Tapioca stood no chance. There was no traffic at this animal control. Nobody was showing any interest to his posting on the border collie rescue forum…neither was I. His “due date” was set on Tuesday. I was off on Monday and the animal control was 40 minutes from my house. Oh heck, let’s go take some photos and videos…maybe that will get more interest.
He fought his leash like a feral dog when a staff tried to get him out. The same staff also told me he snapped at another guy, obviously out of fear. Once he was out, he was either flat on the ground or holding onto the staff for his dear life. His nails were digging into his thigh. When I got down to his level without my dog, he finally approached me. It wasn’t in an affectionate way, but he was looking for anything to cling onto. He pushed himself against me so hard I almost tripped over. There was no emotional connection. When I got up, he clung onto my leg and digged his nails into my thigh too. At first I thought he was humping me as he was holding onto me so tightly. (Watch video here)
On the day of his kill date
The video and photos still didn’t get anyone’s interest and his time was running out. So I volunteered to take him after a talk with my husband. My concerns were any risks to my dogs and my husband. A dog like him can easily become a fear biter once he learns that it works. Hours later I got a call from the AC saying that he had been chosen to go into a special adoption program and that I didn’t have to pull him anymore. It was a huge relief. That night I found my potential working partner, which I will call “Phoebe” here. I fell in love with Phoebe right away and I started working on getting her to me over the weekend. Tapioca is safe, I was hopefully getting a dog of my dream and all was good.
Of course it can’t be that easy. The next day AC calls me with the bad news. He is heartworm
positive, level 3. (Highest) The program rejected him because of it, therefore he will be put to sleep that day…unless I take him. Nice way to put a pressure on someone, right? I have only one spot in my house. I was supposed to be getting Phoebe that weekend. There is no heartworm treatment available so Tapi would have to go through the “slow-kill” method which could take up to 1-2 years. In addition, with his fear issue he will not be adoptable for a long time. As long as the spot is occupied, I can’t bring in another dog. I started fostering mainly to find a dog to adopt for search and rescue work. I love saving and working with dogs in need but when the right dog happens, then my fostering work was to be over due to our 3-dog-rule at our house.
I felt selfish for wanting to choose Phoebe over Tapioca. I’ve always tried to do the right thing in my life. But this one was hard. Phoebe could possibly be my dynamite dog. But I also saw a potential in Tapioca — to be a great dog for someone in the future. While he trembled and clung on to me, he managed to give me a tiny lick on my hand. I think he had me there. Do I let him die because some idiot got him to be in this condition with abuse and neglect? I went to the AC and got him out on last minute without a solid plan. At that point, I still couldn’t let go of Phoebe in my head. When we loaded Tapi in my car, AC lady said good bye to him and told him “She will take a great care of you, she’ll find you a good home”. I didn’t know what to say to that. I boarded him at a vet so that he can get vetted and neutered while I come up with a plan.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t me who convinced me. I took a few more videos of him so that I could show them to my husband. When I explained my dilemma to him, he made it so easy. “Doesn’t he need you more than she does? There will be other dogs for you.” My husband was the one who didn’t want to take a foster that will overstay his welcome. (No more than a month or two) He prefers dogs that are playful and affectionate. Tapioca is not that. I think his nurturing side took over when he saw how scared he was in the video clips. I emailed Phoebe’s people and cancelled my pull after that.
Now I’m calm and over the drama, I can focus on what to do with Tapioca. He’s going to need a LOT of TLC before we even start with behavior mod. I don’t think I should crate him. It took us good 20 minutes to get him out of the shelter. He would never come out of his crate once he goes in. I need to get creative and come up with the best set up for all of us.
There were 4 other dogs between Louie and Tapioca that I wanted to take but none of them worked out. I’m sure there is a reason why I ended up with him. I hope it’s a good one.
To be continued…
More update can be found here: http://tapioca.shutterfly.com
Bordernerd 