UPDATE 2011 MAR 21

Sam is again in a foster home near Antioch, CA, with a woman who adores him, where On Wings Of Care brought him on Mar 6 from San Diego.  She takes care of many dogs at her house and kennel, but Sam has found a special place in her home -- and a special girl of his own! We've just heard that a golden retriever gal about Sam's age began flirting with him, and the impact on Sam has been heartwarming!  The two are inseparable these days, and their foster mom has just about decided that these two lovebugs are home to stay.  We'll post a photo of the two of them as soon as possible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

UPDATE 2011 MAR 06 Sunday

 

Yesterday we flew down to San Diego to pick up Sam.  What a different dog I found!  These people had clearly adored and pampered and reassured Sam while they've had him, for he was a beaming, smiling, affable, healthy looking dog, who clearly was comfortable with them.  When Mr. Gallardo stopped, Sam stopped and rolled over on his back to have his tummy rubbed.  I was shocked -- this was a dog who was NOT going to stay with them?  I stayed there for about an hour and learned where all of our mistakes had been.  A little bit of guidance for Michelle and her husband who had never had a dog before in his life), and a better collar for Sam, and I think this story would have ended differently.  What had happened was that several times while they had Sam, Michelle was walking him and some noise or traffic or something frightened him, so he would like down, or try to duck under a vehicle, and then he didn't want to move.  Michelle could use some "Alpha" training -- for I saw it happen again in front of me.  He got up and heeled with me beautifully time after time, and Michelle and her husband were dumbfounded, and I thought he was behaving perfectly normally, sure there was a slight resistance, but he figured out that i had a 'better idea' and that mine WAS the program, so off we went.  Michelle was standing a distance away (the leash length) and sweetly, gently begging Sam to follow her.  I exlained to her that as long as he got that lovely sweet treatment, why WOULD he change anything?  Each time he lay down and refused to move, she would tug on his leash from six feet away and urge him in her gentle sweet way.  And his collar exerted absolutely no palpable pressure on him through his thick fur; most of the time it just slipped off his head.  (SIGH)  I asked them if they would consider keeping him another week and working with a trainer, or working with me.  But Michelle's husband, as much as he clearly loved Sam, has had to come 'rescue' Michelle too many times in the past two weeks, and he did not want that happening anymore.

So with a sad heart, but understanding completely, Sam and I got in the plane to fly him back to Sacramento.  But seeing how happy and healthy and calm Sam was reassured ME that no matter what else, these kind people in the last few weeks have made an enormous positive difference in Sam's life.  We now all are reassured about what a wonderful companion he can be, and we understand him better.

The flight was as sweet as could be. Sam stood up at the beginning, when we were flying over the San Gabriels at 10,000', and looked outside over my shoulder.  I wish I could have taken a photo of that! But my hands were needed on the controls, and Sam and I were the only ones in the plane.  Then he lay down on the beautiful new bed that Michelle had provided for him, and he put his head down where my right hand could give him gentle nose and forehead and ear rubs throughoug the flight.

The reunion with his previous foster Ken was lovely.  Sam has clearly decided that he has a large and devoted family, and he is quite willing to go with any of them in a car or airplane, anyti

me!  Ken wrote us all an email last night, after he drove Sam to his new foster home (and possibly his forever home) with Julie near Antioch, east of San Francisco.  He said that Julie was wonderful with Sam, and Sam seemed quite comfortable with her.  Ken was sad to leave his buddy Sam again, but they live close enough that Ken will be visiting Sam frequently.

I forgot to add that Sam ADORES other dogs and loves meeting people -- he is drawn to them, in fact (an unusual chow dog!), and he does not chase cats or anything else.  He is not all that mobile, having what might be a congenital slight defect in his front paws that makes him walk on his 'heels', so he can't walk very far at a time (maybe a half-mile before he likes to stop).  Julie runs a boarding kennel, so there are many other dogs around.  Our concern was that  maybe Sam would not get the one-on-one affection and bonding time that has worked such miracles with him so far.  But I'm going to bet that Julie falls in love with Sam by .... well  let's see, it's been almost 24 hours now, she probably already has.  So despite having so many other dogs to tend, maybe she will bond so well to Sam that he'll get that human heart of his own that he needs.  We'll keep you posted.

Here are the photos from yesterday's flight and reunion with Ken in Sacramento.

UPDATE 2011 MAR 04 Friday

This past week, we learned that Michelle and her husband, although they love Sam very much, had not appreciated that his fear issues would require more patience and perhaps a less busy neighborhood, as walks amid the traffic and sounds and lights were causing him at times to want to duck and hide under parked cars.  They care very much for Sam and have been helping us and Sam's original rescue folks try to work out the best immediate options for Sam.  On Wings Of Care will be flying Sam back up to central California tomorrow, Mar 05, where his previous foster Dad "Ken" will meet us.  All this is to try to give Sam some continuity and reassurance that the love he has known from people never ends, and the people will stick around for him.  Blake and others have found a very good foster home near Antioch, CA, just east of San Franciso.  Rather than fly him there directly, we are flying him first back to Ken, so that Ken can spend some quality time with him and drive him to this new foster home and help him settle in.  While there may be different ideas as to how best to help Sam, there is universal agreement on one thing:  Sam is an absolute sweetheart.  He is a typical older dog.  His dream of a great outing is a peaceful half-hour's walk that doesn't go much farther than about a half-mile, and has plenty of interesting smells and pleasant places to stop and rest. He is not the dog for a triathlete, nor for a person who lives on a busy crowded city street with a patio overlooking the noisy street.  He is the dog for someone who understands a dog who is just done with stress and noisy frightening things, appreciates healthy treats and nice company, and is okay when there's nothing to say and nobody fussing over him.

If you have ideas for a good home, or can help with some donations to keep him well and comfortable until we can find that great home, please contact us.  Thanks.

 

 

 

 

2011 Feb 22

It's hard not to love a dog like Sam almost instantly.  A burly chow of the older can

ine generation with a gorgeous full golden coat, you'd expect that after having been subjected to as much terror as his deep old eyes show, he might have become aggressive.  But no -- Sam is as ge

ntle and dignified as they come.  Though he may have been tormented and abused, he had retained his dignity.  And thanks to the love and patience of his foster dad Ken up in Sacramento, CA, Sam had become able to trust again -- although the sight of a rope or leash or quick movements of a hand were still enough to make him almost shut down. 

Many devoted rescuers searched and searched until they found the perfect loving, understanding home for Sam, and find it they did -- nearly 500 miles away in south San Diego!
It would have been an awfully long drive, but it was a quick and comfortable 3.5-hour flight, and Sam had our plane all to himself.  We made it on Monday, Feb 22, during the first 24-hour window of semi-clear, semi-calm weather between two large weather systems from the northwest that had been pummeling California with cold and snow and freezing rain.

 

We had been warned by the rescuers that Sam might be very frightened walking out to the plane and being made to get in, and that we might have to be very patient with him.  So we did a little pro-active psychological work.  We spoke with Lisa, the volunteer who would meet us when we landed in Sacramento and bring Sam to us, and asked her to start telling Sam -- cheerfully and sincerely -- that this was for HIM, that he was going HOME, that he was going for a RIDE in the plane to his new family and HOME.  We received a text message from Lisa about a half-hour before we arrived at Sacramento telling us that the approach was working so well, she and Sam were sitting outside watching airplanes land and enjoying the sun, and she had never seen him so relaxed and happy.

We kept things consistent, calm, and cheerful, and communicated the same messages to Sam after we landed and met him.  The result was that he walked out to the plane with us as if he had been going for plane rides his entire life, and when I opened the cargo door and readied myself to hoist him in, he surprised us all by jumping right in by himself!  In boarding and throughout the entire flight, Sam was among the calmest, happiest canine passengers we have ever flown! Maybe a little credit belongs to the bag of hot dog pieces that Lisa handed me before we left, as it pleased Sam no end to stick his nose into my elbow ever hour or so to receive another couple of pieces.

When we arrived in San Diego, Michelle and her mother were waiting eagerly.  I walked with Sam and Michelle all the way to he car, so that Sam wouldn't feel abandoned again.  Michelle's mother's car

was parked in the next spot over, and I smiled to notice that the entire backseat was stacked to the ceiling with brand new luxurious dog beds.  No question that Sam was wanted by this family!  I began to dread the fear and hesitation he might feel about getting into her car and wondered how Michelle would handle it.  We put the brand new collar on him that Michelle had brought, and Sam walked comfortably with Michelle as if he had belonged to her forever.  When she opened the back door of her car, in a split second he had jumped in, turned a full circle, and lay down grinning back at us!  We all laughed in amazement.  Maybe he really had understood what we had been telling him, and he knew absolutely that this was all for him and he was finally home!