Gabriela - Part Two

Gabriela was loaded into the back of a truck, with the toys and collar we had bought for her and I drove away in tears.  Oh my god!  I had just "returned" a living creature, something I never thought I'd do.  We thought it really was for the best, for us and for her.  No matter what I was thinking in my head, I was heartbroken.  


A week went by and I had an art show coming up.  But little Gabby stayed in our hearts and on our minds.  Gracie and Eugene didn't seem to care on iota, but Ernie and I certainly realized how much she had imprinted on us.  After much discussion, the same Saturday I was in my booth at the art show, Ernie made arrangements to bring Gabby home again.  Obviously this time she stayed.  

How cute can you possibly be?  This is our little gal at 4 months old.  

Gabby was a happy, exuberant puppy who played until she crashed.  She loved the Big Dogs (although they weren't as tickled with her completely inappropriate behavior.)  She seemed to do fine with animals, adults, children.  Our only issue was her energy level and learning how to deal with her.  

Here Gabby is watching Eugene watch the squirrels.  Eugene is a great example for her. 
She would curl up with Eugene every chance she had.  Still will, if he allows it. 

Something, somewhere along the way happened and Gabby evolved into a frightened little dog.  She began to run from friends, feared strangers, shook and manically circled around the house, disappeared upstairs into her crate and just hated anything out of the ordinary.  We attributed it to her hound personality and energy.  We eventually took the crate away, and I sometimes would leash her when friends came in, to prevent the circling behavior and to allow her to be with us and see no harm would come to her.  She absolutely despises car rides and although Ernie would drive her weekly to the park to run, she never could enjoy it because of the rides.  She couldn't wait to get back home and Ernie just gave up having another running buddy.  

So about a month ago, after reading about a trainer in Richmond who sounded just like someone I'd trust, I decided it was time to deal with Gabby's issues.  She is now 4 and I can't imagine her continuing to live in fear of the unknown for the rest of her life.  I called Jenn Kyzer, of Dog Talk in Richmond.  And Gabriela is on the road to a new way of being.   

Next post:  Gabriela's transformation begins.  

Gabriela - Part One

Gabriela, or Gabby to us, is our little Clown Hound.  She is a beautiful girl dog, who wears a one-sleeved sweater draped coyly around her body.  We were told she was a beagle - lab mix, but as she grew taller with her slender face, I decided rightly or wrongly, that she is Fox Hound and lab.  Her litter mates, except the one that looked like her, all resembled labs and she has webbed toes. Otherwise, we'd have no clue.  

Gabby came home with me one day after I went to adopt another dog from a local rescue group. The other dog was larger and I thought more suited to our household and Eugene, whose companion he'd likely become, since Gracie was aging early and had begun showing signs of her legs giving up.  So, I waited for the foster mom and the dog I was to meet when it was mentioned by my contact with this rescue group that she had the cutest pup from a littler she was fostering in the back of her truck. This little girl pup was on the way back to her littermates after having been spayed.  At 4 months old, what I MET was a frightened, drooling, timid little hound. (What I BROUGHT HOME was another creature entirely!)   I took her out of the truck and walked around with her a bit, hoping to ease her fears and distract her.  Well, I fell in love.  Again.  


On a side note here:  I truly believe that if we open our hearts and minds, our furry companions come to us when the Universe decides it's time.  


So, I adopted Gabby after spending an hour with her and the other dog didn't show until I had finished with the papers for Gabby.  Home we went, fresh stitches and all.  I thought she'd be good with our dogs and she reminded me a little of our recently deceased Gus.  Another hound mix.  Gus was a great, quiet and peaceful dog.  


My husband chose the name Gabriela, but my friend Polly says it's because Gabby herself "told" him that was her name.  Polly is an animal communicator.  


So here's what happened in the next two days.  Gabby crawled under chairs and tables, and was fairly meek as she met the big kids. She was very submissive as the older dogs sniffed and introduced themselves.  We kept her safe (stitches!) and in her crate much of the rest of the first day.  The next day Gabby "wilded-out" on us.  She was all over the other two dogs, had crazy energy, and was so silly and fun.  She wore us out.  THEN, she wouldn't leave Eugene alone.  Gracie couldn't stand her energy (ha, ironic!) and Eugene didn't know what to do.  He kept looking at me asking "why?"  So we reluctantly called my contact and told her we didn't think she was the right fit for our household.  It broke our hearts, but Eugene was becoming aggressive with her, Gracie already was aggressive with her and Gabby didn't seem to understand "no" in dog language, much less human language.  I had art shows coming up and we didn't think it would be fair or safe to keep her.  We wanted her in the right home as much as we wanted to keep her.  


On the 3rd day, I crated Gabby and put her in the van, met my contact and sent her back to her foster home and siblings.  

Eugene

The last post was supposed to be a blog about dog training and my little "beagle on stilts" Gabriela.  But once I began talking about Gracie, the post took it's own path, so I went with what was apparently on my mind.  


So I'll continue and segue my way towards Gabby.  

Eugene is our 2nd dogchild.  He is a huge mass of hairy mutt with the biggest head you could possibly fit onto his body.  His droopy eyes are so sweet and friendly.  He's the Mama's Boy in the family and we're bonded together pretty tightly.  I've painted him most often.  


Eugene was a rescue from the pound, aka Chesapeake Animal Control.  I decided we needed another pup for Gracie to play with and keep company, due to her high level of energy. (Boy was I on the wrong track.  Gracie didn't need ANY dog to keep her company.  She managed quite nicely to handle life as a loner.)   He looked a lot like her at first;  same coloring, long hair.  He sat in the rear of his cage and I went home in tears after my first visit.  The next day I went back and had the keepers bring him to me.  Poor thing.  He was literally dragged down the hallway as he wouldn't budge willingly.  He wouldn't lift his head, he was so afraid he tried to become the floor.  I straddled him (something I'd never do again to a dog) to pet him.  He lifted up his head and tried to greet me as best he could.  That did it.  I knew he would come home with me, but first I had to bring all the other kids out to meet him and see how they got along.  Since he sat in the rear of the small yard, and showed no sign of aggression, it was decided.  


Poor fella was afraid of everything.  I would stand in our driveway, leash attached to us both and walk to the end.  He'd sit.  I'd sit.  He'd finally stroll down to me and sit again.  I stood.  Walked to the end of the leash.  and wait.  Repeat.  I believe the first walk to the end of our driveway took nearly an hour.   


Same thing with the car.  Deathly afraid.  I'd put him in, drive down to the cul de sac about 4 houses away.  Come home.  Repeat.  Slowly adding in more mileage, I did this every day.  

Finally we were able to enroll him in puppy school.  Did Eugene blossom.  Wow.  Everyone loved (and loves) Eugene.  He was the perfect student.  Worked for praise.  He was so awesome our trainer suggested we consider training him for therapy work.  So I did.  
Eugene worked as a therapy dog for about 4 years, until I became too busy to continue.   He was an amazing therapy dog and still thinks his job is to greet everyone and offer his back for a rub.  Yet he'll protect me in a heartbeat.  I could go on with stories from his therapy visits, but that is not where I'm headed with these posts.  


Eugene is now 10 years old.  He is the poster boy for puppy school and what love and patience can bring to a fearful animal.  I don't know what happened during his first 6 months of life, and I think he still has bad dreams sometimes, but it's hard to fathom what he was compared to the awesome fellow he became.   (Thanks P.J. and Lisa Marie!)  

Gracie.

I must say we've been blessed with wonderful furkids.  I've rarely had a problem with any of my dogs....the worst has been my old lady Gracie and her incessant barking, which has never let up since she was a young dog.  She likes to tell us everything that is happening, and make her presence known.  To everyone.  All the time.  


Gracie is half collie, half black lab and is a strikingly beautiful animal.  She came to us by way of a student of mine in 1996 at the age of 6 weeks.  By 8 weeks old we knew she'd be a handful and by 10 weeks, we realized we'd be taking our first dog to puppy school.  Gracie is an alpha dog, and not a very good one, but alpha nonetheless.  So we had to get some of her assertive behaviors under control, teach her acceptable behavior around our other two dogs at the time (Gus and Shadow) and we had to open our own minds to "learning dog."

Gracie is very intelligent and learned quickly.  She also was smart enough to look at us like we were nuts when we asked her to do something repeatedly.  It was like she was saying, "...duh, did you guys not see me do that the first time?  How many times must I sit and stay, already?"  Gracie is a mix of two working breeds, so we needed to get her a job, to stimulate her mind and deal with her energy.  We introduced her to agility and she was a natural.  Learned instantly, was very fast, but unfortunately got bored easily.  (again, did we not see her do that once already?)  She wasn't fond of other dogs, either.  She's always been a bit of a lone wolf, so to speak.  


However, Gracie loved to run.  Like the wind.  We'd take her to the school a few blocks from our house and let her go inside the fenced area.  She'd just take off, alone, and run like crazy.  We'd watch in amazement and sometimes have to corral her, to make sure she wouldn't bolt out of one of the gates.  Eventually Ernie began taking her on his runs and they'd easily put in six miles.  You know who came back exhausted and it wasn't the dog!  Gracie was then, and still is, an amazing animal.  


Sadly, Gracie is losing the use of her legs.  We've seen it slowly coming on these past few years, but the last few weeks her decline has accelerated exponentially.  We've done all we know that we can - provided supplements, fed her homemade and holistic foods, kept her on pain medication and other meds to combat her arthritis.  Exercised her and kept her weight down.  Visited the vet, used laser treatments and acupuncture.  But now it seems her age and her high-test personality are going to get the better of her.  Which is awful, because she is alert, eats relatively well and wants to be included in our activities.  She sees and hears well, still.  

Gracie is a Daddy's girl and I know Ernie is struggling mightily with the inevitable.  To watch his beloved running buddy lose her legs, of all things, is heart wrenching.  We plan to help her in any way we can until she is ready to leave her body.  We don't know what that means, exactly, but we adopted her for the long haul.  Right now, she insists on doing as much without assistance as possible.  She's not ready to say goodbye yet, and neither are we. 

Update on A New Direction

When I held a group painting event in my backyard in June, I began a huge painting of sheepdogs.  This was playtime for me, so I figured I'd piddle around with some of the "toys" I've been gathering for the past few years.  

 I added thickener to my acrylics and used knives to apply the gooey paint.  It's probably one of the loosest beginnings I've done in many years.  I loved it going on so fast.  


Two days later, I went into the studio and began adjusting. 

Now I had something to build upon.  Using a combination of knives and brushes, the painting began to take shape. 

Here I need to deal with some compositional issues...one dog is falling off the canvas and there is too much space on the other side.  I'm not about to repaint all three dogs and lose the spontaneity - I'll lose enough of that as it is.  So I need to balance the darks I think.  After a few more versions you won't see, here is the current painting.  

Since I'm working on this inbetween other paintings, it may be awhile before I resolve this one, but I'm very happy with the direction it's now taking.  It may be dogs, but it's a very different application and approach than in my previous work.   Fun.   Fun, fun.   

Animal Rescue

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" ~Gandhi (1869-1948)

I am a huge fan of animal rescue.  All of my pets are rescues and have been since I was 20 years old.  I think people who do rescue are the angels of the world, watching after creatures who are abused and forgotten.  Their work is without end, can be heartbreaking and is often without recognition or understanding.  It makes me furious and sad whenever I read some foolish person comment about someone caring for non-human animals more than people.  As if humans are the only animal worthy.  

So my recent experience has left me not only baffled, but cautious.  

When my pet painting business exploded with requests, I felt like I needed to give back.  For me, that was by donating to rescue, since most rescue groups are entirely volunteer and usually need every bit of monetary help they can get.  Volunteers are usually not hard to find, but money is.  So I created a calendar and donated proceeds from the sales to a group called BARK.  I also choose a special case each year to help - usually an animal that needs surgery and if saved, will have a chance at a normal life.  I've also donated portions of some of my sales to various groups if they sponsor an event in which I am participating and I've donated countless paintings for auction benefits over the years. I don't do this for accolades or attention, so most people don't (until now) even know about my chosen philanthropy.  All I've ever asked for is acknowledgment my donation was received and sometimes I ask how funds are used or how much a painting brought at auction.  This helps me gauge which group to continue giving to and for business reasons, how my work is valued. 

I learned in February of a dog that needed surgery and a rescue group needed funds to pay for it.  The email arrived from a friend, so I trusted it.   Perfect.  Exactly the kind of project I try to support.  I emailed the contact and was put in touch with the president of the rescue organization.  I then made arrangements to pay the balance of the medical fee. My check was mailed in March.  By May, my check had not been cashed so I contacted the president to see if my check had been received.  I thought it was lost and I'd need to stop the check and reissue a new one.  But the president did not return my email, or phone call, or any subsequent attempt to reach her.  By June, I had attempted to find out what happened on numerous occasions, but still no contact.  I was being ignored. Or this person is rude.   Or maybe too busy, or maybe in over her head.  I have no clue.  But I began to worry less about the cause and more about my check floating around out there. 

I could not find anyone connected with this rescue group other than the president.  No board members, no national affiliation, no other phone numbers, and apparently all emails went to this one person.  The website is completely void of identifying information.  This caused all of my alarms to go off and I began to think I'd been scammed. I found the name of the person who originated the email asking for help and this person did respond to me right away.  As a matter of fact, she was able to get through to the person I'd been trying to reach very quickly and I was assured that my check had been received, but not yet cashed.  Hmmmm....so what is going on? Was the kind person originating the email being scammed, too?  Why would a rescue group not cash a donation check? Was there even a "group," or is this just one person? Will my check be used to pay a salary?  Will it be used fraudulently? Will they steal my account number and make a fake account?   Why is this president avoiding me, since we've never met and all I have requested is some acknowledgement that my check is, or is not, in her possession?  I don't know any rescue group that has enough income that they can afford to let donations sit around on a desk. I have no way of knowing what is happening. 

As you probably figured out,  I gave up.  For the first time ever, I went to my bank and reluctantly put a stop to my check.  I will donate the equivalent in funds to another group.  If the president of that group is indeed all about rescue, she should rethink how she responds to generous donors and how she is running her organization.  Her reluctance to answer a simple question has led me to have serious doubts.  A rescue organization can ill afford to have potential donors questioning its validity.  I've been assured that the little dog received surgery and is in a good home.  I don't even know for sure if the little dog ever existed.  

I will be much more cautious about all organizations that purport to be in rescue for the good of the animals, before I donate a single penny.