The Struggles (Reply)

Flapromoter Writes: My boyfriends mother for example. She has 4 pitbulls in her home (she has a soft heart she was not collecting). It is like a ball and chain. She cannot go on vacation or be away from the house for any length of time because of their needs. She has spent thousands on vet bills and lives with all of the lovely less then wonderful aspects of having that many dogs in a relatively small space. I never hear her complain and she often says that she would rather live in a tent then get rid of her dogs.

Reply: Your boyfriend's Mother sounds a little like me.

It is a very hard choice when involved in any kind of animal resuce, the things we have to give up in order to do what we do.

My daughter is married and living in Utah. It is virtually impossible for me to visit her because of the responsibilities of my work and the animals in my home.

I can't tell you how desperately I miss seeing and spending time with Tara. We used to go swimming together, roller skate together, take long walks in the Central Park with the dogs.

Not seeing my daughter at all is a constant and deep emotional pain that never goes away.

Yesterday, she called ("Mother's Day") and it was of course, wonderful speaking with Tara for a long time.

But, telephones and computers, fabulous as they are, are not the real thing of actually being with a loved one.

Yes, there are many personal sacrifices in this work. There are freedoms that have to be given up. There are financial sacrifices. Most of all, there are those *other* parts of ourselves that somehow get lost in the daily struggles to save and place and care for animals.

Regarding your question in another post, about walking the rescued Pitbull in areas she is not familiar with, I believe since she shows caution and some fear to unfamiliar things such as squirrels, she is probably a very insecure dog who has experienced neglect of abuse in her younger life (you didn't say how long your BF's Mother has had the dog). It is probably best to keep her in areas where she feels comfortable and more secure.

Over time this will build up and you can take her longer distances. For now, I would just proceed with her "one step at a time" -- literally. Good luck! -- PCA

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#1 Comment from flapromoter
5/12/08 1:43 PM | Permalink

I think my post about that must have gotten confused. I was talking about hershey (male) not one of the females. The other 3 are difficult to control and react strongly to every other animal. I know pits have a natural prey drive and sometimes even dog aggression built in.

I only take the other 3 on routes I know well and can prepare for ( I know there is a fenced dog coming up etc.) I am a very calm person but relatively inexperienced so I do not take chances. I do not send excited tense energy down the leash I am just aware of my/their limitations.

Their human mother loves them but falls into the trap spoiling them and being a pushover. They live in an often excited atmoshpere and they rarely get to go outside of their home/yard. She cannot control them so relies on the once or twice a week walks her boyfriend takes them on. They are not mistreated or "mean" but they do fall under the catagory of untrained.

Now, Hershey has always been an absolute dream to walk. He never pulls and can literally be "steered" by the tiniest tug on the leash. As in I hold the leash in one hand and the slack with two fingers. He stops when I ask him to. He seems to match my energy completely. He utterly ignores dogs barking behind fences and barking dogs on leash. Once a huge great dane almost pulled his owner off the bike by a sudden attempt to run towards us. My heart almost stopped but hershey just ignored it and moved a little closer to me (but didnt tense up) because I think he trusted me to keep him from the situation.

Because of all this I decided to take him on a longer trip. I felt confident that I could trust the situation. I was aware of his body language and the position of any potential threats the entire way. Once there he seemed uncertain but still didnt even react to the tiny dogs that were walking a distance away.

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The Struggles (Reply)