Meet My Foster! = )

[CountryWolf07]

Oh my gosh.. My heart stopped. I really adore that pup! I'd take her in a heartbeat if I lived in California. I hope she will find a great home! Looks like she is definitely part Beagle, judging on her size!

[Freedom]

Hello Jemima! I bet you were kinda worried when that bad man put you tied on the pole and got ready to leave. YOu were really a lucky girl that day, because someone very special was close by to wsee what was happening. And now look at you, all clean and getting regular meals! Makes me teary with smiles! I do love your doe eyes, sweet lady.

Grr, that IDIOT! The poor dog he took sounds like it was attached / bonded with Jemima and wanted to stay with HER not him! I sure hope someone catches him and gets that dog and any others away from him.

Bless you for acting promptly and stepping in to help her! HUGS to both of you!

[Daisy and Delilah]

OMG! I'm fighting back the tears. She is such an innocent little sweetheart. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr......

I just want to go after people like that and punish them with torture!!!!!

She is so beautiful and I can see the hurt in her little eyes. Thank you for saving her. Thank goodness you came along exactly at the right time.

I just hope that he gets what he's got coming to him asap!!!!!!!!

[wolflady]

Thank goodness you were there to rescue this doll baby! I just don't understand people like that who can just dump dogs off and not feel bad about it. What a jerk! Too bad the cops/animal control gave you the run around. You just know that idiot probably does crap like that all the time.

Jemima has a very sweet face and expressive eyes. Who knows...you may be a "foster failure" with this one! LOL

[K9soul]

Oh my, she is so, so adorable. What an angelic face she has. Now she is experiencing warmth, affection, food.. what heartbreaking condition she was in when you found her. Now she has a shot at the future she deserves thanks to you. Wonderful job, Erika.

[K9karen]

Wow, that was my 1st thought too..those big brown eyes! So expressive..the mirror to her sweet soul. Poor adorable girl. Thank you, Thank you, Thank you with all my heart for saving Mina! You both look gorgeous together! Mina does look like a GSD, Beagle and Pittie. I hope she finds a loving, happy home. She sure needs some meat on her bones, Holy crap! I want to melt in her eyes.

[Taz_Zoee]

Shoot, I thought I responded to this before.

She is adorable. I wish I could take that man and throw him out of a truck!! Its such a good thing you were in the right place at the right time. She is so cute, you shouldn't have a hard time finding her a home. I think I'll email this link to my mom....

[bckrazy]

Thanks for all of the replies. Jemima thanks you with Pittie wiggles.

Perhaps you could write an anonymous Letter to the Editor of your local paper, describing the scene and the giving the license plate number. At least, it might embarrass the guy and make him think twice. At best, it might embarrass the police/animal control departments into doing something.

I might do that... it's worth a try! I am not a great writer, though. I'll get my friend Grace to help.

I doubt that this guy even reads the paper but it would be nice to get the word out about what is obviously lacking in public services. He was your typical, worthless, wannabe gangster, loser.

Oh my god she is precious! Hey do you need a donation? I just bought a huge bag of kirkland chicken and rice from costco, I could part with half of it or buy you something else. Are you still in the same area? I am still in gold river, not too far if you need anything for her I would be willing to donate.

Aww, that is so sweet of you!

I just bought her ton of canned Chicken Soup For The Dog Lover's Soul Puppy food, so we're pretty covered right now. She does need a sweater, though. We should definitely meet up, anyway, so you can see her (and Fozz). Gold River is insanely close.

OMG What a sweet, beautiful, angelic, gorgeous, sweet, sweet, sweet face!!!!!

Erika, you are KILLING ME!!!!!! She is TOO TOO TOO TOO TOO cute!!! And she's soooooooooooooooooo close. What a beautiful girl. She looks like a Pittie/GSD mix. 100% sweet and adorable.

Hey... if you ever take a trip with her down to the Oakland/Berkeley area, I wouldn't mind

She does have the sweeetest face. And her favorite thing to do is smoosh it between your arm and your side and get head rubs. It's precious!

I might just take a trip down there... she would fit in with your girls really well. teehee!

She is adorable. I wish I could take that man and throw him out of a truck!! Its such a good thing you were in the right place at the right time. She is so cute, you shouldn't have a hard time finding her a home. I think I'll email this link to my mom....

I wish I could throw him into the eternal flames of hell!

Please do e-mail it to your Mom! Or anyone that you think is looking. You aren't too far away at all.

Here are a few pictures I took of her on a walk. She sticks to me like GLUE, and she already knows what "potty" means. She still hasn't had an accident inside.







Smooshy face!

[MajesticCollies]

Thanks for doing rescue. I find it very rewarding in my life. She's a real cutie. Hope she finds a loving forever home

[k9krazee]

Awww! Poor girl! She's very pretty though, she'll find a home in no time, I bet!

You're a doll for helping her out, Erika!

[caseysmom]

Erica send me a pm I got her some sweaters at petsmart

[lute]

What an unfortinate finding. She's got a better chance of finding a good home as an only dog through you than at any shelter. Good luck with her and I hope all goes well with finding her a home.

[So-Crafty]

One of the ideas that I heard recently, I really liked. If you watch Victoria Stillwell, I'm sure you'll know what I'm talking about. I do enjoy her training methods and find them to be more up to date than Cesar.

Do you have a friend or family member that would be able to assist you in walking your dogs? If so, then go to a neutral area and either you hold the leash of Jemima or one of your friends/family. Basicall you want all three dogs to be on a leash. Walk the dogs in a neutral area and reward Jemima (and the others) when they all behave in a positive way toward each other. Then you can move them closer to each other, and again reward them when they behave positively.

This will teach Jemima that good things happen around other dogs. It will take a while, but it may assist. Although I don't really know anything about bully-breeds, I do know that some may be eager to please and this may work well with her. She really is a cutie. Don't give up *hugs*

[Giselle]

So-Crafty, it sounds like that technique is geared primarily towards fear aggressive dogs. It's mainly attempting to replace a dog's negative connotation with something positive. That's the standard treatment for a fear aggressive dog, but, IMO, it will provide minimal lasting effects for a non-fear-aggressive dog. From what Erika wrote, it doesn't sound like Jemima has classic fear aggression and that she needs more intense training than mere counter-conditioning. Jemima's radical shift in behavior is indicative to me, at least, that she has more problems than fear aggression. These are the issues I see:
- She doesn't provide ample warning signs. Normal dogs growl. Dogs who skip growling and go straight from staring to attacking are the more dangerous with which to work. Erika wrote that she couldn't detect any obvious change in body language. That probably means Jemima gave a quick 1-2 second warning of hard eyes, tense muscles, staring, etc. before she struck. In other words, it was all silent and almost indiscernible. That's dangerous..
- She has a low threshold and low impulse control. Both of these can be raised, but it takes time and a lot of training.
- She needs very concrete rules and guidelines.
- She needs structured, supervised socialization opportunities that focus on her ability to focus on the handler in the presence of other dogs. So, basically, she needs to learn that other dogs are no big deal, and this requires more intense training than counter conditioning.

It's not an easy task, and I extend all my hope, help, and thoughts to you, Erika!