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ABBYAbby's story is a familiar one. Her owner's work schedule changed so drastically that Abby was nearly orphaned! Once upon a time, Abby was welcomed at work and spent all her time with her owner, and then, suddenly, a job change necessitated a long daily commute which meant that Abby was crated nearly 12 hours a day. Abby's owner realized that this was too solitary a life for an energetic young Eskie, and she opted to surrender Abby to us so that we could find her a more appropriate home. And, it didn't take long! Rob and Melissa, of Massachusetts, were smitten with Abby's photos and were anxious to welcome her into their home. |
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These folks were first time dog owners, who had experienced first hand Eskieness from Rob's Aunt, who is a big fan of the breed. And, so, Abby made her way to north to become a resident of the Commonwealth. My first observation about Abby was that she had forgotten how to be a dog! She was clueless about proper social behavior amidst a dog pack. This was her trial by fire...she was abruptly thrust into an eight dog pack in her Massachusetts foster home. A wise young lady might have stood still and allowed the established house residents to give her the eight dog snifferoo...and refrained from complaining about it. But complain Abby did, until she became the center of the Maypole with eight dogs circling ...angling for an opportunity to bite her in the butt. This is not the kind of chorus you want to encourage in a rental apartment. |
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And so, I (as well as the Angels From God) welcomed Rob and Melissa with open arms to meet their girl. As it turned out, Abby was adopted just before the scourge of kennel cough hit the remaining eight dogs and nearly got me evicted. It is hard to explain eight dogs hacking and coughing at 3 am to nosy, uptight neighbors.
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| Abby went home with Rob and Melissa, and over the course of their first weeks together, these folks had their hands full in socializing Abby and working on her barking. Adopting a rescue dog is a challenge that not everyone is prepared for. In this case, perseverance, patience, problem solving and love have paid off, and little Abby has really made progress. I was so happy to hear from Rob this week: |  |
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June 28, 2006 Hi Denise, Melissa and I were
talking the other day and we decided we should email you an update on
Abby. She is doing so much better than when we brought her home. She still
barks at people when they come into the house but once she realizes they
are ok with us she stops and then licks them to death and follows them
around to make sure they don't go where they aren't supposed to. |
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walk her every day at least twice and she has come strides on this. She
used to bark at everyone and anything and now she just prances along like
she is the only thing in the world. We even walk her down to the lake where
there is always a ton of people and dogs and she ignores the people and
the dogs for the most part unless they bark at her first. I keep checking the site to see if Abby's picture is up but I haven't been able to see it yet. Anyway, I hope all is well with you. ROB |
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