Blast from the Past

It’s been six months since my husband and I brought Lance home from DVGRR to live in our house.  If you are wondering who Lance is, please go back and read previous blogs that I have written.  In short, his original name was Avalanche and he came to us from a Virginia Golden rescue in November 2009.  Prior to the Virginia rescue, he was owned by a woman who hoarded animals.  She had him for 5 years, tied outside on her property to an old crate that sat under a tarp or tent.  He was completely feral and unsocialized when he showed up at DVGRR and we weren’t quite sure where to start with him.  Slowly, with much patience from our dedicated staff, he made verrrry gradual progress, but progress none the less.  In May of 2010, I decided to have him visit my house to sleep over… and one thing led to another and he has been part of our family ever since.

Lance has really grown, playfully and confidently, since coming to live with us.  He greatly feared my husband in the beginning and I can’t say it’s perfect now, but it’s better.  My husband really has to work to gain his trust – by that I mean he has been working to have Lance approach him to accept tasty treats (Lance prefers popcorn and goldfish crackers and has been known to bark repeatedly for them!).  At first, Lance would not lay down in the same room as my husband.  But now, he will come into the room and chew on a toy or bone and appears relaxed.  Oh, and in times of trouble such as thunderstorms, if I’m not home, Lance will stick to my husband’s side like glue.

Lance’s trust in me is really a miracle in my eyes.  When this dog came to DVGRR, he wouldn’t let anyone touch him.  He would run away from us if we even looked at him… Some dogs, even when they keep their distance from us if they are fearful of people, have a look in their eye that we can tell they really want to approach us, but they’re just too scared.  Well, Lance didn’t have this look.  He just wanted us to go away and leave him alone.  He was accustomed to isolation and that’s what he preferred.  He was a very scared boy.

Presently, he now loves to have his butt scratched and performs what I call the “Lance Dance”!  He gives me kisses on my face and jumps in the bed every morning  to wake me up.  I think he is saying, “it’s party time!”  He loves to go for walks and enjoys playing with toys… lots of toys!  He has really become quite a funny character and literally makes me laugh out loud every single day.  What kind of people would we be without our dogs?    It has been a process that has taken a lot of patience and unconditional love to make it to this point.  I can’t wait to see what he will be like next year at this time.

L - R: Sami (a former puppy mill breeder dog), Lance, Jilly & Satchel.

What Lance loves most is being outside.  So much that I have trouble getting him to come back into the house, even for a meal!  For one, he’s a little hunter.  Squirrels, rabbits, toads & chipmunks beware!  I would not doubt that he would attempt to hunt down a deer if he had the chance (much to the chagrin of his mother…)  Because of his ability to walk well on a leash and because of his love of the outdoors, I finally decided to take him on a hike at the Middlecreek Wildlife Preserve near where we live.  Satchel, one of our other dogs and an experienced hiker, went along as well.  Lance was so excited on the way there, he was watching intently out the window of the car.  When we arrived, he jumped out of the car and with his tail wagging I think he said, “Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!”

Start of the hike and I'm not nervous at all!

He and Satchel sniffed out the leafy trail walking over rocks, hurdling logs and streams, mastering wooden bridge paths and successfully got his paws completely muddy (as well as mine).  We followed the trail down to the lake where he did not hesitate a bit to jump right in.  I wished I had brought a longer leash or a flexi-lead so he could have swam, but I had no idea he was going to enjoy himself as deeply as he had.

It's hard for me to think of life without Lance and what opportunities he would have missed if he wasn't rescued by DVGRR.

"Look ma! I'm in the water and it feels so good!"

The only issue we ran into was when other hikers would pass by.  He’s still not at the point where he will trust strangers.  He would quickly dart past them and then keep looking behind him to make sure they weren’t following us.  But I believe the more we get out there and experience these situations, the more he will adapt.  All in all, I was so proud of Lance’s accomplishment and wanted to share it with all of you.

"End of the hike and I'm tired. But do we really have to go home?"

So if you have a dog, and not just a shy or fearful dog, but any dog – if they have plateaued in their training or appear bored – attempt something new!  Give them an exciting new experience.  Play a different type of game, make homemade dog biscuits or if they get along with other dogs – take them to a dog park or a friend’s house who has dog-friendly dogs.  Someone once said variety is the spice of life and I think that holds true for our canine companions.

Just a side note that DVGRR’s Project Home Life program is featured on page 23 of the January 2011 copy of Dog Fancy magazine.  We are honored to be included in such a great publication!