In the absence of a recent post (mostly a mixture of sloth and being horribly tied up with my Master's Degree work-more on that later) I wanted to pass along the following article from The Dodo.com about one of my patients.
Angel is one of the dogs that my friends at Pit Sisters Rescue in Jacksonville, FL have been able to step in and save. Angel was fearful and withdrawn. Once she built some trust with me her real nature came to the fore: a loving, social and welcoming dog that needed someone to trust. Pit Sisters has stepped up for many dogs like Angel, and I have been honored to assist their mission. I am also very pleased that Pit Sisters has taken command of the TAILS (Training Animals and Inmates Life Skills) program here in north Florida. The animals in TAILS come from Jacksonville Animal Care and Protective Services and are dogs that are somewhat challenged in their life skills, challenges that have made them less likely to be adopted. Now, with the TAILS program, these dogs are learning manners and good behavior from inmates using positive reinforcement techniques. This training not only makes the dogs more adoptable, but the inmates learn patience, empathy, and skills they can use to make better life choices in the future.
So pending my next regular post, here is a success story. The original story can be found here
Pit Sisters is here: Pit sisters Rescue
Dog So Scared At Shelter She Can’t Stop Shaking
02 December 2015
It was almost as if Angel could smell the despair.
Within moments of being dumped at a Florida animal shelter, she began shivering uncontrollably. Cowering and shaking, she was paralyzed by terror, unable even to lift her head.
In the video, the cries and barking in the background are deafening. This is what a dog looks like who just had everything in the world taken away from her. Only a year-and-a-half old, the latest resident at Putnam County Animal Control.
The video, posted on Facebook, was viewed more than a million times.
Among those viewers? Jen Deane, who runs animal welfare group Pit Sisters, sees Angels every day.
"I saw the video and immediately called about getting her rescued," Deane told The Dodo.
But had the world already sunk Angel? Was she beyond saving? When it comes to screening dogs, the group often relies on a canine aggression expert. When that expert paid Angel a visit at the shelter, she, well, exhibited very much the opposite of canine aggression.
"He absolutely loved her," Deane recalled.
So Pit Sisters pulled Angel out of the shelter and found her a foster home, where she lived with other dogs.
"She came out of her shell pretty quick once she was out of that shelter," Deane says.
And certainly, in just a short time with the organization, made her mark.
"We still keep in touch with her mom, who absolutely adores Angel. She's a very spoiled little girl right now."
Pit Sisters rescues countless dogs from shelters and dire situations across the country.
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