9:07am
Remembering Dusty Dog
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Our family suffered a major assault about 14 years ago, and at the same time we suddenly lost a very special canine member of our family too. So,we found ourselves looking for another canine friend, companion, and protector. We studied up on large breeds of dogs, and settled on a German Shepherd after locating a rescue organization in our area. We were delighted to meet and become friends with a wonderful animal advocate, and her network of volunteers, who were taking in dogs from area dog pounds and saving their lives in hopes of finding each one a home. All these dogs were well cared for, and were treated for their individual needs. Somehow this lady managed to work a job and care for all these animals; mostly German Shepherds, though some of mixed background too. She impressed us greatly, she had and still does have the biggest heart and love for animal-kind. With much consideration, we chose a dog that had suffered severe abuse, and a dog that had been taken and returned more than once because "he didn't work out". He was beginning to look like a dog that would never have a home, that might be unadoptable. We didn't know what had happened in all these instances, but we knew we'd never had a dog before that didn't work out, so we decided to take on this injured creature because we believed we could help each other. The early days were some difficult ones as we learned more about our little Dusty dog, as we began to see expressions of his mental anguish. We knew just a little of his history, enough to know he had been overpowered and confused by a man, a person the dog highly feared and wanted to get away from. This dog had a habit of scaling 6-8 foot fences to get away; he couldn't be contained in a fenced enclosure without a top covering. We were to learn just how deep that fear, anxiety, and emotional pain went. Dear Dusty was intensely afraid of doing something wrong, something his "owner" or human might interpret as BAD. This dog had so much fear in him that he held his urine for several days, refusing to urinate (or defecate) when on a leash. He wouldn't do his "business" when on a leash in the yard, or when taken on a walk. He was eating and drinking, at least to some degree, we thought, but he just wouldn't empty his bladder. We couldn't imagine what was going on, and we feared he had some dread disease. All we could do is take him to the veterinarian. The vet. took Dusty into the back of the clinic, and returned with the dog soon after. The report was that this dog could urinate just fine, and that his urinalysis was essentially normal, except that the urine was strong. The vet. taught us that you can often get a urine sample from a dog by positioning yourself over him, considered by the dog as dominance, and this worked in Dusty's case. And I would guess so, after holding the urine that long! Well, with that in mind, we had a problem. What were we going to do now, to get this dog to go "potty" at home? Our yard only had a 3 foot fence, we feared this dog would be gone in a minute, but what could we do but let him out and give him a chance? So, once we were home and Dusty had a meal, we let Dusty out in the back yard with the firm command "Go potty", and pointing out to the side yard near the big oak. To our amazement, Dusty followed the command literally - he immediately trotted out to the exact spot my daughter pointed to, squatting there to urinate, and then just as quickly, he turned to come back in the house. Dusty never again had any problem urinating, and Dusty never again tried to jump a fence to escape. We came to know this dog as the most observant and intelligent dog we have ever known. Dusty successfully completed obedience training, taken very gently with him, and he learned to accept the touch of the male dog obedience instructor on him (a big hurdle for him). Later, he would also learn to allow a male family member to take him on walks, though he would always prefer a woman handling him. He so enjoyed his walks twice daily, that he made himself submit to a man who was willing to reach out to him, to a quiet man that never did him harm. But Dusty never quite got over his suspiciousness of men, or strangers. Even with the one man that became part of Dusty's intimate family, his "grandpa", Dusty always vocalized loudly his reluctance to go on a walk, all the while parading all around wagging, and ever so obviously wanting to go along too. Dusty loved his grandpa, and even learned to come and to sit still as eye drops were instilled for his glaucoma. Dusty also had to overcome severe separation anxiety, after coming to live with us. When we first took him home, he would tear up the house and set off the burglar alarm if we left him alone at home. And if we put him in his crate when we went out, he would howl endlessly and beat himself up against the cage. Even medication to calm him didn't seem to help. But at last we did find a solution - at that was the companionship of other animals. First, Dusty welcomed a brave little cat into his home (and crate/bed), and that was our Happy Cat. She loved him fearlessly, and he learned to love her as much. Later, Dusty accepted other cats, and also two little dogs. And when we moved, Dusty accepted and was accepted by our other big guy, Big Red. We were again shocked, we never imagined the ease with which all these animals would befriend each other. We never regretted taking Dusty home with us. Our life with him was one of benefit all around. He had a full and happy life before we lost him to a painful and disabling spinal condition. One highlight of Dusty's life was the time he enjoyed with a Canadian girlfriend, another German Shepherd dog, and a beautiful little girl. The two of them spent time together over several winters, while we lived in Texas, being taken on long walks and then set free in a fenced enclosure where they could run and play games of chase. Our precious Dusty lived with us 11 years, and we were told he was at least several years old when we met him, which means he lived a long life in German Shepherd years. He was just a dusty traveler through time, but what a dog! He'll never be forgotten.
