A Life Saved in Two Hours

Bella is a black lab about 4 years old. She was rescued by a couple, Pam and George, a few months ago. George also has two Pomeranians (Teddy and Sami) that are his therapy and service dogs. Bella is very protective of her owners and will bark, growl and lunge at people going by, especially the strangely dressed young men that live in the apartment complex. Up until yesterday, Bella and the Poms got along great.

Yesterday, Bella’s owners brought their two Pomeranians home from the groomer and something about them - a smell, or their bad haircuts, or maybe even Pam's upset about the Poms’ bad haircuts - set Bella off. She tried to eat the Poms!. Pam called me frantically looking for a new home for Bella as George wanted to take Bella to the pound and request that she be euthanized. He didn't think that a dog could be rehabilitated and wouldn't risk his service dogs getting hurt.

I told Pam that I couldn't take Bella and that most of my friends had all the dogs they could manage right now, I asked her if she wouldn't rather have Bella restored to her old camaraderie with the Pom's. She hung up, talked to George and called me back about15 minutes later.

Two hours later, Bella was happily reintegrated into her family.

Not only did we fix the problem with the other two dogs, but we also taught Bella that she wasn't to bark at, lunge at or growl at people walking by whether she was inside the apartment or sitting on the porch. We also figured out that the reason Bella was bolting out the door was because of the ramp for the wheelchairs. When she would step on it, it moved and scared her and she would bolt. So now she sits quietly at the door until Pam or George are outside and out of the danger zone, then she is allowed to bolt through the door at will.

Bella is a new dog and her owners now have the skills to keep her calm. Pam is very happy she didn't have to give up her friend and protector.

Hi Jamie

Thanks So Much for yesterday,  You are a Lifesaver! Bella is doing great, even tried to get Sami to play this morning. The pom's haircuts have to grow out to be "fixed"  it was cut too short. I had planned to go [to Round Robin training] this morning, but never got to sleep til 5 so I didn't wake up til around noon.

Bella barked at the one guy but only til I could reach her then she calmed down. We have this whole wk to practice before taking her to park next Sun. I just have to "reprogram"  my old training stuff.

Pam

10//04/09

As of today 11/16/09, Bella and Pam have started doing obedience training again. Bella is doing very well walking with the wheel chair and rarely barks at strangers anymore.

After obedience class, Pam is going to see about getting Bella certified as a service and/or therapy dog.