1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OAS: Willie(Fergus) 1 year ago Willie came to us along with 5 other dogs from the Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks, Washington. The fate of the OAS dogs 1 year ago was grim and many didnt even know if they would still be alive when they arrived by truck in Arizona. Willie was originally from the San Clemente Dana Point Animal Shelter/ Pet Project Foundation and like 3 of the other dogs we rescued from OAS he was sent to Markwell due to behavioral issues. Markwell was given money to care for these dogs, the exact arrangement and details we dont know, but we do know that Markwell didnt hold up his end of the deal. When we first got Willie(Fergus at the time) he couldnt even be touched. His hair was long and matted and we knew his experiences with Markwell at OAS werent good ones. No one could touch him, he would viciously lash out attempting to bite you out of self defense. He had to be fully sedated to even be examined by our vets. Willie had lived years at OAS in a small dark crate, little access to outside and terrible experiences with being handled. Considering his reactive behavior we were surprised he was even still alive. When we got him on leash to walk him off the truck he threw himself into a death spiral like that of an crocodile spinning in the water after catching its prey. Our immediate question was COULD WILLIE BE REHABILITATED? Our first steps with Willie(Fergus) was to let him adjust and decompress in a new environment with his basic needs and slow, small exposures to people. After a month or so of settling into a new routine of regular walks, feedings, and kennel conversations with people he began to show signs of enjoying and eliciting human companionship. We also used the services of an animal communicator who expressed to us that Fergus felt like a grumpy old man and we should change his name. We decided on Big Willie to help boost his ego. We knew he was then ready to start some serious rehabilitation to address his fearful reactions and behaviors. Thanks to our training coordinator Lisa Giacomero and our behaviorist Randy Davis we started basic deference training and learned that Willie loved to work. He also loved his food. We had a window of opportunity and we knew that if we had a chance with him this would be it. After building a positive relationship with Willie we began to address some of his specific fears, mainly touch and guarding food. After many many many rehabilitation sessions Willie turned the corner and realized that human touch can be a good thing and he now begs and pleads for it. In fact, hes rather an attention hog. Willie has also learned to trust other dogs, we believed he was picked on at OAS as all of the dogs seemed to be very reactive to his presence, he is now our official welcoming committee to new Lionels Legacy seniors as they enter the Oliver headquarters! Willie has come so far this last year and still has some work to do, he will always bare some scars from his experiences but he is truly a changed dog thanks to the team of people who invested a year of their lives helping Willie to learn to trust again. We are hopeful he will find a forever home in the near future but were looking for that special family that will love him for his strengths and challenges. We love you Willie and are so proud of how far you have come, it gives us faith that there is a way to rehabilitate some of the most challenging dogs!
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 03:00:00 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015