Charlotte and I always stop by to say hello to Zynk on our walks and to bring him a few cookies. He'd gotten to where he was waiting for us by the corner of the fence every time we showed up. I think he could smell us coming, or possibly hear us if I was talking to Charlotte as we approached.
Zynko lives in his backyard full time. This has been a great cause of concern to me, especially during those so-cold-you-shouldn't-leave-your-house days this last winter and the it's-hot-enough-to-kill-old-people days during the summer, but my other neighbor called animal control and was told that nothing could be done for the dog because he had shelter (access to the garage) and food and water.
I've spoken with the owner on a couple of occasions and I truly believe he never meant harm to his dog, he just didn't know how to take care of him, as evident from the mats of fur that had formed on him. I'd taken to stealth clicker training and grooming through the fence to try to make things better.
Then one day, there was another person in the backyard and I stopped to chat. That's when I found out that Zynko's owner was in the hospital. I immediately offered to help look after him. The friend of the owner said Al had been considering getting rid of him as he was too much for Al to handle. I asked that if he did, please contact me first.
Well, the first day I went to watch him, he got out on me, got into it with another dog and snapped at me more than once after capture. I persevered however, going back the next day. He seemed happy to see me and I put him on a leash, walked him to my yard to work on doing some grooming. He snapped at my husband, then calmed down with him.
Day three he went ballistic when a guy with a chihuahua stopped to ask about him (he garners A LOT of attention because of his size and looks) and when I took him back home, he snapped again while I was taking the leash off. On day four, he put his paws on my shoulders and offered a growl in my ear when my back was turned to him. I gave him a stern "Get Down" and he did, but now I was both pissed off and a little scared. I left him alone for a day, only checking his water and food, while I read Approaches to Modifying Dog Aggression from Whole Dog Journal.
According to the journal article, dog have max stress levels for certain stimuli, the same as humans, and those strimuli can continue to bother them for up to two days after the event. So in this case, getting to leave the yard = stress. Seeing a small dog you want to eat = stress. Meeting brand new people = stress. By themselves these things are manageable, but add them all together and you have a dog that is over his stress threshold. The example the article used comparing how road rage happens with how aggression happens. It made perfect sense. Zynko had been overstimulated beyond his ability to cope, plus he didn't know who was in charge and was trying to find out if it was him. After giving him some cool down time, it was like I was dealing with a whole different dog.
He play-bowed when I came into the yard. He gave me high pitched puppy-speak, he sat to get his leash on and most importantly, no more dominating and no more snapping. Our relationship has been growing ever since.
Zynko's owner is home from the hospital. He has cancer and is going to chemo. I had to tell his friend that I've since realized I cannot take Zynko if Al is still looking to get rid of him because of my cats (his prey drive is crazy high) and the fact that I don't have a fenced backyard. He asked if the Humane Society is a no-kill shelter. I had to tell him that I honestly didn't know. Because of this inquiry though my assumption is that Zynko is going to be needing a new home,
I've taken it upon myself to start searching for a potential new family for him. Both Husky groups in the area are not accepting owner surrenders at this time, so I posted him to a site called RescueMe.org. I'm not certain how much good this will do though, because I worry that all the things that need fixing are also things that will keep potential adopters from even reading his whole post. I had to be honest though. I don't know how aggressive he is. I don't know how he is with male dogs. I do know he can't be trusted with cats and frankly I'd be afraid of him overpowering a small child. He's a HUGE dog! But he can be so gentle, so maybe I'm misjudging him. He likes to give me licks when I bend over to fill his water bowl with the hose. Here's a video of him playing with Charlotte in the yard. Even when she tries to push him around, he doesn't get mean with her.
I'm not very good with social media, but I'm going to do my best to get the word out about him because I believe that there is someone out there who will be perfect for Zynko and whom Zynko will be perfect for. I haven't approached Al about this yet because I figure he has enough on his plate with kicking cancer's ass right now. But if you are reading this and you think you might be that person and you can come to the Joliet Illinois area to meet him, I will act as a go-between to make this happen. If you aren't the right person, but you want to help spread the word, I will be posting things about Zynko on my Wimba Treats Facebook page. Please share. And share. And then share some more. And like the page so you can see when I do post more things about him. I'm making Facebook.com/WimbaTreats "Zynko Central" until I can find him his furever home.
**UPDATE:
If you read my next blog Jumping the Gun, you know that I am no longer looking for a home for Zynko. Thanks to everyone who read this blog and cared about this dog. I will continue to update his progress from time to time.
No comments:
Post a Comment