UNBREAKABLE – Adopted June 2010 Unbreakable is most appropriately named for this 7 year old Golden Retriever who has had a less than loving life until recently and yet has somehow maintained an 'unbreakable' spirit. Unbreakable or "Mick" as he is now called arrived into rescue in September 2009 as a stray found in Riverside. His physical condition was not so great with patches of missing haircoat, dermatitis, and no feathers on his tail or legs. We knew a good diet could remedy his physical presence but we were more concerned about his inward spirit and the behavioral issues he demonstrated which eventually led to a 'bounced adoption' after 3 months.
A professional assessment by a behavior specialist indicated a dog who was suffering with severe anxiety and fear based behavior preventing him from living a "normal" life as a dog. The fear was so great that he would constantly give you his paw to appease you ... to generate a good response ...which translated to Mick meant he was safe. It was the only positive association he had with the human world. Imagine a dog living in a continual state of stress for even the most basics of survival...eating, walking, sleeping...it's a form of suffering that is difficult to break through for even the best behavior specialists as it requires focus and motivational desire on the dog's part.
GRCGLARescue believed in Mick and the potential for his improvement and enrolled him in a 4-week residential behavior modification program at Wags & Wiggles in Orange County where a behavior specialist worked with him twice daily. His treatment consisted of a step-by-step program of desensitizing and counter classical conditioning combined with daily obedience training and exercising sessions. During this time, a GRCGLARescue volunteer observed his weekly progress as the specialist worked with him to slowly build his confidence, trust and ability to relax and enjoy life as a dog without the weight of the world on his shoulders.
Mick graduated in June from his 4-week residential behavior modification program in a much better place and with a greater resilience and focus on the things that attract happy dogs - toys, treats, outdoor adventures, etc. Most importantly, he landed himself his very own adoptive family who knew it was simply meant to be the moment they met Mick. They started as fosters but it didn't take long for them to tell us "Mick is staying with us. He's found his forever home." ●●●●●
USHER – Adopted June 2010
Usher came into rescue after being relinquished to the LA City shelter system by his owners because of some bite incident that we don't have much information about. The common threads in the various versions we have is that he lunged after and nipped at some passerby while the dog was being walked on leash. The family who turned him in apparently was quite chaotic with several out-of-control children in tow, and Usher had zero training or leash skills.
Sandy and Eva went to visit him a week or so before his "review date", and his behavior in the kennel was troubling. He wouldn't take a cookie from the ACT, even when it was upgraded with some canned food. He was snarly, skulked around the kennel and went to the back of the run rather than approach visitors. Eva and I went back the day before he was supposed to be put down (maybe someone told him that), and found a very different dog, happy, friendly, outgoing and affectionate. Extremely excitable and unruly, but gentle with his mouth, apparently friendly with other dogs and OK with being handled. So we took him.
Jo B. and I brought him to the vet for vaccines and neutering. He wasn't handled in any particular way, and there were multiple situations during the visit where I would have expected him to use his mouth if he were inclined to do so (getting grabbed from behind for the thermometer insertion, multiple needle jabs,etc.), and he was lovely with everyone. He wound up at WestWind for a week and the dog walkers found him to be friendly and gentle, although untrained and unruly.
We just sent him home a few weeks back with the Casillas family. This is a recently retired couple with some to spend on training and evaluating him. We let him go on a 30-day foster with the condition that they participate in at least one in-home evaluation and training session with one of our trainers, and enroll immediately in a group class. The folks did everything that was asked, and Usher is performing like a champ. His assessment was good, and the Casillas family is doing all they promised. According to the Casillas family (and independent reports), Usher is thriving, behaving like a gent, is house trained and performing beyond expectations. Today they sent me an email begging me to complete the adoption of their new best friend, O'Reilly, who they couldn't bear to part with.
Usher and I are grateful to the rescue for their commitment to our dogs with special needs, regardless of what those needs are.
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GOLD RUSH BLAZER – Adopted March 2010 Blazer, a 4 year old male, came from Oklahoma Sooner Rescue as part of our GOLD RUSH rescue program to take in 6 Goldens who couldn’t be placed by Sooner Rescue. He had dog/dog aggression, impulse control issues which involved chasing cars and separation anxiety. Blazer went through one-on-one rehabilitation with an animal behaviorist while in his foster home and has made such tremendous progress that his fosters decided they couldn’t let him go and have adopted him!
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JAKE – Adopted January 2008 Jake, a 2 year old male, was rescued from a shelter, found as a stray wandering the streets, and in need of behavioral modification for resource guarding and a general anxiety attributed to mistrust of humans. One-on-one behavior modification sessions resulted in helping this pup to overcome his fears and realize that there would always be a plentiful supply of food and toys and more importantly that he could feel secure around humans again. His adoptive family adores him and can’t believe what a blessing he has been in their lives!
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PARKER – Adopted May 2010 Parker, a 2 year old male, rescued from a shelter was evaluated and determined to have severe anxiety along with a bite history. He entered our 4 week ‘residential’ behavior modification program with our Hope partner in Orange County, CA resulting in a successful outcome. Parker now calls home with a loving human being who couldn’t be more thrilled to have this special guy in his life!
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DAVID – Adopted November 2009 David arrived to the U.S. from Taiwan and is an inspiring story of a dog left lying on the street after a run-in with a motorcycle. Thanks to our Taiwan rescue organizations, David quickly found refuge and care which prepared him for a better life here in Southern California...and the eventual forever adoption with his human buddy.
It wasn’t without work, however, David could have doubled for Marley in the famous movie/book Marley & Me with an energy level and gusto for anything and everything that he touched. Merely operating within his nature, David demonstrated his exuberance for this new world in a manner which would challenge even the most patient of puppy owners! After several weeks of one-on-one sessions with one of our behavior specialists David started to find his mojo and soon was introduced to his adopter where dog parties are thrown and the humans eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches while David and his canine buddies eat steak! Now that’s truly a dog’s life!
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Sparky - Adopted August 2008 Sparky was rescued at 14 months old from death row in a South LA Shelter. The dog was turned in by his owner, claiming the dog bit him, which meant he could not be adopted to the public but only a rescue organization. The shelter contacted GRCGLARescue to have us professionally assess him to determine if the dog presented a danger to the public and if possible – after rehabilitation, could be placed back into society with an adopter.
Our further evaluation of Sparky resulted in pulling him off death row immediately and enrolling him in a behavioral modification program with a specialist. There were resource guarding issues to work through but what we discovered was that Sparky really needed humans who could treat him with patience, compassion and kindness. He was adopted and enjoys life in West Hollywood!
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Collin - Adopted April 2009 Collin, a 2.5 year old, was as friendly as could be with our scout volunteer, when she bailed him out of the shelter. Like many of our dogs who come into rescue - Collin had behavioral issues which surfaced upon entering his foster home. Collin was assessed with fear based aggression towards other dogs in which he would become highly reactive upon seeing another dog and redirect his bundle of fearful emotions towards the handler...resulting in bites to the legs of the handlers.
An intense one-on-one program with a behavior specialist conducted over a period of 8 weeks with a family who wanted to help Collin resulted in much progress. The couple decided they adored Collin and were committed to him, despite, the long road ahead to focus on the behavioral counter conditioning required to help this boy. Knowing Collin's triggers made it possible for professionals and adopters to work with this boy. Today, Collin finds joy in a special canine buddy and no longer demonstrates the redirected aggression. He’s living life as a normal happy dog!
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Caitlyn came to us from an L.A. County shelter. Besides being extremely high energy, Caitlyn would frantically chase and bite her tail and back leg and it was difficult to get her to stop. Our dog-walking team found ways to help calm Caitlyn down and we also put her on anti-anxiety meds. She would still do her chasing and biting, but it lessened a little bit. The long walks, runs, ball-tossing and love given by our volunteers was welcomed with open paws by Caitlyn.
Frank and David were charmed by Caitlyn and felt they were up to the challenge of working with her. She went to them as a foster dog and became an instant hit in their neighborhood. Frank takes her running regularly and she gets lots of exercise and love. Her excess energy and body-biting have not detered these guys and it didn't take long for them to realize that Caitlyn had made herself a part of their family.
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