Petey’s
story (6/17/08):
Hi, my name is Petey! I’ve been in rescue since the end of April. I
was hanging out at an apartment complex surviving the best I could.
It was scary when my foster dad threw a blanket over me to catch me
when I was lying against the air conditioner unit, minding my own
business. I don’t like blankets like Linus (of Peanuts) does. It was
not fun. I went into a box and then went for a ride......
Foster mom & dad’s story:
We first learned of Petey’s existence from a lady who also does
rescue and had been trying to corral him for several days but wasn’t
able to. She told us that kids in the apartment complex were
shooting at him with bb guns. He had to be terrified when we
captured him by throwing a blanket over his head while he was
cornered. He went into the crate we had ready to hold him as if it
was a safe place.
Petey had no collar and smelled horrible. We thought it was because
he needed a bath but soon found out his teeth were in terrible shape
and were the cause of the smell. We immediately took him to our vet
to have him scanned for a microchip but he didn't have one. No one
came forward to claim Petey (after we placed an ad for several days)
so we proceeded to have him altered and has his teeth taken care of.
Poor guy also had a large growth on his nose, which was removed (and
found to be benign).
Petey’s story continues…..
My foster mom and dad told me that my former home wasn’t where I was
meant to live. They have been trying to tell me that I am safe now
and some people can be trusted and won’t hurt me. I like my new home
pretty well. The one girl dog doesn’t like me much but the boy
Sheltie wants me to be his friend. There's another dog who likes to
chew on my bone after I lick the peanut butter out. She mostly
ignores me.
I’ve
gone to school a couple of nights and loved it. All I have to do is
listen and I get wonderful smelly treats!! I think we’re going back
soon. Foster mom and dad keep trying to tell me that this isn’t my
forever home but I think they’re wrong. Who could possibly accept me
like they do with my fears and mistrust of people????
Foster mom & dad:
Petey needs a predictable environment where he can learn to trust
people again and come to believe we humans aren’t all bad. Petey
needs a home with adults and older children who understand they need
to move slowly towards him, give him space and lots of love,
acceptance and patience.
Petey is housebroken and gets along with other dogs and the family
cat. He only goes outside with the fur kid pack or humans. He is
coming out of his shell and hanging close to the family more. When
stressed or scared, he retreats to his crate. Petey gets a little
anxious when a family member leaves the house but is distracted by a
peanut butter filled bone in his crate. Petey is giving kisses and
loves scratches. He has learned to tolerate brushing but definitely
lets you know when he has had enough.
Petey is a barker, especially at meal times. He is learning that
barking means the meal preparation stops until he remains quiet.
Petey can’t maneuver steps. We got him to come down the steps once
but it was a very long process. He is very smart and we’re sure that
with patience and time, he will learn to travel up and down stairs.
Please consider making Petey an addition to your family. Once he
learns to trust you, he will love you forever…………..oh and check back
for new photos. The side view doesn't do Petey justice (it's from
his second day in rescue). He is quite the handsome fellow now!
6/29/08 Update
Petey went to a Speck's (pet supply store) yesterday which was his
first SRCI outing. He did really well for his first time at an
event. He stayed in his crate most of the time but came out on
several occasions for short periods of time and even sniffed a man
sitting on the floor visiting with the other Shelties. He let
another man know he was getting anxious and the man backed off.
Petey rides well in the car but has trouble getting out of the car
on his own.
Petey's periods of anxiety are becoming less frequent. Petey's
forever family will need to be patient, and give him a lot of space
and time for him to trust them. He has come a long way since he came
into rescue 8 weeks ago. Petey continues to learn and do well at his
positive training obedience class. Petey is smart and catches on
quickly. He does well with the other dogs in class. It has been a
great bonding experience with him.
Petey is sensitive to brushing like some dogs and lets you know he's
done. He lets us wipe his feet at the door when he comes in but
requires patience to do his back paws. Sometimes he just sits down
so you can't get to them. Petey also loves to go for walks but is
still getting comfortable exploring the back yard. Please continue
to check back for updates on this blossoming boy
Update
8/27/08
It’s hard to believe Petey has been with us 4 months this past
Saturday! He is feeling more comfortable with us than we thought
possible. He sometimes wakes us in the morning with a sort of whine
and we think he’s letting us know he has to go “potty”. He is still
joining in with the pack and barking when we come home and at meal
times. He knows if he barks, the feeding process stops. He is very
smart and will try to convince you he’s the boss by barking. When we
ignore him and turn away from him, he realizes he will not get his
way and stops barking.
Petey now likes to be brushed and has started rolling over on his
side to have his belly scratched. We have learned his signals (first
a look, then a raised lip……) when he wants us to stop brushing –
either because we pulled his hair or he’s just done with the whole
business of brushing.
Petey still does not come upstairs and sleeps on the main level by
himself. Petey has come a long way since we rescued him from living
outside of an apartment building with kids shooting at him with bb
guns. He still has a long way to go. Whoever adopts him must
understand he will not trust immediately but in time, will come to
learn to trust his new family.
Once at an event, we couldn’t get him to come out of the car. Only
when his foster mom sat on the ground beside the open car door and
coaxed him to come to her, did he finally walk down her legs (she
then had to lay down on the asphalt to finish the process) and get
out of the car! He travels well in the car and likes to ride in his
crate. Petey must have a crate in his new home. This is his security
blanket and place he goes when feeling anxious. We still believe
that a positive reinforcement class would go a long ways in
fostering the bond between Petey and his new family. Petey does well
with eye contact, scratches, walking on a leash, sit and shake.
Petey will be a loyal dog who will hang out with you and come to you
for scratches once he has learned he can trust you. He does show
excitement to see us and plays with our male sheltie every now and
then. He is OK with human visitors and even lets them scratch him if
they move slowly and don’t come at him. Petey needs a family to love
him unconditionally and accept him as he is now with no
expectations. His foster mom thinks he will continue to
blossom…………in his time.
Update 10/28/08
Hi everyone! Thanks for checking back. I recently went to a macho
spa and returned to my foster home a new handsomer furkid!!!. Foster
mom and dad said I was a little too close for this picture but I
kind of like it, don’t you? Hey everybody, can you see me??????
I
now sleep upstairs with the rest of the family. Dad carries me up in
my crate but I can come down by myself even if I am a little on the
cautious side. Sometimes I need a little encouragement. Foster mom
and dad are still encouraging me and even trying to bribe me to go
up…….but I’m just not sure I can do it. I did one step and that was
just too much for me.
I went to the Speck’s again on the west side for show and tell. I
still don’t like the people moving so fast and reaching to pet my
head. I don’t think I was supposed to snap at people but they scared
me. How can I tell they won’t hurt me? If you are patient, very
understanding and looking for a Sheltie just to hang out with, you
might just be my new forever family. Won’t you please give me a
chance?
Summary of Petey’s History
Petey has been in rescue since the end of April 2008. He was rescued
at an apartment complex surviving the best he could. We were told
kids were shooting at him with BB guns. We don’t know anything else
about him. Petey responded to his obvious mistrust of people by
growling and barking ferociously. He was quite scary.
Petey came into rescue with no collar, horrible breath, a mass of
winter coat on him and he wasn’t micro-chipped. Poor guy also had a
large growth on his nose (which was removed) and he wasn’t neutered.
Petey learned his new name at positive re-enforcement obedience
class at “For the Dogs” in Zionsville. He learned to make eye
contact, sit, shake and begin to trust people again. Petey is very
smart and will try to convince you he’s the boss by barking,
especially at meal times. He is learning that barking means the meal
preparation stops until he remains quiet.
Petey is housebroken and gets along with other dogs and the family
cat. He hangs out with the family more and more as time goes by.
Petey is giving kisses and loving scratches. He also travels well in
the car (but is still working on getting out). He has learned to
tolerate brushing but definitely lets you know when he has had
enough. Petey really likes to be brushed with incentives
(t-r-e-a-t-s) and has started rolling over on his side to have his
belly scratched. We have learned his warning signals (first a look,
then a slightly raised lip……) when he wants us to stop brushing –
either because we pulled his hair or he’s just done with the whole
business of brushing.
We believe that a positive reinforcement class would help foster the
bond between Petey and his new family. Petey needs a family to love
him unconditionally and accept him as he is now. Petey needs a
predictable environment with adults only or older children who
understand they need to move slowly towards him, give him space, not
reach over his head and most of all give him lots of acceptance and
patience. Petey will be a loyal dog who will hang out with you and
come to you for scratches once he has learned he can trust you. He
does show excitement to see his foster parents and plays with our
male sheltie occasionally. He is OK with human visitors and even
lets them scratch him if they move slowly and don’t come at him. His
foster mom thinks he will continue to blossom…………in his own time, at
his own pace.
Petey, 780