I realized recently that it’s been a bit since I’ve given you an update on shy, little Sid. If you remember, Sid was surrendered to the La Plata County Humane Society last fall and was quickly adopted. After a month with a very kind family, they returned him because he refused to engage with them, at all. I brought him here to evaluate him, after 2 weeks I went back to the humane society with a less than stellar report.
Quality of life for this guy is tough to determine. Has no desire to connect with people shows little to no emotion except fear, the only thing that he seems comfortable with is dogs. But even with them in the mix he’s still terrified of us humans. That day I came home and he had gotten out the cat’s window. I told the humane society if they didn’t mind if I treated him like a feral cat, he could live here but I would not recommend rehoming him.
It took a month for him to let me pet him and another 3 months before I could really pet him without him bolting afterwards. Since then we’ve had slow and steady progress. He now:
- Runs up and down the driveway with the other dogs barking happily when I get home
- He no longer runs from the living room at the slightest noise
- He walks in front of or next to me now (rather than 20 steps behind), even if there are other people walking with us
- He runs happily up and down the driveway when a friend comes over to walk her dog, and though she hasn’t been able to pet him yet, he seems to really be psyched she’s there
- Once I caught him on the bed! Unfortunately, I couldn’t let him stay there (my kiddo’s have to have one place where no other dogs go) but it was great to see. He now spends most of his time on a small loveseat in the bedroom.
- And the best of all…..I actually got a kiss on the face last week! He used Boondock as his cover – I was sitting on the porch, just arriving home from town and they were all saying their hello’s and he snuck in and did the same ? Happy Happy Joy Joy
I’m still telling the humane society that I will continue to foster him but am not yet ready to adopt him – I have a hard time calling myself a dog trainer while having a dog who won’t do anything on command. Although Sid has come a long way, he refuses to do anything I ask….other than go outside or come inside. Perhaps it’s one of those wonderful reality checks to keep me grounded. He’s definitely growing on me and seems to be settling in as much as he’ll ever be able to ?
