 |
| Running With Pacer And Lilly |
I adopted Pacer two months ago when I lost my dog
Tigger. Tigger was my first dog as an
adult and boy he was the most loyal dog anyone could have had. I was devastated and coped with my loss my
getting another dog right away. I have
always ran with my dogs so I wanted a dog that would hopefully be a good
running partner. Since I volunteer at
the local no-kill shelter, where I run dogs there, I had a plenty of
options. A few days after I lost Tigger
this terrified, skinny mixed breed mutt became available for adoption at the
Nevada SPCA. I was volunteering
Thanksgiving Day and I went to her kennel to meet her. She tried to hide in the corner of the kennel
to get away from me or anyone. As I
walked toward her trying to leash her she was shaking uncontrollably. I got her on the leash and took her outside
and she still was terrified. She was a
medium size mixed breed most likely a hound type or some sporting breed. I thought that if she could overcome her fear she would be an
ideal pup to be my running buddy. The
next day I came back with my two dogs to meet her. The meeting was uneventful and she still
seemed very timid. She was very
underweight and she was 10 months old. I
decided to take her home, it was her adoptable birthday the day after
Thanksgiving. She perked up a little bit
when she got into my house and was still shy but not as bad as she was at the
shelter.
The first few times we went for a walk or a run she was
terrified to be outside. It was like everything was new to her and I don’t think
her previous owner had introduced her to anything during her short life. She was always looking around worried and any
loud sounds really freaked her out. Cars
scared her, barking dogs scared her, motorcycles terrified her, and people
scared her. She didn’t want to sniff
anything, she just wanted to get back to the safety of the house. We would see birds, chipmunks and rabbits on
our walk and my other dog was always curious.
Pacer seemed uninterested and only wanted to get home. I was surprised because I thought she was a
sporting breed and would instinctively be interested in these critters.
 |
| Tigger The Love Of My Life |
 |
| At Bootcamp |
Each walk and each run she slowly started to notice things
dogs notice and she was losing her fear of the world. It’s now been two months and she doesn’t seem
afraid of much on our runs. She loves to
run and is relaxed and calm when we are running and she is always looking for
critters on our runs and walks. She has
gained a tremendous amount of confidence in just 2 months. She is still afraid of new people so
introductions have to be done very carefully.
In the evenings she is a clinger and loves to be right by my
side and when we sleep she has to be touching me. She’s become such a love I am so happy I
found her. She is probably the most
athletic dog I have had. She can run 8
miles and still have energy to burn. In
researching the type of hound she may be I think she might be an English
Foxhound. These dogs are tireless and
full of energy just like her. She has a
lot of the characteristics physically and in her personality of a Foxhound.
I am always amazed when someone wants to get a puppy and do
not do their research. The man who
dumped her at the shelter said he didn’t have time for her and didn’t want her
anymore. He was overwhelmed and I can
understand but unfortunately he didn’t do his research before getting a cute
little puppy. She is the type of dog
that needs a very active family or she will be destructive and become
uncontrollable. That is just what
happened with her and he didn’t socialize her with people or pets for the 10
months that he had her.
She is making huge strides and will be a great companion for
us. Right now she can be a pest if she
hasn’t had adequate exercise. I run her regularly, play ball with her, and take
her to bootcamp. When we run her head is
high and mouth is relaxed, ears are back and she’s focused on the job of
running. She loveswe4r5c it and I love
having her with me!
No comments:
Post a Comment