The cycle of a bad dog :(
Recently, I’ve been trying to straighten my moral compass and do more grassroots work with animal rescues here in LA. Like many places in the world, LA isn't short of misunderstood dogs that need educated humans to help them gain the knowledge they (most likely) never received.
One unfortunate victim to the bad dog roller coaster was a dog named Cub. Cub was set up to fail, and not in a good way (like I teach.) He was set up to fail since the day he was born. He had all the assets to fail terribly - he is freaken CUTE, CURIOUS like a little child, and has bountiful ENERGY. All genetic problems. :) There goes my Jersey sarcasam again.
I’ve heard about dogs like Cub for years. The stories of what their lives were like as puppies are all too familiar. Snuggle sessions while he napped, rolling on the floor (because he likes it), enouragment to climb all over them with his cute little wrinkled spotted face, and that black spot on his foot. Ahhh. You just wanna bite him.
Then… dun dun dun… that Son of a Bitch broke his promise and GREW THE FU*K UP!
Where did he learn all this BAD behavior? Not from the owners, of course. They only loved him like their sweet little angel baby, who was 10 lbs, with no expectation for him to ever get bigger or the need to prepare him to deal with the human world whatsoever.
We have to cuddle him and take selfies.
We have to get more likes on Facebook.
This was their first priority. With the information and postion in society misconstrued with the information they implanted in his head that served no value later except to get him delivered to a possible death sentence. But, he did get 75 likes on Facebook, let’s keep that in perspective (there it goes again!)
Did Cub agree to this life?
What do you think he would have asked for?
Back to the humans - the “real” victims here - what are they supposed to do with this bad dog now?
It’s so frustrating how he won’t listen.
They can’t even take him to brunch, to the park to walk, or when they go visit their parents. And his likes on Facebook totally went down. It’s not working out.
So, poor Cub, like many other dogs, ends up in the shelter.
On to the next journey in Cub’s life, ill-equipped and uneducated on proper integration back into society, he struggles to make the most basic life decisions - not jumping, not chasing stuff, not barking behind fences or on leash, not charging the door, etc. You know, the stuff people want when they seek out a dog companion.
“Oh, that one honey! He is sooo cute.”
Cub falls victim of another well-meaning human. Cub reminds them of a dog they once had when they were a kid, conveniently forgetting their parents were the ones that raised that dog, not them alone.
“He was such a great dog! Cub reminds me of him! He’s perfect for us!”
I’m thinking: “Lady, this ain’t THAT dog.”
We will see how it ends.
Do you have a friend that picked their dog because of superficial characteristics? A cute face, a spot on their floppy ear, the most adorable puppy?
My question is....how is it going for them?
I read a quote awhile back that I think pertains to this constant dilemma:
“Physical attraction is common, mental connection is a rare gift.”
Boy does that hit home when you are around animals a lot. I see hundreds of dogs in a month. Each one has a different relationship with me. Some seek me out for safety, some for guidance, some need me to remind them it’s not a DOG’S world, even though they learned that at home.
If adopters and new dog owners would focus first on the mental and emotional connection there would be so many dogs that could be helped, and millions of dogs that would never need help.
When rescuing a dog, be honest about your likes, dislikes and expectations, because in the long run it only helps the dog be in a place they can thrive physically and emotionally - and they all deserve a fair shake at life.
Head Rubs and Belly Scratches
Gary