When I was preparing to go on the embed, the one thing I did not have to worry about was Jenny. Monty Sloan, the nature photographer, stepped up and offered immediately to keep her. Most canids seem to regard Monty as a deity, and he can do things to and with them that would get anyone else severely hurt. Canids fawn over him, and seem to delight in having him work with them—and Jenny had already benefited from his willingness to teach and train. Alicia, who shares the house with him, was a little less enthusiastic, but I also knew that she liked Jenny and had faith that Jenny would charm her. It also didn’t hurt that Alicia is not what I would call a slouch when it comes to working with animals either.
I’m not implying that Jenny was socially inept with other canids; nor do I hint that she needed some work in regards people either—I’m flat out stating it. I don’t know for sure what life she had before she was tossed out the car, but from watching and studying her body language and behaviors, it was what I would think was lacking. She is a compulsive kisser-upper, her minding behaviors have interesting gaps, throwing motions make her tuck and cringe, and getting in the car brought about what I will simply term extreme reluctance behaviors.
Over this last year, primarily with Monty, the social issues with canids and some of the other behaviors (or lack thereof) have been worked. Using suggestions from Monty and Pat, I worked on other things at home, with some positive results. One thing I decided early on was to take her in the car just on random errands, so that she would eventually realize that car trips didn’t mean getting tossed out, taken to the vet, or—worse yet from her viewpoint—the groomers (ICK!).
Jenny did adapt, and got where she loved to do certain things very much. Despite her previous life and some diffidence in displaying some emotions/behaviors, she also was quite willing to show certain things. Some of our earliest trips together, especially to the vet and groomers, resulted in her pointedly sitting in the passenger seat with her back to me, positively radiating waves of “I am NOT! happy with you!”
One other area where she didn’t hesitate to show how she felt was when it came to leaving somewhere. When it came to the vet and groomers, not even reinforced pressure-formed ferroconcrete could stand up to her. She had a range of behaviors, major and minor, that clearly indicated when she wanted to leave somewhere. From greeting, to response to the leash, they were clear as if sending up flares. Once displayed, that was the final word. I still laugh at the night when I went to pick her up from spending the day out with her boyfriend at Monty’s, and said boyfriend threw himself down in front of the front door in an effort to prevent her leaving (I should mention that Jenny is roughly 35 lbs and Chumley is roughly 125 lbs), and Jenny walked right over him with almost disdain as he had failed to keep the door from opening.
When I returned from Iraq earlier this week, I had asked Monty if Jenny could stay until the weekend as there were a number of things I needed to do (including rest a bit). It wasn’t a problem, so we waited. I knew Jenny had charmed them, and that things were going extremely well on several fronts for her and them.
I went out yesterday, and went in to see Jenny. She was happy to see me, but not her usual frantic “"get me out of here” mode. She loved on me a bit, but not heavily. Most importantly, she displayed none of her major ready-to-leave behaviors, and only one minor one—and that for a very brief time.
Yes, dogs can’t really understand questions and such, but I talked anyway. I told her that the choice was hers, and that it would be respected. I asked her what she wanted to do in as neutral a voice as I could manage, and after a moment she went and beat up on Chumley. The humans talked a bit, the dogs visited us and talked amongst themselves. I watched and observed her body language and behaviors. The dogs went into Monty’s room, and when Monty left soon after to go do Howl Night at Wolf Park, I too left and left Jenny to her new home.
There, she has two other dogs with whom to play and socialize, and two full-time humans who will love on her and give her attention when she wants and needs it. That house is also social central for much of the Wolf Park crowd, which means she will have a lot of interaction with other people and other animals (not just canids). The part of me that loves her and only wants the best for her is happy. That part knows that I can visit anytime and that she will remain a part of my life.
But I would be lying if I didn’t say that for the rest of me, it hurts.
LW
