I sincerely apologize to my readers for not posting for so long. Three days after my last post, a nothing but fur-and-bones homeless Little Dog approached me for help during the peak of the oppressive heat during the summer. I put many things that were important to me on hold while I helped her deal with her needs which was made increasingly confusing by people who made their own wants a priority. Dealing with homeless animals is an important part of urban green living and more complex than you can ever imagine.
My initial goal of getting the dog out of the yard and into a shelter was achieved. In a weird way. The neighbor who insisted the dog have a home when I told her I wanted to take her to a shelter eventually deceitfully lured the dog into her yard, stuffed her into a crate and dumped her at a shelter after I had found her home, which was the new plan, so I thought. Lucky for Little Dog, though, she has the perfect opportunity to become a "poster dog" capable of attracting donations to the shelter. In Little Dog's YouTube video, you can already see she is ready for her close up! I would not even be surprised to see a family in my own neighborhood adopt her!
I had an opportunity to learn a LOT from Little Dog. She was very timid and mistrustful of people so Elizabeth Wilhelm, Indianapolis Certified Dog Trainer, graciously helped me make a plan to capture the dog which would be the least stressful for this already overly stressed animal. Animal behavior has always interested me, particularly canine behavior. When I was in college. I was lucky to have been near to a compound studying the behavior of wolves in Battleground, IN. Learn more about this amazing place at wolfpark.org.
I also had the pleasure of talking with Beth Duman who is an author and Certified Dog Trainer at the end of this experience. Interestingly, Beth had been associated with Wolf Park from it's earliest days! The conversation did help me feel better and more at peace about the situation. It's a little bit of a struggle still, though, for me to let go of feelings of anger, betrayal and helplessness and replace them with bunches of positive warm fuzzies. Her book about dog training, The Evolution of Charlie Darwin: Partner With Your Dog For Positive Training is available for preview and purchase at the link below. Now all I need is the positive training book for humans .... See, I can still smile.
I know I will feel better and more positive about the circumstances as time passes. Our furry friends who have touched our lives even briefly leave all kinds of goodness with us. I know for certain, as evident in the photo at the top, Little Dog liked my home cooking. Being unwilling to eat factory food myself, I discovered online dog recipes for
more healthful feed options. She's topping off a Sunday brunch of chicken-ric
e-carrot food with peanut butter cookies for canines. There is a definite wag in that tail... But if she had to choose, I'm certain the Bacon Biscuit Yummies were her favorite. ... You can find these recipes at dogtreatrecipes.org.
Post Script:
For National Volunteers Week, Indy Humane posted this wonderful picture of a dog similar in appearance to Little Dog interacting with a volunteer. Although this is not my buddy, no doubt many hours of dedicated work helped her regain trust in humans. Little Dog, now named Macy, has been adopted by a wonderful couple who lives in Michigan and is living large in a forever home! I will never regret helping her when I had the opportunity. It was one of the best experiences of my life. She is the best Little Dog ever.
