Sid…the continuing story

Sid has now been fostering with me since mid-October (through LPCHS) and we’ve made progress….albeit slow and incremental.

So often people remark, “I know my dog was abused, he flinches every time I pick up something.” I don’t believe that every dog that flinches has been abused. I know plenty of people that flinch that were never hit or abused. But I do believe we humans are often unpredictable – and that can cause a dog to flinch. Not sure that’s true in Sid’s case. His human traumas seem much deeper than I’ve experienced before.

After three months, he’s somewhat comfortable with me. He lets me pet him more and more and actively approaches me when entering the house or hanging out inside, but…. He only shows emotions when running around with dogs, he runs out of the room anytime I move too fast or drop something, he stays clear of the house anytime anyone comes over to visit – no matter the weather; it’s obvious the trauma done to this dog was severe.

We know that if we pull a cat out of a feral colony and try to domesticate it, we typically only have luck if we pull that kitten before they’re 8 weeks old, after that studies have shown that the chance of turning that cat into a house cat is very low. I wonder if the same thing is true for dogs, for Sid? I have had a lot of luck turning scared and traumatized dogs into solid, balanced animals. But those animals have been young – for the most part.

Sid is definitely improving, but will he ever be what we think of as a domestic dog – a dog that actual wants human companionship? He’s comfortable here because there are dogs here, but is he happy? Not sure I can answer that yet…

Here’s to holding the space for another dog to heal, adapt, and overcome!

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