Second Chance League

This is a very sad day for Carol and me, even though it is a wonderful day as well. I just got back from driving down to Cantwell to meet the father of the family in Anchorage who is adopting Skittle. Skittle isn’t an SCL dog, but is the last of three puppies that we fostered and then adopted from the Shelter last November, along with their two mothers.

Skittle, her sister Snickers, and her mom Chiclet (can you tell Carol was hungry the day she named them?) were an abuse case. The guy had several dogs when he went into a horrible depressive downspin. A couple of dogs died from starvation on their chains, and the rest were in bad shape. Chiclet was almost completely emaciated, probably a day or two from death, and her milk was dry, even though she had given birth just a few days before. She had given everything she had to the pups, who were reasonably healthy but full of lice and weak. We figure they were about 10 days old when we got them.

We took them in, along with another mother and her puppy, Chance and Siren, who were in better shape but abandoned when their human was arrested. They were the youngest puppies I’ve ever helped raise; the same for Carol. We’ve been around young puppies, but since we don’t breed dogs hadn’t raised them. It was an adventure, and all five dogs recovered and are wonderfully healthy. We still have the two moms, but Siren and Snickers found wonderful homes a few months ago. Skittle was with us all this time, up until today.

Skittle is an amazingly cool dog, albeit a bit wild. She was a house dog who continued to sleep most of the time in the area of the entry where she spent her time after she was weaned and after we moved the puppies into the house from the heated dog barn. She has been a wonderful playmate to our latest puppy rescue Yannert, who has bowed legs and is tiny at four months old. She would spend hours playing in the dog yard with other house dogs, and was just a joy to play with. I love her immensely.

But we always knew that we’d have to find a home for her. With 31 dogs, we have more than we’re comfortable with over the long term. Carol had her listed on the Home for Huskies Web site for months, and we finally made contact with a wonderful family in Anchorage: parents and two young boys. The father, Don, has run teams in Bethel, so is very familiar with huskies. Skittle is going to lead a pampered life as a house dog, getting out to skijor a lot and maybe pull one of the boys on a sled. We just couldn’t be happier with where Skittle is going.

Because the new puppy Yannert has a bit of separation anxiety that we’re working through, Carol and I couldn’t both go to take Skittle down to meet Don. So it fell to me. It turns out that Skittle is a GREAT car dog, but isn’t so great on leash (we haven’t had her on leash much). It was nice to get to spend a few more hours with her, along with my Irish Shedder Mardy who I took along because I didn’t want to be alone of the way back. We left way early because of the snow last night, and so had lots of times for walking breaks along the way.

We met Don in Cantwell, and headed off to find a place to all go for a nice walk together. (That was his suggestion, which raised my esteem of him even more.) We ended up down by the Nenana River. I was so worried that Skittle would freak with him, even though she had met him before when he came up to meet her a few weeks ago. But she warmed up to him quickly, which was such a relief to me.

After we got back to the cars and I turned over documents, food, her favorite blankey, etc., it was time for them to leave for the drive back to Anchorage. Even though I had said goodbye to her a few times that day already, I went for one last goodbye. I was such a studly stoic man guy! Yeah right. My voice cracked, and the tears came. I said my last goodbye and gave her kisses, returned in kind, although a bit soggier.

I’m so sad that Skittle is out of our lives, but overjoyed that she has found such a good, lifetime home. We are so blessed that she graced our lives. My heat has a hole in it, but there are 30 other dogs ready to jump in to fill it back up.

I love dogs. And I love Carol and what she does. I hate saying goodbye, but know that it is often good and necessary. Today was one of those days.

We've been out on a few early season training runs, and yesterday tried out a couple of the new girls in our yard. Carol blogs about Kiche's first run with us on her blog (see the 28 October 2005 entry), and the very, very cool transformation that we could watch before our eyes. We could feel Venus there with us; we already know that Venus and Kiche have a strong bond since Venus died. I'm still tearing up as I type this.

Then we decided to give Jewel a try. We were pretty unsure about how she would take to mushing for several reasons. (When I adopted her after fostering Jewel for several months, I knew that she might not take to it. But that it was perfectly okay if she decided that she didn't want to be a sled dog; she has burrowed her way into our hearts either way.)

First, she is a basenji/doberman mix (our best guess), not exactly classic sleddog breeds. Second, some time ago Jane Hocking had a dog communicator speak with Jewel, who said that she didn’t want to be a sled dog and chose the name Jewel. Third, she has very short hair and some complete loss on her ears and chest, likely from some previous less-than-great care.

Knowing all this, I had several conversations with Jewel over the summer, letting her know that in the fall we’d put her in harness and see if she wanted to run with a team. I always tried to make it very clear that it was her choice. If she didn’t want to be a sleddog that was perfectly okay.

We put her in a fairly low-key team for this first time. (Hmm, a low-key team with Chanel in it????):

Chanel   Beans
Millie   Jewel (SCL)
Pippi   Galena

While Carol got the other dogs and harnessed them, I went into the house to dress Jewel, since it was my first time harnessing Jewel and fiddling with her new dog coat. We got a coat from Katahdin out in Two Rivers, so I had to harness Jewel and then put on the coat. (I’ll have to take a picture to post!) Then we went out to the yard where Carol was hooking everyone else up and put Jewel in swing. (We’re still doing 4–wheeler training.)

She did great!!! She did the turning around thing while we were getting ready to go, but then took right to it. Her tug line was not exactly taut the whole time but it wasn’t flopping around either. She didn’t look around too much. We stopped at the turn around and I went up to see how she was doing and to get all excited over her. Then she helped take us all the way home.

Jewel rocks! She is such a great addition to our home!

Well, the Kleckner Effect has washed over me. You know, the one where you foster a dog that you just can’t let go. Heh.

I’m happy to report that Jewel has burrowed her way into my (our) heart(s) and I’ve decided to adopt her. She is such a sweetheart, and has shown none of the destructive tendencies that other people have had with her. She is easy to train, is full of personality, and is a real cuddler. If she runs in harness that’s great, but she doesn’t have to if she doesn’t want to.

So the adoption contract and check are on the counter ready to mail today. Jewel has a permanent home, and I’m so very pleased.

Summer will be over tomorrow, and in the wee hours of a sleepless night I've been thinking about the last few months with Jewel. She has progressed amazingly well, going from a reportedly destructive dog at other fosters' kennels to a delightful dog that has just a tiny chip on her shoulder. Carol and I have been simply delighted at her antics, particularly her single-mindedness at finding any available sunbeam to stretch out in on the floor to her basenji trait of burrowing under blankets, even on the warmest days.

She continues to do well with the other dogs (all together we have 26, of which 8 are part- or full-time indoor dogs). And a couple of weeks ago we had a marvelous breakthrough! Carol tries to let her outdoor dogs loose for an hour or so every day, to let them run around, socialize, eat some grass, chase each other, and generally have fun. It's quite a sight, usually 24 or more dogs running loose (a couple of dogs are usually kept chained up for one reason or another), and makes early season training easier since the sled dogs haven't been sedentary all summer.

With Jewel's dominance issues, we just didn't feel comfortable letting her loose with everyone, but she'd be on a chain, able to interact with the other dogs. But we finally let her loose with everyone, and she did great! Every so often she'll get a little vocal with someone, but it doesn't seem to be agression, just some vocalization. She has great fun running around with everyone, and it's just great to see her progressing like this!

I've also been working with her on clicker training. She's just about got Down down, and we'll keep expanding on that.

I've been talking with her a little about trying out being in harness when we start training in another month or so. She seems open to the idea, but we'll see how she reacts when the time comes. If she doesn't want to run, that is just fine, but it would be a great way to get some excercise. I've been taking her on walks and runs sometimes, but even with the Halti she still pulls a bit too much for my comfort.

Jewel is a delightful dog, and it's been a fun summer with her. Now we'll see what winter is like with her in our lives!

Home Life

Jewel has settled firmly into life here with two humans and 25 other dogs. She is one of our eight indoor dogs (that sounds scary to some, but it is actually quite nice). She also spends a lot of time out in the dog yard playing with the sled dogs and making a nuisance of herself to others. She runs like a maniac through the dog houses and chained-out dogs, who seem to regard her as an insignificant annoyance!

I’ve taken Jewel on a lot of daily runs. I’m still using the Halti, which she balks at for the first few minutes then we settle into a nice walk or run. I’m really curious about putting her in harness in the fall to see if she’ll continue to insist she’s not a sled dog. That’s totally fine if that’s the case, but she so enjoys running and playing with the other dogs I wonder if she’s changed her mind.

We’ve had her on a mild dose of Thiroxin for a few weeks now, and there are some signs that her mild hair loss (behind her ears and on her chest) is reversing. We’ll keep her on that to make sure, but if she has a thyroid problem it’s pretty mild.

Jewel is also now listed on the Basenji Rescue and Transport (BRAT) Web site, since she is some kind of basenji mix. BRAT seems to be a great group, so we’ll see if anything comes of it.

She also continues to hone her burrowing skills. We keep a couple of blankets on the sofa (dogs are allowed when humans don’t need the seat space), and Jewel will completely roll herself up in one or more of the blankets. We’re constantly concerned that she’ll suffocate herself! But she seems to love it in there, and also burrows under the blankets on the bed, snuggling up to any warm bodies that might be available for warmth. This all reinforces our belief that she would prefer being a southern latitudes dog!

We're at three weeks and counting! Jewel has fit into our little lives here rather nicely and we're starting to work on some of her dominance issues. So far everything is solvable, even though Carol is still a little nervous with Jewel around a couple of her house dogs. Star is Carol's princess, and while Star hasn't hesitated to tell Jewel when Jewel is being annoying, I think Carol is still afraid that they'll butt heads. So we have to watch that. And Jewel seems to have finally gotten it through her head to leave Blackberry alone. Blackberry isn't an aggressive dog and doesn't tell Jewel very forcefully to go away. So Jewel had started nudging Blackberry too much. This took intervention from Carol, and Jewel seems to have gotten the message.

All is well between Jewel and each of my two dogs. Mardy, my old biddy Irish Shedder, just growls at Jewel when she gets too close and Jewel understands. Mardy isn't much of a dog dog, preferring to be a people dog. Izzi, my little playgirl dog dog, is getting along famously with Jewel, often growling and playing in the yard. Jewel doesn’t keep it up much though. But I'll frequently find Jewel and Izzi curled up together in the crate I keep in my office, so they are quite comfortable together.

Jewel came housebroken and with basic commands, so now that things are settling down we're working on things like Come. She's doing great at it, but we've not been doing it long enough for me to feel comfortable letting her loose even in the yard. (Actually, I tried it once and it took a while for Jewel to come into the house. So I'm waiting a bit until we trust each other more.)

We did have one scary episode a couple of weeks ago. I was taking baby steps at leaving Jewel chained in my dog yard. When the dogs had to go out I tried chaining her and going into the house, watching from the window. It went okay a couple of times, so I tried turning away for a minute or two at a time. The first time I did that I turned back to find a chain and collar lying on the ground and Jewel nowhere in sight. Aargh! Fortunately I live well away from busy streets and found her on the next road over, and she jumped right into the car. Whew! So now she's on a limited slip collar, which is working well. Now we've worked up to where I leave all three dogs in the yard all the time when I go into town, two loose and Jewel chained. That has made life easier, particularly since Jewel has not proven to be the best car dog. Just a bit too hyper for that.

Jewel continues to be thinner than I'd like, but isn't unhealthy. I'm feeding her the high octane Annamaet Blue, but she just isn't the most focused eater. I'm trying various things, but as long as she doesn't get any thinner I'll let her eat what she wants.

I also need to get her more exercise. She gets some when we go over to Carol's tearing around the dog yard playing with the other dogs. I've been using a Halti on walks and runs, so we're getting that routine down. I'm looking forward to being able to walk or run with her loose, when she'll stay close and come when called. It'll be a while before I do that, even under controlled conditions!

Jewel has been with us for 41 hours, with two nights and one full day so far. And I'm happy to report that it's going great! Outside seems to be consciously separate from inside (although I'm still restricting movement in the house, probably for a couple more days), and Jewel is pretty well integrated into our routine. She seems to be comfortable here...I'm thrilled with that!

Nights have been serene. She gets closed in a crate late at night when I'm ready for bed and I have yet to hear a peep from her all night long. In fact, I'm jealous of how deeply she seems to sleep! This morning Mardy had to go out around 2 AM, and as near as I can tell Jewel didn't even look up. Izzi decided to spend the night outside (of the three she is most built for the cold, so as it gets warmer I think she's more comfortable out there).

Yesterday afternoon we took her for our first walk together. This was a chance for Jewel to meet the first of Carol's 23 dogs, Ivy. They met in my garage, did the requisite butt sniffing, and then we were off. No aggression or hostility at all. Ivy is kind of a growler but a very friendly dog, so we were wondering how they'd do. No worries! Mardy also came along, but Izzi, who tends to stray a bit too far, stayed home.

We walked the Ester trails east of Henderson, maybe four miles, a fairly leisurely walk. Jewel clearly prefers to stay on packed trails, stopping quickly when she ventured off the trail. That might have been because she was on my 16' Flexileash. It looks like she'll be on a leash for a while for walks. She comes when called, but usually pretty slowly. We'll work on that in coming weeks. But she clearly enjoyed being out and sniffing all the new and interesting scents that a moderately-used trail contains. When Mardy found a treed squirrel and started explaining the facts of life in the dog-squirrel nature of the world in loud barks, Jewel would quickly pick up the pace and try to tear off my arm. All in all, it was a delightful evening on a beautiful day with four hot women (it was quite warm). I think that it will do Jewel a lot of good to get lots of exercise.

My dog yard is setup with four-foot field fencing, not high enough to keep Jewel in. (It's not high enough to keep Izzi in either, but she has learned to stay put.) And with the snowpack, it's probably only two feet in a few places. I have a couple of poles where I can chain dogs out, so it's served my needs up to now. (And given Jewel's known preferences I want to avoid chaining her out until we trust each other more.) I'll probably need to make some changes, but for now I accompany Jewel outside with her on a Flexileash. It's a nice way to spend some quality time with her, and she pees and poops just fine on the leash.

I expect that next week I'll start taking Jewel with me on errands to town. I'll have to see how good a car dog she is, and whether she is patient enough to wait for me.

Jewel is eating, but not as much as I'd like. I'll probably move her to Annamaet blue (I just went to red for the summer for my other dogs) to get more in her for the volume she's eating. With Carol's reassurance, I'm not real worried for now, and will let Jewel eat as much as she wants and regulate her own intake. I'd love to see her put on a few pounds.

Jewel is becoming a member of the family. I can't tell you how happy I am about that!