poolside at the cawlfield resort

Well the ambition of doing a daily blog has fizzled like the weather   I think it was a bit ambitious with my busy schedule, 4 other demanding dogs and more than full-time corporate job to think that I would be able to post a daily blog with pics.  I do promise to try to do it more often, especially when she makes great breakthroughs and the weather isnt crap for photography.  This week Gia has done very well.  So far her  only real problem is stealing my shoes!  She hasn’t tried to eat them, or even really taste them.  She just thinks they are another toy for her amusement.  Watching her flip them into the air to throw and catch them for herself is pretty funny… atleast until one hits you or knocks something off the table.  She has figured out how to get on the bed (great), but hasn’t really figured out how to get down…must work on this.  All my dogs really want to play with her, as does she with them.  She runs back and forth in front of the metal gate that separates them and jumps from dog bed to dog bed, then back to the gate.  I cant wait to get her the Babesia treatment, so that I can safely introduce her to my other dogs.  While she probably doesn’t have very good socialization skills, she is so puppy like, fairly submissive and very responsive to correction.  I feel very confident that she will be able to live peacefully with other dogs.  I will say that when the other dogs start to rough housing and get vocal, she gets overstimulated.  Her excitement level escalates and she starts to bark.  I have no idea what she has been witness to, encouraged to do, or the living conditions in which she experienced other dogs.  I can only imagine the horrors she has been exposed to.  I have seen the dogs first hand from dog rings exposed.  I have seen the conditions they live in after authorities step in.  I have witnessed trained fighters and the damage they can do.  I have seen the sadness in their eyes, some of them so fearful, human touch is a nightmare to them.  Others so desperate for kind attention, clean water or daily food, that every experience of newness is almost painful.  The young ones who havent built the callouses on their paws and elbows from never having experienced any physical soft thing are usually the ones whose hearts arent hardened yet either.  Those are the dogs that can trust humans again after a few months of safe captivity.  This is where Gia is after  a week with me.  No doubt she has seen 3 months of kindness, while with HSUS after the busts.  The awesome rescue , “Mutts n Stuff” out of St. Louis  hand picked her for rescue with us, SO I know she had a lot of belly rubs, ear scratches and extra special treats with Gail and Tiffany.  It’s just amazing when a dog who hasn’t experienced much of anything positive for 2 years of life, is so trusting and friendly to both dogs and people.  There is  a serious lesson for me to learn here.  Granted, you can teach old dogs new tricks.  I have seen the most scarred, abused neglected, and yes even fought dogs become loving family pets who even live harmoniously with other dogs.  But there is generally a lot of time and rehabilitation involved with very experienced handlers.  I am not sure I have ever seen a dog adjust to a life they had absolutely no concept of so quickly.  I sing her praises just as she reaches up on my desk and grabs an envelope that contains a negative of one of my editioned prints that a certain museum just bought a print of, and chomped a hole in it.  Ugh.  SO maybe she isnt so perfect after all.  She is still a 2 year old puppy with a lot to learn….sigh.

Gia likes grass... alot--and leaves

After taking the other 4 on their much needed walk, Gia and I attempted to go on our first walk.  For being a short lil 40 lb girl, she is really, really strong.  I almost felt bad putting a pinch collar on her, but when it barely fazed her, my shoulder really thanked me.  We did really well as long as we were near grass.  She loves grass!!!! Loves to smell it intently, eat it, roll in it, crawl in it.  When we came across a concrete driveway dividing the grass, it was a mad dash to get to the next lil bit.  She is a maniac whenever someone crosses our path and can’t understand why everyone doesnt want to say hello to her.  The local 15-year-old girl who loves animals stopped to love her.  The 2 homeless men with carts walking up the street really, really loved her and both stopped to give her a good rub down, which she loved,  and moved on down the street.  Tonight she is running zoomies around the living room, enticing the other dogs on the other side of the gate to play with her.  Play bows, and her regular wiggle craziness can’t convince me to open the gate. I wish I could, but we’ve got plenty of time to figure it out and let the excitement subside.  She desperately wants to be part of the pack.  Pacman has stopped barking at her and wants to play with her too.  Tonight she also discovered the couch and how to get up on it. I thought that was the goal, only to discover her un tucking the dog blanket and stealing it to her crate.  Good thing she cant figure out the slipcover.  I barely can every time I try to put it back on laundry day.

day 1, learns to sit

Gia is one of the 400+ victims of the biggest dog fighting bust in US history. She is the first dog MABBR.org will take in from this bust, unfortunately not our first rescue from a dog fighting bust. We have taken many dogs from smaller busts and several dogs from large fighting rings. Two years ago, MABBR took in 4 dogs from the South Holland, IL dog ring. One is in his forever home, and one, Linc, still awaits his forever home. Unfortunately the other 2 dogs tragically lost their lives. Last year in 2008, MABBR also took in 11 dogs from Newkirk OK dog ring. Most have found their forever homes already, and sadly some still wait for theirs. Gia is a prime example of why MABBR will continue to try to help dogs from these terrible circumstances, as difficult as they are. We only wish we could help them all.
Gia is very short, and stout. She looks a lot like a cross between a red nose pit bull and a baby pot belly pig. She looks almost exactly like another dog we had in our program named Sassy, just much smaller. She has been in the care of the MO Humane Society for 3 months now, and so she has been well fed. She has lived in a cage the entire time, so actually has some weight to lose and some muscle to define. She is an extreme wiggle but who absolutely LOVES people. Surprisingly, she has no fear of anyone she has met so far and practically falls over from wagging so much. In one day she learned to sit, and is extremely responsive to corrections and praise. She rarely barks, only whines a little, and enjoys retreating to her crate. Amazingly, she has yet to have a potty accident in the house. She was only supposed to be an overnight guest, but I cant stand to send this sensitive sweetie to boarding. Its a joy watching her discover even the simplest pleasures that a 2 year old dog should have already discovered by now.
When she first arrived late last night, she didn’t even want to come up the front stairs. She greeted me with love and kisses. She was very interested in the blanket covering the chair. I was worried she was a blanket chewer/destroyer. What i discovered later is that she was trying to steal it for her crate. Although she already has 2 big pads and blankets in there, she looks for various soft things to store in her crate. She has stolen any blanket she can find and many clothes found in laundry baskets! I am relieved she doesn’t consume them, just needs to make the best bed she can. She also has stowed any toys she likes and treats in there.
She is fascinated by the television, as I suspect she has seen one. She watches it pretty intensely when its on. Today she saw a mirror for the first time. She saw me looking at her and tried to go through the mirror to get to me. It was so innocently funny. I saw her do her first zoomies today around the yard. I am told she hasn’t been out of a kennel or off a long lead in the past 3 months. It was quite a joy to see her let loose and really enjoy herself. She has no idea how to walk on a leash, but has no fear of it either. She just starts to bolt and chokes herself.

Gia has met Spot, Jinx, Lulu and Pacman through the gate. Pacman is the only one she is pretty afraid of, as he is an ass with her and mostly barks at her. Just tonight he has stopped barking at her, so I am hoping we may have a more peaceful household soon. Unfortunately she may never get to have a formal intro to any of them and may have to exist here on rotation. She has tested positive for Babesia, which is a blood virus originally infected by certain ticks, but often spread through blood contact in dog fighting rings. Its very possible she could have been born with it at the facility where she was kept. We are doing more research and will make an appt to have her retested and start her treatments. Hopefully she will be able to live with other dogs as she initially shows positive possibilities of living peacefully with them. For now, she is on rotation to prevent the possible spread of the blood transferred virus, and to better observe her behavior. All good signs so far and its been a pleasure to watch her discover the world.

ps the first pics aren’t very good, but either she was enjoying running around the yard, or sitting right next to me. She would be my 24-7 shadow if she could