviors are to sit, give his
paw, and wait till he’s released to dive into dinner. I think I know the
answer – he was sent to us to live out his golden years happily, enjoying
every day, knowing he will never get in a car that doesn’t come back to us.
Little did I know that in return, he would find his way into my heart, and
make me enjoy every single day a little more than I otherwise would have.
He’s taught me that you don’t always have to have a reason to have a friend,
or a specific task or interest to share with them - sometimes it’s ok just
to be friends.
Carol and Glenn Visser
Delilah, GSRNE #224
Foster Kaptain on left, Deliah on right.
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It is true what they say about "love at first sight." My husband David
and I have now experienced it and we know it exists. Love at first sight
was what we felt that Saturday morning when we first laid eyes on Delilah
at the home of her foster father Danny Thompson. Watching her skip around
Danny's kitchen, nudging and chasing her foster brother Rocky, it was
obvious that she was smart and curious and playful, but that she was also
shy and timid and frightened, and that there was so much more to her. We
were later told that Delilah had been surrendered when her family moved
from their home and could not take her with them; they gave her to a
family friend. A year later that family friend surrendered her as well,
only this time to a shelter. Thus, Delilah was coping with two major
losses in her life in a very short time, as well as struggling with having
lived in a shelter.
Although she came to us healthy and strong, having been nurtured by Danny
and Rocky, she frequently begged for attention and physical affection from
David and me. She didn't play with any other toys except the old tennis
ball she came with, and she never barked. I mean, Delilah never barked.
Not in the house, not outside in the yard, not when strangers came to the
door or when the UPS man delivered a package, and not even when she got
excited and chased the neighbor's GSD in fun around our front yard. For
the next few weeks after the adoption, the only occasions we saw Delilah
excited and happy was when we took her for long walks on the many trails
in the wooded areas behind our home in Marion. She would run ahead of us
at the farthest extension of her leash and frequently stop and sniff the
ground, reading it and taking it all in like a newspaper, learning about
her new surroundings.
Even my efforts to entice her to play with toys often failed. In
preparation of Delilah's arrival, I had purchased a wide array of dog toys
for her and arranged them all in a basket on the hearth of our fireplace.
There were stuffy toys that squeaked, stuffy toys that didn't squeak,
numerous types and flavors of chew sticks, an assortment of bones, balls
that squeaked, balls that bounced, and balls that rolled in a crooked line
across the floor. But the only toy Delilah insisted on carrying around
with her was her old tennis ball.
Happily though, over the course of the next several months, with our
consistent love and attention, David and I slowly watched Delilah change.
We saw her change her attachment from the tennis ball to "Green Bear,"
which became her new favorite stuffed toy, and we listened as the house
changed from a setting of tranquility to one of doggy chaos as Delilah
confidently and joyfully found her voice (a very deep voice!) and began to
increasingly alert and defend her new home.
The biggest moment came three months later, however, when we brought
Delilah to the Sharon dog park to visit with Danny and Rocky again, and we
watched with delight as she ran around the park with the other dogs,
unafraid, chasing balls and sticks, and bumping and "hip checking" Rocky
as they played together! She was no longer the shy, timid girl she once
was; Delilah had come into her own, and it was clear that she was now a
self-assured and secure GSD. All three of us stood there like proud
parents. Proud to see Delilah's true spirit and personality shine
through, proud of her ability to transcend a past she never deserved, and
proud that we had all been allowed to play a role in a journey that
provided her with a real opportunity for a happy and contented life.
Yes, David and I believe in love at first sight. There's absolutely no
doubt in our minds. We fell in love with Delilah, and she in turn brought
us love and made our home, now her forever home, complete.
The Daversa-Gulleys
Kaizur (was Niklas)
GSRNE #223
 
 We were devastated after the death of our
six month old Shepard Sheba. We were a bit apprehensive about getting
another
dog as our hearts were broken and we were not sure if we should perhaps
wait. Our daughter Becca came across GSRNE while searching the internet.
We spoke about it as a family and decided we were ready to try again. We
soon heard from Laurie Keating and she started the process. We were very
excited to learn about what a great organization GSRNE was and how much
they really cared about the kind of home the dogs went to. A search was
done to find us a dog that would be friendly with our three cats (this
must have been quite a task). We were then notified that a potential dog
was identified, the email included a few photos. As soon as we opened the
pictures we knew this was the dog for us – we instantly fell in love and
soon he was part of our family.
Kaizur is doing just great! He is a dog that
loves routine. We take him for several walks each morning and evening with
our other dog Sampson. He always has to have a stick to carry during our
walks so part of the fun of the walk is Kaizur choosing the very best
stick. We keep a stack of them at the beginning of a rail road trail that
is behind our house for him to pick from. There are many trails adjacent
to our property so he is never board and loves to explore. Just yesterday
during our walk we met up with a pack of turkeys.
 Kaizur is a very friendly dog and loving
dog. His best kitty buddy is Symba. Symba was just a year old when Kaizur
joined our family so they are growing up together. Every night after
dinner they play, running through the house and “wrestling”. Kaizur is
very gentle with him, it’s really cute to watch them together. The two of
them like to cuddle up every now and then for naps
on Kaizur’s dog bed.
They also like to watch the birds come to our feeder. The two of them will
sit together by the window and watch the bird action.
Kaizur is very smart. Our daughter Becca is
now teaching him how to bring slippers to her at night. I’m sure he’ll
have this mastered very soon. He seems to really like learning new things
as he is very curious and always thinking. Becca likes to watch shows like
“It’s me or the Dog” or “Dog Whisperer” to find out new little tricks we
can teach him.
Kaizur has been with us a little over a
year now and we could not imagine life without him. He adds a bright spot
to every day. Kaizur has brought a great deal of happiness to us and has
made our home complete. We are so very grateful to GSRNE for finding us
the perfect dog. We love him very much. Thank you to everyone!
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