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Taryn and Emily Emily was about 2
years old when we found her in November 2001 wandering near collapse.
She was literally skin and bone with most of her fur having fallen out
due to severe mange. It did not take us long to get hold of her and get
her into the back of the car. She offered no resistance – it was like
she had simply given up.
Our first thought was to phone TEARS, (The Emma Animal Rescue Society)
as we felt that they were the best people to help. We were advised to
take her straight to St Francis veterinary clinic, where she stayed for
one week receiving excellent veterinary care. We then took her home and
tried to introduce her to a normal life.
By that stage TEARS had managed to confirm that Emily was a dog in a
case that they had been called out to investigate, as the neighbours had
reported her being beaten regularly and living in appalling conditions.
It seemed that somehow the owners got wind of the situation and dumped
her before TEARS arrived. Everything that we saw confirmed this
story, as Emily was absolutely terrified of everything. For the first
few days she did not wag her stump of a tail even once. She simply sat
in a corner on an old blanket we had given her and watched the world
with wary eyes.
The first contact she made with me was on the third day: I was sitting
quietly on the floor nearby wondering how on earth to begin to bond with
this poor, abused creature, when she slowly crawled towards me. She got
close enough to rest her head on my lap and then just lay there. From
that moment things started to change. I noticed a sort of contentment
come over her when I patted her or tried to brush all the mangy scale
from her skin. She would almost melt at a gentle touch and never seemed
to grow tired of affection.
However, Emily had many behavioural problems: She would run away if you
picked up any object in your hand, vomit if she went in the car, bark
and spin circles if the telephone rang, steal food at every opportunity,
escape from the property to try to find us if we went out, snap if she
was cornered by a stranger and she even tended to want to “rescue”
floating things from water (including a little boy whom she hauled out
of the lagoon by his T-shirt!). All in all life with Emily was not easy
and we knew that there was lots of work to be done.
As soon as possible, before her fur had even grown back, I started
taking Emily along to training classes. Emily thrived on the positive
training techniques that we employ at the club and her confidence
started to grow. With reward training (particularly the clicker method),
Emily began to realise that she did have some control over what happened
to her i.e. she could make good things happen (praise and treats) by
performing certain exercises. Gradually she stopped behaving like a
helpless victim and started trying all sorts of things to see what
wonderful rewards she could get out of me. As people at the club made a
fuss of her and fed her, she began to view new people in a positive
light and was soon good at soliciting affection and treats from almost
everybody!
Emily progressed so quickly after that, that in July 2001 she achieved
her “Canine Good Citizen Certificate” and went on over the next few
years to win several rosettes in obedience competitions. Emily has
become a dog that enjoys life to the full: she loves being patted by all
people, is completely ball-mad, plays enthusiastically with other dogs
and is completely devoted to her “mommy”. She has become the most
easy-going and well-behaved dog we have ever had!
Because of Emily’s sweet and gentle nature, as well as her love of
affection, I decided in 2005 to have her assessed as a “Pets As Therapy”
dog. She passed the test with flying colours and now visits Carlisle
Lodge and Ocean View School for Learners with Special Needs. Emily loves
her new job and she is a great hit with the older folk and children
alike!
Emily is truly a rescued dog success story – we often whisper in her ear
that she is the best dog in the world, ever! |
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