This dog is NOT shy (Patty adventure Day 1)

So on Friday I get the following email:

In the endless march of canine lost causes, I have stumbled on another one in the Shelby County dog pound – she’s a maybe 2 year old (her general appearance is puppy less than 1yr but she has some tartar accumulation on her molars) Golden-size dog that strikes me as just that – a Golden retriever in a black coat. She does have a blue right eye but gives no appearance of Aussie/BC/Husky. She is in a horrible pound that is a stray-hold then euthanize facility in a rural area – no one to work with the dogs, they basically get food and water, don’t go outside, no windows or fans, kennels cramped and wet and soiled. This dog was running at large and doesn’t know about leashes and fights the collar and is just terrified when she comes out of the kennel – hits the ground and crawls, trying to get away to go back in the kennel or climb in to one of the dog houses – she wags her tail when people come near her kennel or are walking behind her letting her go back to the kennel but doesn’t seem to understand people being close or petting her – she doesn’t get nippy or anything, just shuts down and goes ‘inward’ or looks away with the 1000-yd stare…she is a gorgeous girl who needs lotta work – I don’t think she’s had ANYONE show her anything or introduce her to the world and I am impressed that she is that scared yet never even thinks about biting. Do you know anyone who would work with this kind of dog? She could be a very interesting project and I bet she’s incredibly sweet under all her insecurity. I’ve attached an of her …She’s in a super high kill shelter.

P.S. – she does have a full tail but her entire back end was soaked with….well, you know, shelter yuck that she is sitting in in her kennel. Lovely.

Most dog people receive at least one such email per week. But somehow this felt different, I loaded a plastic crate in my car and drove the 1.5 hours to Shelbyville. The animal control holding facility was something out of a nightmare, the sight, sound, and smell of it haunt me still.

The black golden mix in question ran to greet us at the kennel door, and than valiantly fought the collar being placed around her neck, and the leash being clipped to it. She fought in a sincere and determined, gentle and non-aggressive way. But it was with leaving her kennel that she took real issue. She dug her nails into the concrete floor, put her whole body weight into the collar and fought to return to her kennel. Dragging her out into the pleasant spring sun onto the soft green grass only strengthened her resolve, and now she was panicking in earnest she tried to back out of her collar, she threw all her weight into it and frantically shock her head. When she felt tension on the leash she pasted her whole body onto the ground a glazed look would fill her eyes. Fear? Avoidance? Submission? Shut-down? She tried desperately to make it back into that dirty small kennel. "You know there is something wrong with a dog that would rather be in there" the police officer with me observed. My only question was "would she take a treat?" I had brought just the thing, ultimate temptation: sausage. I held the sausage out to her and for a brief instance she stopped smelled it and than ate it out of my hand with a mouth as soft as any pedigree gun dog, the moment ended and she resumed her fight. But Now I KNEW: (1) she was not shy (no shy dog greets strangers at a kennel door) and (2) I could work with her (though the road we will travel will be a long one...I had seen a glimmer of hope).

Within minutes we had her loaded into the crate in my car and she and I were on our way home. She peed in the crate at least twice and pooped too....I drove all the way home with the windows down.