For thus who do not know her story ...
She looks well on pictures, but that's all that we can say is good about her. On her most important growth period she was kept on an interesting diet - apples, cabbages and pumpkins, without anything else, just boiling water poured over. No dry food, no meat, no oil, cereals, supplements and bla-bla-bla... So you imagine how her conditions were.
We are slowly trying to establish her tummy, her sustains and joints on top of all behavior problems of abandoned, unsocialized and mistreated puppy.
She was on short chain and this "super" diet from about 5 mo until 9 mo, so I presume damages done are very serious and who knows how it will be, but at least she is loved and very happy now.
She is also from very poor breeding - typical BYB scenario in the worse situation (including inbreeding in generations) - very small by size (nearly 27” now), head -very poor, coloring - faded, only angulations are quite good... but I just was not able to pass that girl to the shelter.
It was the initial plan - we go to the place, buy her (for $80) from the morons who wanted to give her away, and then shelter people later on the day takes her from us, and end of the story. Our shelter has just one car and that car was busy on the morning when this poor sod was available... So from the beginning it was just a volunteer transport job for me.
But when I saw her on that less than a yard chain, ankle deep in her own poop, her fur was all matted and covered in her poop, not even a water bowl...
My brain and all the previous wise decisions how it must be done went out of the window...
I was crying all the way home with her. It took me about an hour just to get the biggest lumps of poop out of her fur before we took her into the house. Complete foster failure before fostering even started. It was strange. We took her in and next day I received test results on the pregnancy that I hoped to get a pup – a proper show quality St.Bernard. It was a sign for me, really. And I do not regret my decision to leave her at all.
DH was first night crying and planning how to get these idiots, but now he is sitting for hours on the floor with her, just hugging her and talking with her, teaching her how to play and another night when for the first time she had right poop, DH called me out of bed to go outside and enjoy the poop.
So far we had achieved a lot. She had terrible fear of going in or out of the door - that is gone. She had serious food aggression - it is gone too. She had chain in her minds - short steps, annoying never-ending trotting 5 steps one way, then other... Gone now.
She knows her name, her recall is perfect, friendly to all dogs and cats, starting to learn commands, her housebreaking is going along with her tummy conditions, but at least she has the idea perfect in her head, but accidents still happen, it is minor thing anyway, she will establish...
Only human fear still exist and it will be a long way out of it. But I hope I really do! Last weekend we went to city for socialization, and more socialization. We went to city by TRAIN, then traveled on tram, then trolleybus and buss… We went to the shopping mall like Home Depot, and she did very well with all the people that she met, who petted her and kissed.
We also met auntie Irena and Audrey, and had nice party in apartment with both girls and my mum’s datchie Markus (who was on 7th heaven for such a pleasure, of course) and I even bathed her in our bath… THAT was fun, but – she did it!
Yesterday we returned home, and when our neighbor came for a chat, Grace was not growling at her anymore, so city socialization trip had worked! So we really have a hope that mental damages can be treated 100%. Grace tries really hard, and we all as well.
