My Shelter Dog

Morgan was my 4th foster dog from Wayside Waifs, Kansas City, MO. I ended up with her because she was extremely aggressive and needed some additional socialization and training. She was found on the streets, intact, hungry and in poor health. She was estimated to be between 4-6 years old at that time.

 She was brought into the shelter and it very quickly became apparent that she couldn't stay there. She attacked her kennel door and lunged at everyone who walked by. She was put under anesthesia, which was no small feat. They ended up having to 'dart' her with a pole dart, because they could not get close enough to her to inject the anesthesia by hand. Once she was under they decided to do all of her medical procedures at once because they were unsure if they would be able to sedate her a second time. She was spayed, vaccinated, examined, micro-chipped and had a dental. They had her wake up in puppy quarantine, an area where there happened to be no other dogs and only one staff member was allowed.
She did bond with this staff member enough to be handle-able. When the directors got together to discuss her situation, the foster care manager suggested that I be offered the chance to take her. If I wouldn't take her, she would be euthanized. She was too much of a risk to keep in house and the foster care manager did not feel comfortable sending her home with anyone else. I took her home 1/9/2010, she had been in the shelter since intake on 12/9/2009.
She growled at me for the first few days. She had a blue stuffed dog that she carried everywhere with her. She was a pretty sad sight, a very viciously growling dog holding onto her 'baby' for all she was worth.

Thankfully she was food motivated. I crate trained her immediately. She was either in her crate with a Kong stuffed with treats and peanut butter or we were out walking. She was unsure about the leash at first. It was clear that she had spent little or no time in a house or on a leash. I trained her to sit while I attached the leash and heavily rewarded her for allowing me to touch her collar. After 2 days of heavy reinforcement, exercise and crate training she was comfortable with me. She stopped growling at me. Everything was new to her, she didn't know how to play with toys, did not know how to interact with me. At first she just held her baby and stayed in her crate. When she stopped growling at me she allowed me to touch her everywhere and pet/ scratch her. She didn't really seem to care too much about petting or scratching. She would not roll over on her back though. After she was allowed out of her crate at all, I attached her leash to my couch leg, so she was still contained. She learned quickly that Johnny, my cat, was the boss. She did try to lunge at him, but he was used to new dogs and moved in slow motion whenever she was out of her crate. He avoided coming within the leash boundaries and therefore never ran when she lunged. He did smack her nose once and drew blood. From then on she seemed a bit more wary of the cat.

She continued to be very aggressive to other people and dogs when we were out walking or running. After she bonded with me she became incredibly protective. She would threaten anybody within 200 yards of us. She would growl, snap, lunge, snarl and even foam at the mouth she would get so worked up. Now I almost wish I had a video of it, just to document the change! I worked hard on training her basic behaviors. We worked on sit, down, speak, paws, spin and roll over. "Sit" was our main behavior. I began training her to sit through anything. Her threshold to deal with 'threats' was very low, so when anyone was around I would quickly move to a comfortable distance for her (started out as 50 or more feet), have her sit and reward her A LOT. Even this took time. If it was a bigger challenge, say a human with 2 dogs as opposed to just 1 human I would have her in the down-stay position while rewarding her heavily. I found she was most comfortable in the sit-stay as she seemed to feel threatened when in the down position. From the very beginning I worked with her on loose leash walking. This was probably made easier by the fact that she seemed to never have been on a leash before. If she did pull (not in a threatening situation, that required evasive action) I stopped walking/ running and waited until she sat down. She learned fast that the best way to keep going was to not pull. Of course the no-pull went out the window if there was any stimulus in the situation. So we ran and EVERY time there was another human on the path we moved out of the way and she sat, when they passed we continued on our way. I learned that most of her issues were severely worsened by her barrier aggression. She could meet new people only if they came into the house and she was loose. New people had to ignore her completely. At first it would take 1 or 2 visits from the same person and then she would accept them as part of her pack, now it takes less than 5 minutes for most people to be accepted. She also LOVED dogs, on leash she would growl and lunge, but if let loose with other dogs she did what herding dogs do, they herd- nip and run, but she was not aggressive toward them. Thankfully in the zoo keeper profession you have a lot of friends who are not afraid of animal introductions! I was able to introduce her to a bunch of dogs, she didn't really seem to know how to play and didn't have the best dog behavior, but she did well. She usually became the ref in large groups of dogs. And of course she protected me. Usually after the initial meet and greet with other dogs she would sit right by me with the humans and only go running to the dogs when they got too rowdy! She would run right through them and break them up, then come back and sit with me.
I officially adopted her on 11/17/2010. She had many people who were interested in her, but none were prepared to deal with her behavioral issues. They had a hard time believing me that she would growl at them and they had to give her time. Having her growl and lunge at potential adopters did not go over well. She is much improved these days, but her issues will never fully go away. She still is a special dog and requires lots of stimulation and training. She is happy now, we still run every day and she still protects me from everyone. She is part of our little family and we couldn't be happier!

My Foster Dogs

When I lived in Kansas City, MO I fostered dogs through Wayside Waifs. I went in looking to take home adult dogs that had behavioral issues that were effecting their adopt-ability. I went through the foster application and a home visit.
I went into the facility looking for my first dog. The foster care manager did not know me yet and my only stipulation was that the dog couldn't be severely prey driven, because I had a cat at home. She had two dogs for me to look at, one was a hyper active larger dog and one was smaller, scared and had bit someone at the shelter. Being a little unsure of which to choose I decided to take the smaller of the two as my first ever foster dog. His name was Betwixt, he was about 40 lbs and most likely a border collie mix.

He was terrified of people. From what I understand the person he bit had been trying to get him out of his kennel and had cornered him in the back and reached for him. Due to that Betwixt had a bite on his record, which means all potential adopters would have to be told that he had bit someone. He turned out to be one of the best dogs I could imagine. I crate trained him and did some basic obedience to build his confidence. He was slow to warm up to new people, but once he did he was friendly and loving. He was the best dog park dog ever! He was so afraid of loosing me that he had the best recall.

He would play with the other dogs, but if they got too rough or I got too far away he would break away on his own and come find me. Due to his fear of people he would not approach any human on his own. When we were home and on walks I stopped every person I could to give him a treat. I would have them ask him to sit and then toss him the treat. I had all the little kids in the neighborhood do this too, but I wouldn't let them get any closer to him. One weekend after I had Betwixt for about 6 months he went to an adoption event on a Saturday while I was at work. He was adopted! I was told it was a family with kids and that he had loved the kids. I did talk to the owners briefly after they took him home. They said he wouldn't come out of his crate, which didn't surprise me, I had taught him his crate was a safe place and in a new home I imagine it was comforting to him. I hope that he is still doing well with his family.
My second and third foster dogs were only with me for about a month each.

Next was Neo, he didn't have any severe issues, he was just an overgrown puppy. He was mouthy, strong and rude! He jumped on people and grabbed them.So, we ran. A lot. He needed an outlet for his energy and that I could do. I crate trained him, as I did with all of them. The one issue with him was he could never get over trying to chase my cat. He was not allowed off leash in the house, so he never had the opportunity to chase the cat, but he still tried. Even after Johnny slapped him a few times, which had always been enough for the other dogs! They got into a fight one day while I was drinking my coffee and I dumped my coffee on my computer to get them apart. So ruined 1 laptop. We worked on his basic obedience and mostly just ran! He was adopted in about 3 weeks to an older couple with a big fenced in back yard.
Annie was next. She was a Shar Pei mix that had clearly had quite a few litters of puppies. She also hated to be touched or restrained. She had also bit someone at the shelter. She had no fur due to a skin issue when I got her.

She was a good dog, but the leash was an issue. She screamed every time the collar put any pressure on her neck. Or if you tried to restrain her at all. I worked with her desensitizing her to restraint and building her trust. She was adopted to a single mother and her older son. I explained to them Annie's issues and what I thought they should do to continue to work on them.

My only other rule for my foster care manager was that I would not put the dogs I had back into the shelter, I would keep them until they were adopted. When I still had Annie, the FCM called me and said she had a dog for me. I told her that I still had Annie, but I would take that dog as soon as Annie was adopted. She found Annie's family that day.
The FCM told me that "Patty Melt" would go to me or she would be euthanized. She said she would not trust anyone else with this dog. She explained to me that she had severe issues and was very aggressive to everyone. Patty Melt had managed to get herself into puppy quarantine where only one staffer could do anything with her. I dropped off Annie to her new family and came home with Patty Melt.

She growled at me the whole time. Someone had given her a stuffed blue dog toy and she carried that everywhere. She appears to be an Australian Shepherd. She was found on the street, starving, matted and weak. A nice couple had seen her in a Burger King parking lot, gone in and bought a burger, opened their hatch and thrown the burger into the car and she jumped in after it. They brought her to Wayside. She was in bad shape at first and terrified. They put her under anesthesia (which from what I understand was a chore in itself). She fought them with all of her energy. Once they got her under they decided to go ahead and do everything while they had her down. She had a dental, exam, vaccines and was spayed. I got her about 3 days after her surgery. They estimated she was between 4 and 6 years old. She was so aggressive that if I didn't take her she would have been euthanized.
After a year of training and meeting potential adopters it became clear her issues were too severe for most adopters. I adopted her after a year and 4 years later we couldn't be happier. She still is a special dog, but I am thankful every day I have her.

Response to Black Fish, from a Zoo Keeper

I guess the title should read former Zoo Keeper, but I still feel like a keeper. I love animals, every kind, I haven't met one I didn't like. Granted I'd had individuals that tried my patience, but don't we all?
I broke down and watched "Blackfish" which I knew would anger my keeper side. Surprisingly, it didn't upset me the way I expected. I expected yet another crack at captive animals (read: PETA). While it did have its low-blow moments what got me was the situations that the trainers were put in. Having worked at four AZA accredited zoos and aquariums, I have had my share of bad and good management. One thing that always bothered me was being told by the powers that be "you are replaceable" -especially when you are trying to stand up for what is best for your animals. That is what struck home the most about this documentary.
I watched the documentary and not much of it shocked me. Anyone who has worked in the zoo field (worked their way into it, these days) knows the 60 year old chimp who is the product of a "smash and grab". This is my way of referring to the old practice of killing the adult animals and taking the babies to be exhibit animals. Granted most of the chimps that age were once part of a department store window. SHOCKER- these animals were not necessarily taken from their wild places for a zoo. Now, this practice is not accepted by AZA accredited institutions. Not to say it doesn't happen, we all know money talks, so if some millionaire wants a baby whatever, chances are there is someone willing to get it for them. These days animals in Zoological institutions are kept genetically diverse by a very complex genetic mapping and match making set up, which for the sake of time, I will not get into.
Having been on the receiving end of some of Sea Worlds animals I can say I was not too impressed. However, this instance I am referencing was a good 18 years ago, and we all know how much things can change in that time. My one big qualm with Sea World has always been that it was a 'show'. However, most zoos and aquariums have been forced to move this direction due to the bottom line. That doesn't make them bad. Also, 10 years ago you could walk into a zoo, aquarium (or even Sea World) and get a job training lions, elephants or whales. I can't speak for Sea World (having no other contact than receiving one of their sea lions, oh so many years ago), but these days you cannot walk into a job at a respected institution doing those things. Anyone who has wanted to be a zoo keeper in the last 5ish years can vouch for that! Keepers are highly educated (quite a few have masters degrees) and ALL are required to have at least a bachelors degree in a science related field. These people working their asses off are probably smarter than you. Just sayin'
So, maybe at one point Sea World employees had no idea what they were getting into. I can imagine any new employee has done their research and knows the natural history of all the animals they are working with in and out. Just ask them.
What was most disturbing to me was the trainers feeling like they had no choice if they wanted to keep their job. I've been there. Spoken up only to be told to do it or someone else would (and take my job happily too!). The instance with Dawn, the trainer that was killed is a good example of this. From everything that her coworkers said about her, she seemed like an excellent trainer. She was in tune with her animals and understood behavior. However, on that day the whale had not been performing well and she felt pressure to put on a good show. WE HAVE ALL BEEN THERE. Makes you think twice, doesn't it? I cannot even begin to count how many times I was threatened with being replaced because I voiced my opinions or wanted to end a training session because the animal was having an off day (aren't we all allowed some of those?).  A few times I had to walk away and let someone else do it, or I am sure I would have been fired. Most of the things I had issues with were safety issues, and regulated by OSHA.. but how often does OSHA stop by..? Mostly these things were projects that there was no budget money to bring in professionals to build or create OR they were rash/ rush decisions by the Director (in my cases, someone who has never met the animals and only sees them for their exhibit value). Many times Directors have rushed animal introductions to each other or exhibits, refused to pay for exhibit repairs, even when direly needed, or forcing keepers to keep animals on exhibit in less than ideal conditions.
I wish that somehow keepers could feel more confident to make these issues known and actually be listened to (instead of being replaced). We might avoid more zoo and aquarium related injuries if someone took our concerns seriously. And took the decision making power away from the people only concerned about the bottom line.
As a parting thought (as my main rant is over), I do think AZA accredited zoos are necessary these days.  Without them research would be hindered, some species would be completely extinct (vs. extinct only in the wild- which in itself is no small thing!), and a valuable educational tool would be lost. I wish that humans were good enough to appreciate the ecosystem without ever having to see a few of its pieces in person, but for some reason we leave the believing to Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.