Toronto Animal Services South dog photos June 12

Willy - Poodle

unnamed Schnauzer

Lucy - Jack Russell Terrier Chihuahua cross

Daisy - Border Collie

Brett - Cocker Spaniel

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Troy and Margi - Border Collies

I'm not sure if Border Collies Troy (top photo) and Margi (bottom photo) are siblings but they sure are stuck on one another. Troy is more outgoing than Margi when it comes to people but she warms up fast enough with anyone who shows a little patience and wants to be her friend. They are both way too underweight and their TLC regimen will have to include adding on some pounds.



For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Border Collie pup

This young lad was found wandering the streets of Toronto. There are dozens of guesses as to what happened to his face but no one knows for sure and his owners certainly aren't stepping up.


For adoption information on this Border Collie pup and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Update on Burt and adoption notice for Holly

I wanted to mention that I received a comment from Luan at Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue about Burt, one of the five feral Border Collie pups who came into TAS South almost two years ago. Luan had taken two of them into the rescue but sadly Burt's brother, Ernie, had to be put down for developing aggression issues with other dogs and people.

Luan has been working really hard with Burt and just recently he was adopted. Here's her comment reposted here:

BURT HAS BEEN ADOPTED! 20 months after his arrival here, his perfect people found their perfect dog. An older couple, both retired, but who still like to go for long daily walks and wanted a canine friend to accompany them. People with experience living with shy dogs. They came, they saw Burt and Burt decided that he liked them, too. So a few days later I drove him to their rural home, not all that far from my place. Three weeks and three progress reports later, all is tickety boo. Burt is enjoying his long walks, and he is making friends with the local canine population. I have been promised that he will be brought back for the occasional visit and a chance to play with his old pals. And I have been told that as far as Rescue goes, I am never getting him back! Bye bye Burt, may you enjoy your new people and new life. Miss you? Naw, (sniff) what makes you think that?
Hope we get some pictures of him with his new family sometime.

Meanwhile, Luan has a special needs Border Collie who's looking for a home.

From Luan:

I have a little special needs Border Collie here that really needs her own foster/adoptive home. I am hoping that someone reading your blog might be able to give her the love, commitment, and special care that she so deserves.


Holly is blind - to rapid onset cataracts, the result of untreated diabetes. She still has some peripheral vision and manages to avoid most objects. There is a possibility of cataract surgery to restore her vision, but it is very costly. She has been bred - regularly from the looks of it, and then dumped, probably when her drinking and pissing everywhere and bumping into things got too annoying. She wound up sitting in an Northern Ontario shelter for a month with no medical care, and was slated for euthanasia at Christmas if a Rescue was not prepared to save her. She is now doing well, although getting her blood sugar levels and insulin doses stabilized is proving a challenge. She still needs to be spayed - I was hoping to get her diabetes stabilized first. When she arrived here on Boxing Day she was 23 lb waif. Her body was literally feeding on itself because of the untreated diabetes. She is now on grain-free kibble and a much healthier 34 lbs.

Someone at some point in her estimated five years of life must have loved her - she very petite and pretty and one smart cookie. She is affectionate, easy to handle (and needle), knows her obedience commands and she is quick to respond. She is very adept at telling you what she wants and needs, and sings when the mood strikes her. She loves cuddles and being with people. However she hates hates hates being around other dogs. She hasn't hurt any, but her anxiety goes into overdrive and she snarls and carries on and snaps at them if they get too close. She has learned to tolerate my older "housedogs" and they have learned to avoid her, and for the most part things are peaceful. But she is not happy in a multi-dog household.

Holly needs a home that understands and is knowledgeable of diabetes. She is still at the stage where she needs regular blood glucose curves to determine the number of units of insulin she requires (she is currently getting 4 units twice daily). One without other animals. She is happy to have a well-fenced backyard, lots of pee-breaks, and lots of loving - she is not a terribly high-energy Border Collie and does not need long walks. What Holly needs and deserves is a world full of love and kindness, something that she has been seriously short-changed of up until now.

In the meantime, Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue is appreciative of any monetary donations to assist with Veterinary care for Holly and the other foster dogs. Donations made through Helping Homeless Pets can be issued a tax receipt and go directly into the Veterinary medical account when directed specifically to Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue.

Thanks
Luan Egan
Rescue Co-Ordinator,
Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue
905 473-9050
http://www.bcrescue.info/

Toronto Animal Services Friday review, Nov. 27

Here's Rudy, the fourth Doberman pup sibling, all brave now and looking for belly rubs.


Kipper is a knock you down friendly, young Doberman Pinscher. He needs some training but only because he's got too much luvin to give.


Golden Retriever, Cocasse, already adopted by one of TAS' volunteer dog walkers.


Fan Fan, a serious little fellow has got stuff to do.


Way too skinny for a Labrador. He spent most of his time outside, nose to the ground trying to eat anything that resembled food.


Yes, Shao the sock dog, is as smart as he looks.


And last but not least, a German Shepherd pup who's got ants in his pants and smart as a whip.


More on Fan Fan here.

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Toronto Animal Services Friday Review, Nov. 13

These three are some really nice dogs. They came in with the load from Montreal a few days ago and while some of their pals will be available at the Petsmart Adopt-a-thon this weekend, these guys, because they're not yet speutered will have to wait a bit.

They're all untrained, as the majority of abandoned dogs tend to be, but they're in good spirits and friendly and not too frenetic.

Whiskey

Yet unnamed Golden Retriever

Kodiak, Chow Chow X

For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Toronto Animal Services Friday review, Oct. 30

Just two new dogs this week, both mid-sized dogs surrendered by their owners and both very friendly.

Angie, a Doberman cross, still acts like a frisky young dog and can get quite excited when it starts to play but a few more months and some proper guidance can easily tone it down.


It was getting quite dark when I took Dax, a Border Collie/Lab?, out for its walk so the photo is kind of grainy but I'm pretty sure it's going to get adopted out pretty quickly despite its bad picture because it's such a likable, well behaved dog.


For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Toronto Animal Services Friday review, Aug 21

This German Shepherd pup is super smart and also very high energy. He knows his "sit" command well enough but sitting still is definitely not what he wants to be doing right now.


Major's already been in a shelter for 4 months in Montreal. He's a relaxed older dog and hopefully won't be spending much more time in his kennel at Toronto Animal Services.

Update: Not even one day in adoption and Major's already been adopted! Hurray for Major.


Isis is a very friendly but submissive (to other dogs) Jack Russel Terrier. Outdoors, she's a doll, but unfortunately, she barks like a banshee in her kennel when she's trying to get someone's attention so she may not be suitable for an apartment.



Isabelle, a Beagle mix, is becoming more secure in her new environment. She was a bit shell shocked when she arrived at TAS after her previous owner died.



Farley is a very playful and affectionate young Border Collie mix. He needs some serious exercise, ideally off-leash and with other dogs. He was trying to get Isis to play with him but she found him a bit too big and energetic.



This pup Corgi, Ruddy, was a stray. His 7 day holding period is up so now he's up for adoption. Blink and he'll be gone.

Update: He's gone.


For adoption information on these and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

Still waiting for the strike to end

From caacQ:

Tazz. Australian Shepherd mix. Female weighs about 40 lbs, possibly in heat, injured back leg(walks with a bit of a limp) very frightened, terrified of going indoors, most likely was abused very very submissive. Maybe 1-2 years old.



Unnamed Chow Chow. 7 years old, surrendered male neutered. Very nice, obedient and house trained. He is a big suck, other dogs attack him and he says nothing.


These are just two of the dogs who could have been pulled from Montreal pounds/shelters and transferred to Toronto Animal Services for rescue by now if the city strike weren't still dragging on. Every day the two sides keep arguing brings these dogs a day closer to being euthanized.

Last week that's where I thought they were headed but with news that the strike might be over any day now, there's hope.

Still, I have to wonder, in the last 5 weeks, how many dogs could we have saved who are now gone?

Here are a couple of others.

Everest. Golden mix. Male, intact, very friendly, great with other dogs, listens very well, doesn't bark much, clean in cage. Bad ear infection possibly ear mites since the Surolan hasn't been working to treat it. Possibly 2-4 years old.



Tobby. Lab. Male, intact, surrendered, good with cats, dogs and small children. He is VERY obedient, house trained. He is a great dog and has been with us over a month now. He is about 5 years old ... was surrendered because he looses fur!



Update: Oops. Stop reading the news for a couple of hours and miss everything. Looks like a tentative deal has been made with both unions. Ratification vote on Wednesday. Back to work right after that hopefully. I don't see why there would need to be any ramp up time at TAS.

If all goes well, maybe we'll see a load of rescue dogs come in by the end of the weekend.

... and Hamilton/Burlington SPCA

Continued from here.

I like the ride over to Hamilton on my motorcycle. Going over the QEW Burlington Skyway is always exhilerating and especially so on a blue sky day. The cartoon perfect white clouds hanging over the lake are somewhat mesmerizing and I have to force myself to keep my eyes on the road.

I'm in a pretty good mood by the time I get to the Hamilton/Burlington SPCA. It's location certainly doesn't disappoint. It sits off a country road on a well manicured plot of land. There are open areas and tree shaded areas. There are gardens and rock benches and even a pet memorial site built on a patch of grass surrounded by a ring of shrubs for privacy.


There's also a decent sized dog park on one side of the lot, complete with agility course and at first, not knowing any better, I actually think the two dozen or so dogs in the park are shelter dogs until I realize they are pets out with their owners.

Inside the shelter, it's bustling. It's been a long time since I've been inside a real shelter and I've forgotten just how noisy and crowded they can be. Toronto Animal Services South is technically not a shelter, of course, and so to compare isn't exactly fair but if I were a dog awaiting adoption, I'd have to say I'd rather be waiting around at TAS South. I know the mandate at HBSPCA is to save as many lives as possible and the way to do that efficiently is to pack in many animals so as to be able to show them to the public and move them through. Still, I'm not used to the constant waves of barking and the cages of dogs lining the hallways and all the dogs in display windows which reminds me of a pet store.

The energy in the place feels good, though. It's sad to see so many dogs caged up but they're on display for a good reason and there are many potential adopters walking around checking them out. One young guy is very impressed by a Rottie that was just brought in. He's going to adopt her but has to wait until Tuesday after she's gotten all her shots and paperwork done. Another older couple, who arrived on a Harley, spend a good part of the afternoon with a little Schnauzer/Terrier type dog. I wonder if they're going to somehow take the dog home on the bike with them but at the end of the day they leave the guy behind. I'm hoping they'll return for him later with their car.


The staff at HBSPCA are typically young. They look a bit harried but they are helpful and friendly and very keen about the animals. No one looks like they are just doing time. As I'm standing there, absorbing and adjusting to the environment, someone approaches me and asks if he can help me with something. I explain that I'm looking for three dogs: Olga, Dakota and Keenan. He takes me to see Olga and Dakota right off and then after a bit of searching, finds Keenan as well. Dakota and Olga are in glass display cases and Keenan is in a cage.


Keenan at 0:20. Olga at 0:45 and 2:10. Dakota at 1:51

I immediately feel bad for them. I know they have a much better chance of being adopted here than they would at TAS North with that facility's limited hours due to the strike but still, seeing them here in their cramped quarters surrounded by a constant cacophony is sad. TAS South was like the Four Seasons comparatively.

I take Keenan out first. The environment is too stress inducing and he's completely forgotten how to sit in his crate while the door is being opened. On the way out, he's beserkers as we walk through the crowded main entrance way, pulling towards other dogs, cats, people. And his hackles are up so I have to be careful not to let him get too close to other excited dogs.


Once outside, it takes him a few minutes to calm down and then he's back to his old self again, alternating between sniffing around and returning for attention. We walk the perimeter of the grounds, going around to the other side of the property where Hamilton Animal Control is located but I see no activity from that part of the building. I find a shady spot and sit with Keenan just to let him decompress for a bit in the outdoor calm. I spend half an hour with him and then bring him back in.

I take Dakota out next.


Dakota's a bit more relaxed and we end up in an area where there's a volunteer standing around with a raggedly terrier/poodle looking dog. She seems like a suburban grandmother so I'm a little surprised when she tells me that her favorite dogs are Pit Bulls. Her last had just died a while ago at 15 and she hasn't found a replacement yet so she's getting her dog fix volunteering at the HBSPCA. I ask her how many dogs they have in there and she says she doesn't know but there are a lot. They've got a large capacity for dogs. She tells me that they sometimes get shipments of up to a hundred Louisianna dogs, the continuing fallout from the dogs abandoned during Katrina. And now I understand why the crowded, cage lined hallways. Better that than death by gas chamber in some high kill pound in the south.

On the way out with Olga, she's hackling the whole time and as we pass by a woman with her Boxer, she snaps at him and he at her but leashes keep them back from one another. It takes Olga a few minutes to destress outside and then she's doing her favourite thing rolling in the grass. I take her around the property and then find a shady spot in the trees. By the time I get her back inside, it's past five and the shelter is closing.




I give Olga to one of the staff to put back in her display case and then go visit Keenan one last time in his cage. He wags his tail when he sees me, happy and expectant, but I say goodbye to him, pat him through the cage and then leave.

It's for the best and the people there will look out for them but still, I'll be checking their adoption site daily and I'll be a lot happier once Keenan, Olga and Dakota are homed.

A look back at Burt and Ernie

It was almost a year ago that the five feral Border Collies were brought into Toronto Animal Services South. All five were sent out to rescue for rehab as there was no way they could have been adopted out as they were, so anxious and frightened around humans.

Four of them eventually came out of their fearful shells but a fifth one never made it and eventually had to be euthanized.

Over the weekend, I received an e-mail from Luan of Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue. She had taken two of the Border Collies from TAS and she writes about what happened with Burt, who is still with her, and Ernie, who remained wild at heart.

Burt

Hi Fred;

I was browsing your blog and thought I'd update you on the Feral Brothers, Burt and Ernie.

When James asked me to which of the pups I wanted to take, I said 'give me the best one and the worst one". So he did, based on his assessment of them. It soon became apparent that while they were both extremely fearful, they had very different ways of coping with it. I named them Burt and Ernie, after the two benign Sesame Street characters. Burt was the "best one" with the happier outlook on life, and Ernie was the "worst one", more pessimistic.

It turned out that Ernie had little use for humans. This became most apparent the day he tried to chew my hand off. Both of the nervous pups ate leashes and harnesses. Nothing survived on them for long. Moving them was so traumatic; they would feel even gentle pressure of the leash and collar and go ballistic, strangling themselves in terror, eliminating, and scrabbling so frantically that they wore their nails to bloody stumps on the pavement. Another dog had startled us as I was moving Ernie from one run to another one day and Ernie decided that my hand on his collar was just another form of leash. I knew if I let go I'd never catch him again, so I hung on trying to calm him down....thankfully my doctor knows me well and what I do, and when I arrived with a hand that is swollen three times normal size with multiple punctures and tell him it's a "job related injury" he rolls his eyes and writes a script for antibiotics. Ernie demonstrated on other occasions that he was willing to bite to get away/his way. Things were not looking good.

We worked with both pups for several months. Their fear of leashwalks started to subside as Johnathon kept up a routine of short walks around the property every day. Both were terrified, but Burt would show glimmers of curiosity and interest in interacting with humans, and would follow me around. His way of dealing with his fear was to pee everywhere. It never occurred to him to use his teeth (except for all those leashes). But Ernie wanted little to do with us. I had separated them, hoping that this would stop them feeding off of each other's fear. Both seemed to be relaxed and happy in the company of other dogs, so we let them play and socialize with happy well behaved dogs, and let them see those dogs interact and be happy with us. As they grew older, they were starting to chase and nip the other dogs a bit, displaying some bad herding habits. Nothing to cause injury, just being controlling and annoying. But one day in October that changed. Another resident, an elderly foster dog who is a bit of a prima donna, was squawking and carrying on because she was (in her opinion) on the wrong side of the gate while we were using a chop saw to cut lumber. Ernie and another foster dog attacked her, and injured her quite severely when she tried to run away.

How do you train a dog to stop such behaviour and be safe when they have no interest in interacting with humans? I had to accept at that point that you can't. And so the next day, with heavy heart, Ernie was no more.

Burt, while egging on the proceedings, had not participated in the attack. His behaviour continued to improve in small baby steps. While he was prone to shredding dog beds in his kennel, he was actually quite well behaved in the house, surprisingly clean and not destructive. He had a fear of doorways, and would not go through one if people were standing nearby. Sometimes he would stay outside for hours before building up the courage to rush through the door. But slowly, his fears were starting to diminish, and he always follows me everywhere, bumping his nose against the back of my knee. If I turn and look at him he will race off, but fall back into step behind me once I resume moving. In the house I started to seek him out to pick him up and put him on the bed in the morning. He would lie there like a sack of flour while I read the paper and bolt off if I moved quickly. But one morning he came and stood by the bed and nuzzled my hand. When I went to the loo and returned, he had jumped up by himself, looking nervous but pleased and not leaving when I lay down beside him. After that he was happy to claim the bed and the dog's sofa as part of his space.

Owning a Boarding Kennel in "the country" just N/E of Newmarket, we don't have sidewalks or Dog Parks. The traffic rushes by at the end of the 150' driveway doing 100km, so walks on the road are not such a good idea. I've taken Burt on walks in the regional forest with my own dogs, and he has done quite well on a long line secured to my waist.

I've had some calls about Burt, but none of them seem to have read the Petfinder listing very closely. When they realize that he might never fit their definition of a happy, social and cuddly dog, they are not interested. One couple did try him. After 3 visits to their home to acclimatize him, I left him on trial placement. 3 days later they called me. "it's not working out" I was told. "Why, what's he done?" I asked, envisioning a cowering, peeing dog that was hiding in the back yard and refusing to come in the door. "Well, nothing. He's not had any accidents. He just sits in a corner and looks at us. We want a dog who will keep us company and help us feel secure". I wanted to scream "AUUGH do you have any idea how long it took me to get him to sit calmly in a room with scary humans, and you want a perfect dog in 3 days?" but instead I just sighed and said "fine, I'm coming to get him".


So Burt is still here. He is happy here. He is confident here. He is welcome here. As far as I am concerned he can stay here the rest of his life if he needs to. But it saddens me. Burt deserves a family of his own. He can and will adjust and settle into a new environment if he is given the time and patience he needs. No, he not everyone's cup of tea. But he is a sweet, curious, interactive dog who will charm the socks off of the right people, and eventually want to sleep on their bed too.

Yours in Rescue,

Luan

Southern Ontario Border Collie Rescue
http://bcrescue.info/
www.roverdale.com
We make a living by what we get
We make a life by what we give

Burt's Petfinder listing can be found here.

Saving Bobby - Learning to play

(Continuing from here.)

Bobby's fascinated with other dogs. That was obvious right from the beginning. Where he can be shy and fearful of people, he never had any problems approaching other dogs in their kennels during the times he was allowed to roam free in the room.

A couple of days ago, it was decided to finally introduce him to another pup who was about the same size and age.

The young Border Collie came in as a stray and is a bit timid around strangers. As you'll see, though, he warms up and bonds quickly with people.

In the first video, the two pups are kept separated by two kennel doors swung open. They're allowed to sniff each other and their reactions are gauged. The Collie is unsure but Bobby is eager to meet. His barking may seem aggressive but it's not. He just doesn't know how to temper his vocalizations for play. He doesn't know anything yet about controlling his behaviour for play.

Earlier on, when his favorite staffer tried to engage him in play by slapping the floor, he got excited and started biting her arms. They were play bites but play bites coming from a 50 pound dog aren't fun. Luckily, she had her thick jacket on. That's why in the video, she calls him "Biter". I think it's kind of cute. Although someone who doesn't have any empathy for dogs reading this will think we're all nuts.



In the next video, the kennel doors are swung out of the way and the two pups are allowed to meet. You can see a bit of the initial, "Huh?" reaction from both pups as they actually turn away from each other and stand there almost like in awkward silence. That doesn't last long, though, and Bobby is suddenly all in the Collie's face, overeager and somewhat overpowering with his nipping and pawing. The Collie spends most of his first few minutes just trying to get away from the unsocialized Bobby. It actually gets a little bit anxious, I think, until it realizes that it can find refuge with the staffers.



Bobby continues to be pushy but now the Collie, feeling safe using the staffer as home base, starts to push back a bit. Watch how Bobby suddenly stops his rude behaviour and tries to figure out this new balance of power. Remember, this is probably the first time Bobby has ever had a chance to play with another dog outside of maybe playing with his sibling - and that's only if they weren't caged or chained up separately their whole lives.



Now it's the Collie who's got the upper hand. Bobby's a little dumbfounded by this turn of events and runs back into an vacant kennel for a time out, still trying to process the meaning behind the other pup's behaviour. Is it trying to hurt? Is it crazy? Is it pretending? Is it fun?



Bobby comes out from the safety of his kennel and decides to test the waters. He tries to give the Collie a nip and the Collie responds suitably. Soon both pups are doing lots of play bows, switching dominant and passive roles, mouthing but showing good bite inhibition - all the right play signals and behaviours. It's quite amazing, really, just how well Bobby does.



Continued here.

Update on Border Collie pup Angus

Remember the five feral Border Collie puppies that came in last year? Anne and Pete, who run a dog rescue just north of Toronto, took in one of the five, Angus, for rehabilitation. For the longest time, there was no news about him but, just yesterday, Anne and Pete came by to visit TAS and mentioned that Angus had been adopted and then later sent us photos of Angus in his new forever home. He looks resplendent and deservedly so. If you've watched the video of him when he was at TAS you'll see he's traveled a long road to get to where he is now.

Below are the photos of Angus with the last one being a photo of Dooley, a dog Angus befriended at Anne and Pete's Rescue and who helped Angus overcome his fears to a great extent. The new family was kind enough to adopt both Angus and Dooley together.






Here's the letter from the Angus' owner:

Hi Ann and Pete,

First of all though I just want to again thank you both again for these beautiful babies. They have just brought so much joy to our lives. Dooley is absolutely wonderful, so calm and easy going, nothing ruffles his feathers. He is extremely affectionate and loves to be cuddled. He still chases the kitties around the house but in a playful manner and just loves to help me out in the kitchen. His diarrhea has cleared pretty good, they tested for numerous things but feel it is just a sensitive digestive system so we have him on MediCal Gastro both wet and dry as well as 1 tablespoon of pure pumpkin puree on top. This seems to have done the trick. Our wee Angus is coming along beautifully, he loves to play in the backyard with Dooley and then they both drop (fast asleep). He walks so well on a lead, it is amazing, never pulls. Of course he is still shy with strangers but if he is in the house and on his bed in the bedroom he will let anyone pat him. He is also a little hesitant about running around in the house, still prefers to be in his safe spot on his bed. He too is a bit of a snuggle bug and loves to have his belly rubbed. We go for an hour walkies in the morning and an hour walkies at night. In between they snooze and play in the backyard.

We just love them so much.

Thanks again.

Knowing the wonderful transformation Angus has gone through from the first day he entered TAS to how he is now just makes me want to cry - but I won't because I'm too manly for all that nonsense.

Wild at heart

A few people have been asking about the five Border Collie puppies that came into Toronto Animal Services a few months ago. They were feral due to owner neglect when they were brought in and exhibited varying degrees of extreme anxiety when in contact with people.

Four of the puppies have since been rehabilitated and homed but a fifth one, the shyest one, never made it out of its shell intact. It remained "wild" and after biting its very experienced rescue foster parent several times and severely injuring another dog, it was euthanized.



Continued here.

Someone else's perfect dog

In the 2 years I've been volunteering at Toronto Animal Services I think I've met one dog I didn't like or rather it didn't like me (I don't feel too bad, though, because it didn't much like anyone else either). Very occasionally, however, there are dogs that, while I don't dislike them, I don't particular like them either. Sometimes it's just a matter of getting better acquainted. Sometimes it's that maybe during the first meeting we had, the dog was still too stressed out from the new environment. Sometimes, however, it's because the dog is very difficult to handle and doesn't seem to offer much in return. At least not to me.

A dog like that came in this past weekend. It's a yellow Lab. If I had one word to describe it, I'd say it was a nutbar. It is completely wild on a leash. It throws its not insignificant weight around. It doesn't seem to have much interest in people. It's only good quality, if you can call it a good quality, is that it is food obsessed so that at least you can get some temporary control over him if you have a snack to tempt him with. Even if I had no dogs of my own, I would not take this one home.

So, is this dog a write off?

A few months after I started at TAS, a Border Collie mix came in. I don't remember his previous history but I do remember walking him and not being entirely impressed. He too was quite bad on leash. He barked a lot. He was completely untrained. He was easily distracted. He was uninterested in people. The walk was basically 30 minutes of being pulled around by a dog that didn't seem the least bit interested in who was at the other end of the leash. A couple of weeks later, I was surprised when I heard that he got adopted. I was even more surprised when the Border Collie, now Jefferson, turned up at the dog park I go to with my dogs. The person who adopted Jefferson lived near the park and was a long distance runner. Jefferson, with his high strung energy, was what the person was looking for. Jefferson was going to be his running companion. And even Jefferson's continuous barking, which annoyed most everyone else at the park, was no bother to his owner who just said, "Well, dogs bark," to which I thought, "Wow, I'm glad you're not my neighbour."

Of course a few months later, Karma, the Universe, or God, deciding I needed to be taught a lesson, had Jefferson and his owner move in three houses away from me. Almost everyday I would hear and see the two of them as they left their house for their morning 10k run or cycle. Almost everyday, Jefferson would sniff around my front yard and sometimes piddle and drive Stella and Rocky batty as they watched him from the front room window. But, most importantly, everyday, I saw how the relationship between Jefferson and his owner grew stronger and more confident. They weren't just good for each other. They were great for each other. The owner adored Jefferson and Jefferson cherished his owner and soon enough, his barking subsided. Even Stella, who at first didn't want to have anything to do with Jefferson, now started initiating play with him and she doesn't do that with many dogs.

What I've learned is this. Just because there's no bond between a particular dog and myself doesn't mean that I should write the dog off as a dog that no one would want. Every dog deserves the opportunity to be matched up with the right person. That may not be an easy thing to do but when that match is found, it's often these "problem" dogs that really learn to shine.

A dog is not a yoyo

This is something like Daisy's twelveth visit to Toronto Animal Services. So far, everytime she's escaped from her owner's house, she's been lucky enough to avoid getting hit by a car before being picked up by an animal control officer and brought in. Each time, Daisy's owners had been given a warning and each time the owners have obviously ignored the warning. It's like they were using TAS as their own dog retrieval/dog sitting service. So, a couple of days ago when the owners called once again to see if Daisy had turned up, they were told yes and this time they'd be charged a fine.

The owners balked and walked away from their dog and now 10 year old Daisy is homeless and scared and her future is uncertain.

Of course the owners blame Daisy for her own predicament. She's got separation anxiety; she bolts through doors; she chews through stuff. So, instead of crating Daisy whenever she's alone, the owners dump her because they're too cheap to pay a fine - which is really just a service fee for returning their dog to them these dozen or more times.

I wish there was a trap door for people like that. The ex-owners are brought into the office. They're asked why they've abandoned their pet. They start to give some sorry excuse for being such assholes but before they can finish, a button is pressed, and whoosh, a trap door opens and they fall into a big, dark pit and land on top of all the other assholes that have abandoned their pets. And for just a few seconds, while the trap door is still open, you can hear all the assholes down there still telling each other how it wasn't their fault, it's just that the dog didn't match the new sofa, or the dog grew too big, or the dog barked sometimes, or the new boyfriend didn't like dogs, or the condo didn't allow dogs or the dog was behaving, well, like a dog and that just wasn't good enough and even though all those assholes have been sitting in the dark with all those other assholes for all this time, they still don't get it. They'll never get it. And then the trap door closes, all is quiet again and the world is a better place.

Update on Border Collie pup #4

photo by Brian McInnis

from Brian:

The dog is sitting in the back yard and accepting treats from our hand. He's also found his voice and barking at a squirrel. As a bonus he's let us remove the leash and put it back on a few times without going crazy. Getting him back inside the house might be a handful but I genuinely think he's going to be okay in the long run.

Since so many people from Leslieville were involved in the dog's rescue we decided to name him Leslie. Still very nervous on the leash and around loud noises but plays well in the off-leash park and loves other dogs. No separation anxiety when I leave and hasn't had a single indoor accident. He follows us from room to room and sleeps by our side during the day and in the mudroom at night. Amazing progress in 8 days.

5 - part 3

Continued from previous.

Anne and Pete have been running a very commendable dog rescue just north of Toronto for over ten years and they've agreed to foster one of the five border collies but now talking to Pete on the phone, he's expressing some concerns about the anxiety level of the dog around people. They rehabilitate dogs - and from what I've heard, they do a great job of it - but as with any shelter with limited time and funds (which is of course all shelters), taking on a severely troubled dog and dedicating enough resources to it means that other dogs will be denied. Is it worth trying to save the life of the one dog at hand when the lives of two or three others might be lost? An impossible question to answer. Still, they're willing to give the pup a try and provide it with a foster home. I suspect, this decision comes more from the goodness of their hearts than from logic.

My car is parked on the street and I'm getting it ready to transport the pup up to Ann and Pete's. I have the back seat pulled down so that the back area is open to the trunk. I spread out a large piece of thick plastic over the whole section and tape it down. Someone walks by and checks out what I'm doing and I tell her with a smile that it's my turn to move the body tonight but her eyes just go buggy and she moves off.

Later, at Toronto Animal Services, James gives me some additional absorbant blankets to put on top of the plastic and then we head upstairs to the kennels to fetch the pup.

Like its siblings, well, actually somewhat worse than its siblings, this scared young dog flattens to the floor and goes rigid as soon as the leash is attached to its collar. James ends up dragging it a bit but then decides to pick it up, first wrapping the loose leash around its muzzle for safety against a possible bite. When a dog is this frightened, it's best to take some precautions when lifting it up within range of one's face. On the way to the elevator, while in James' arms, the pup poops and the two blobs fall ignominiously onto the floor. Outside, we try to get it pee on the grass (by saying stuff like, "Go pee, nice puppy, go pee" because, like, that works) but the pup just wants to either tear off or flatten against the ground.

James carries the pup into my car and immediately, it scoots into the furthest back corner in the trunk. It stares out at us from the darkness like the frightened wild animal it is.

James discusses directions up to Ann and Pete's while I only half pay attention. The other half is wondering what the plan will be if the pup poops in the car. Oh well, then so it goes.

The drive up is without incident except at one point when I get a whiff of urine but I'm not sure if that's old dried stuff or freshly wet stuff. Oh well, so it goes.

At least the pup seems to be relaxing a bit. It's got its head up and it's looking around. It really is a beautiful young dog.

About a block away from the destination address, I spot a man by the side of the road in a Tilley hat and sunglasses walking two beagles and guess that he's Pete from the on-line photos. I stop to say hello and he directs me to his driveway and says he'll be there shortly.

I park and exit the car and open the back door. Now the pup is tense again. I grab the leash so that it doesn't jump out and flee when I open the trunk. At first, it doesn't want to come out at all and it plays a game of avoidance going from the door to the trunk to the door to the trunk again as I go back and forth trying to coax it out. Eventually, with enough coaxing and much pulling, I get the pup out but instead of trying to bolt, it ducks under the car and squeezes up against the tire.

"That's not good," Pete says as he walks up the drive.

The pup isn't moving from beneath the car.

"Does he have a flat collar on?" Pete asks.

I know what he's going to say. A flat collar, basically a regular collar, will slip off over the head of the pup if it resists enough and it's resisting enough and the flat collar is indeed starting to slip. It's already come over one ear so I release the tension.

"That's going to come off," Pete says.

"Yeah, looks like it," I say.

We stand there surveying the situation. I find it a little funny that now so close to the end of the pup's journey, it manages to lodge itself into a spot where we can't get it out and I'm about to crack some joke but then I look at Pete and he doesn't look so amused. I start doing a little inner prayer that he's still going to take the pup.

Ann comes out to meet us. The instant I see her and hear her speak, I sense a gentleness about her and I know that if anyone can get the pup out it'll be her.

We try a few things. Cooing voices, a broom to push, some dog snacks (which the neighbour brings over), but finally it comes down to Ann getting down and slowly and gently putting a slip collar around the neck of the pup. And then she pulls it out.

Pete lifts the pup up and holds it in his arms. I ask if he'd like something wrapped around it's muzzle but he says that if it was going to bite it would have bit already. Of course he's right. The pup is scared, panting, drooling scared but it's not a biter.

I say goodbye to them as they take the pup away.



After I get home, I open up an e-mail from James. He writes that as he walked back into the facility after having loaded the pup into my car, he smelled poop. He didn't see any on the floor but after checking around a bit, he discovered that a clump of it had fallen into his boots - must've been while he was carrying the pup to the elevator earlier. Of course I had to laugh over this final parting gift given to the guy whose actions had just saved the lives of five Border Collie puppies.

5 - part 2

Continued from previous.

It took a while, what with all the squealing and gnashing of its miniature teeth, but I finally managed to pick up the baby raccoon without scaring it to death. It was the size of a grapefruit as it lay curled up rigid in my hands. I didn't want it getting a heart attack from too much handling, if raccoons even get heart attacks, so I was going to just quickly place it over the fence where its siblings were hanging on the tree branch but as I was bringing it over, it started to move. It uncurled. It looked at me. It sniffed. And then it relaxed. I stopped and we stared at each other for a few seconds before I reached out with it in my hand and tried to put it down on the tree limb where its siblings were waiting for it. It didn't want to go onto the limb. Instead it tried to climb down my arm. I picked it up with my other hand and had to place it down on the branch, had to make sure it had a good grip on the branch before I quickly let it go and withdrew my hand.

After my first encounter with the Border Collie pups, I go back into the room where they are kept and try to feed them some dried liver snacks. I have it on good authority (from my two discerning canines at home) that most dogs looove liver snacks. I try to woo the tan and white one first. It sniffs the snack, looks at me, sniffs the snack. It licks its lips, yawns, looks at me, sniffs the snack. The licking and yawning are classic signals of anxiety in a dog. It wants the snack but my presence is making it too anxious to eat. Maybe it thinks I will get angry if I see it eating the snack. Maybe it's performance anxiety. I don't know. But I do know it's not shying away like it did earlier. It's not moving to the back of its kennel as far away from me as possible.

I try out the other pup that seemed to hold some promise. I push in a snack and this black and white pup exhibits the same behaviour as his brother. A lot of interest in the food accompanied by anxiety signals and no actual eating. But there's something different about this one. It's actually interested in my presence. It's staying near the front of the cage, leaning against the door, looking at me. There's maybe even a slight wagging of the tail.

I open the door slowly, not wanting to startle it. It backs up, but not all the way. Then its head peaks out from around the corner. Then it takes a step forward. Then another step. Then it comes to me and puts its muzzle into my hands.



I go tell James about this, that maybe they're not all hopeless and he tells me that he's already phoned a few rescue people who are going to drop by to have a look at them.

Kylie and Karie show up to meet the tan and white one. It starts out as a struggle for the young dog but his fear gives way to curiosity then the beginnings of trust. They take the dog home with them.



Luan from Border Collie rescue also shows up and she ends up taking two of the Collies with her. The worst one and the best one, she says. She is cautiously optimistic about them. She's had experience with extremely shy dogs before and has managed to bring them around.

The fourth one is also spoken for by a foster but will have to wait a couple of days before it gets picked up. That's not such an ordeal for this guy because it's not doing too badly in his kennel. At least it's eating.

The fifth one, is a different story. It hasn't touched its food in several days. It just tries to keep still, hoping whatever scary thing lurking around the corner might pass it by. It seems to be always up on its claws, like it's afraid of the hard, shiny floor. James was originally going to drive it up to Anne and Pete's Foster Home for Dogs the following day, as they'd agreed to take it, but now he's thinking it would be better to get the dog out sooner.

Three hours later, I'm driving up the 400 and the last Border Collie puppy to be fostered is pissing in the back of my car.

Continued here.

5 - part 1

Maybe some guy is cruising on Kijiji, that great on-line advertising venue for backyard breeders and puppy profiteers, and sees a load of ads selling puppies for $500 a pop and thinks, "Fuck yeah, I could do that," so he gets a couple of Collie types together and mates them and a while later out pops a bunch of pups. Maybe they all make it, maybe some of them die, who knows, but he ends up with five. Very cute puppies, of course, and he can feel the filthy lucre already splayed across his greasy palms. His knowledgeable friends tell him he'll make a killing with these pups even though none of them actually want to take any of the pups home themselves. One friend maybe mentions it to his girlfriend, asks if she'd like a little ball of fur but she says, "Fuck that, I'm not picking up crap".

The puppies may have started out in a box inside the house, but after a couple of weeks the novelty's worn off, their mewling's getting to the guy and now they're pissing and shitting all over, so the guy puts them in the backyard where he doesn't have to smell them or hear them and anyway there's all sorts of junk they can crawl under for shelter if they need it.

Four weeks in and word of mouth isn't selling the pups so maybe the guy eventually gets an ad out on Kijiji and lists them at what he thinks is a bargain price at least compared to what those snooty registered breeders would sell them for.

His ad goes something like this: "Bargain Price!! AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL true English Style border collie babies! Super Calm, gentle, brown, white and black. Parents great dogs. Fathers dad grand champion! Parents registered. Shots, wormed, vet certified healthy! Father working towards his Therapy Dog Certificate". Maybe he attaches to his ad a couple of pictures of Border Collie puppies he's found on the internet that look close enough to his own pups.

He waits for customers to call but no one calls. Not one person. When the lack of response starts to sink in, the guy decides he'd better lower the price. The puppies are starting to be a pain in the ass. His friends are no longer interested in coming over to see them. Some of his friends are actually snickering behind his back about his stupid puppy money making scheme. He starts to resent the puppies and doesn't interact with them at all except to throw them food and water every so often. As a matter of fact, no one interacts with the pups.

It's three months in and even with the lowered price, still no one calls for the pups.

Maybe someone does eventually call, say at month seven, now that the guy's lowered his price even further. Maybe this guy actually does get a call from someone and manages to talk that person into coming over and taking a look at them. "They're fuckin' cute," he says. "And they're really fuckin' smart. They're great with kids and you can make 'em fuckin' guard dogs, too. Protect your house." So that person who's bargain hunting for a dog for her kids goes to this guy's house and the guy takes her into the backyard. Unfortunately, by this point, the pups are wary of people, having had almost no human contact and any experiences they have had haven't been so great so when this woman walks into the backyard, they all hide. One pup tries to hide behind a plastic bucket. Another hides in the corner of the yard between the metal fencing and a pile of decrepit lawn furniture. One just flattens itself against the ground because all the good hiding spots are taken. The guy can't get any of the puppies to greet the customer. The customer tries to be polite but after several minutes realizes that none of these dogs would do well with her kids and she leaves.

So now the guy is pissed. Maybe he goes to his backyard and throws a beer bottle at the pups, maybe he tries to kick a couple of them but he doesn't get a good boot in because they've grown accustomed to his outbursts and they stay far away. "Fuck it," he thinks. He doesn't want them anymore and he wants them out of his backyard so he calls animal services to pick them up.

As the van drives away with the five young dogs, the guy thinks, "Finally, someone else's fuckin' problem. Next time I'm going to try it with Great Danes," and then he goes back to surfing for teen porn.

The five young dogs arrive at TAS and are each given a separate kennel. When I first see them from a distance, they look like fine young dogs except they're a bit scrawny. But as I approach them, I see what's happened to them.

Three of them are like wild animals, afraid to look at me, cowering in the back of their kennels, visibly shaking as I reach out to them, looking like they might bite. One pisses itself every time I try to touch it. One hides behind its water bowl which is funny except that it isn't. I push treats into their kennels but they're wary of the food. James tells me they refuse to eat except at night.

They remind me of the baby racoon I found in my backyard earlier this summer, separated from its mother. For several hours, it was stuck on the wrong side of the fence - my side, its siblings on the other - and I threw it some food but it wouldn't eat, too scared. After almost a day I put on some gloves and went to pick it up and carry it over the fence but it cried and tried to squeeze itself into a ball of nothing in the corner between the fence and the patio wall. But that was understandable. Raccoons are supposed to be feral.

The other two siblings are a little better. They don't back away as quickly. They don't avert their eyes right away. Maybe there's some hope with those two.

Or maybe not. When I talk to James at lunch, he doesn't hold out much hope. There are quite a few dogs at the facility right now. If he can't get these guys out to rescues quick, they'll be euthanized except he doesn't say euthanized, he slides his finger across his throat.

Continued here.