We got a text from Husband's now brother-in-law saying "do you want a dog" with a picture of a 70lb puppy with her stupid head and bright eyes hanging out the window. The brother-in-law works for the county as animal control and frequently gets wild dogs, reserve dogs, and runaways on the job. About a dog a week, but this one was different.
She still had her puppy fur, loved to sit on feet, got along with his other dog in the vehicle, learned simple commands within a day, and just seemed far too sweet just to take to the shelter. She has heterochromia (one blue eye and one yellow eye) and she's a gorgeous dog. It really would have been a shame to not give her the proper start in life that she needed.
She likely wandered off the nearby reserve, packed up with another wild dog (a 3 year old, give or take, Husky/Shepherd mix), and was picked up by the brother-in-law on the job. Brother-in-law got a call about two dogs chasing horses and livestock out in the county and they were deemed nuisance animals. When caught, they would be taken to shelter, and likely be put down due to being wild dogs that were attacking livestock in the area. The older dog got taken to shelter, but the puppy was different. Yes, she was a nuisance animal, but she had potential to be rehomed if he did it within family and friends and didn't take her to the shelter.
I cannot stress enough that if we did not take her, she would most likely get put down immediately without even so much as a temperament test or a short shelter stay to see if anyone would be interested. The unfortunately reality is that nuisance animals that end up in shelters where I am, especially those that come off the reserve, are dealt with extreme prejudice. Of course, that is for good reason. The dogs that wander off and attack livestock are generally the ones that are high drive, have been wild for years, are extremely under-socialized with other dogs and humans, and would be too costly to the shelters/adoption agencies to rehabilitate and rehome.
We were crazy enough to go meet her and she was in the backseat of our car hours later. Rehabilitation was a journey with her because she was under-socialized. We're still working through leash reactivity with her, but it's probably 90% better than what she started with a year and a half ago.
When she started with us, she was jumping up and biting me all the way up to the neck and shoulders. She would even go after my hair, even if it was up in a bun. I was covered in lacerations and bruises for the first six months. We had a trainer involved with her weekly and still do group classes occasionally. I'm still constantly training with her. Because she's half Husky, she's super stubborn, easily distracted, and very hard to train solid recall on. She still struggles on a few things, but by and far, she has come a long way from being a wild, bitey, nuisance animal. She's now a... spicy house dog.
Also, DNA test says that she's half husky, about 1/3rd lab, and the rest is pitbull. Those are extremely common breeds on the reserve, which makes complete sense. They tend to interbreed often so percentages can be weird.
Obligatory dog picture, of course.
2. After 10 years of being a mod, I quit to focus on my career and my family. The dog takes so much time and energy away from Gaia, and it makes me really sad that I'm not around as much anymore.
3. After 7 years of teaching, I'm finally on a probationary teaching contract. That means hopefully by the end of next year, I should have my continuing contract. Teaching in my area is ridiculous to try to find something stable and permanent.
