Franklin turns five today!
Franklin was the start of many things around here...He arrived on January 19, 2002 with Preacher after a year in the shelter. Our first foster dogs. Six months later, our first foster failures.
This is one of the first pictures I ever took of him. He was so shy that getting a pic was hard. For months the only way we could interact with Franklin was to play "Bark & Chase"..he barks and playbows, I chase him around. We still play almost every day, but now we play because it's fun!
Franklin was the first of many timid males to arrive here. What we learned from working with Franklin has helped many other dogs. We learned what works, what slows things down and how not to reinforce the fear.
Today Franklin is still shy, but he's not cowering in fear anymore. He just only trusts people he knows.
He'll even cuddle with us now!
He's one of my very best sled dogs, always ready to go, never wants to stay home. Today he ran a 15 mile trip. Next month when the skijoring races start, Franklin will be my partner.
Happy birthday Franklin!!
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