Izzysdad Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 We've had Zoey for exactly 6 months now. She was a dog that Swafford had and who knows how many litters she gave birth to. In any case, when she first got here, she was glued to the couch for about two months. We could get her to go outside to potty, but she'd run right back in to the couch. After that she discovered that she could hide behind the end table next to the couch and spent pretty much the entire summer there unless I pulled out her collar and she gets more excited than any dog I've seen to get in the car! Doesn't matter where we were going, but I'm guessing she's always hoping we're going to work sheep which we have done many times! The last two weeks have been great, she doesn't hide anymore, follows me everywhere throughout the house and has really engaged in wrestling with Tobey and Izzy. A few weeks ago spent a couple nights at my parents house helping to build a barn and had Zoey and Tobey and DW had Izzy. When we came home Zoey couldn't get enough of Izzy!! She didn't leave her side the entire day/night. So unbeknown to us they have developed a great bond. Other than myself, my brother and father, new men scare her and she will run away if one gets to close. The remaining issues seem to be her being the fun police. When we go to the local pond, no dogs are allowed in the water, she patrols the shoreline keeping everyone out (if we go to the water she's allowed to cool herself off and then on the leash for her). And if I'm throwing the ball/Frisbee for Tobey she tries to put herself between Tobey and said object. She stays inside now when we're having that kind of game. Geez, this post is longer than I thought. I'm so happy that a dog like her keep in those conditions for so long (4+ years) has come so far in only 6 months. This nice fall weather will allow us to work this Sunday, I'll try to get some pics of that! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grenzehund Posted October 8, 2010 Report Share Posted October 8, 2010 That's great! We'll look forward to photos, whether she's working or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljones Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Glad to hear such a good report on Zoey! Really happy to hear she's being more interested and engaged with dogs and humans alike. Do you happen to know which batch of Swafford dogs she was in (the initial seized group or the later surrendered group)? I ask because, if it's the later group, there's a chance I have a photo of her from the time I evaluated the dogs housed at the Gallatin, TN, shelter. I can't remember seeing any of your photos of her yet, but maybe I just overlooked them in another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzysdad Posted October 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 She was in the first group last September when the initial (109?) were taken. To be more descriptive, she has very few teeth. No canines, a couple pre-molars. Apparently she tried to chew her way out of her kennel over a long period of time. She has a heart of gold and couldn't be any sweeter! Here's a pic to jog your memory: Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelleybean Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Tim, She sure is lucky to have a great owner like you! It breaks my heart to hear about her teeth, she must have been living in hell before, so she deserves a little heaven now. You're an angel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljones Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Thanks for that picture--what a lovely girl she is! Not to mention how lucky she was to make her way to GHF and then to your home. I know what you mean about the teeth issue, or lack thereof. My Ody, who lived ~12 years at Swafford's, has all kinds of mouth, lip, and nose damage from his time there. But, like your Zoey, is miraculously still very sweet. Congratulations on your first six months together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushdoggie Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 How wonderful to hear how far she has come! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzysdad Posted October 9, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 Thanks all for the kind words! I think overall it was a much better transition than Tobey. Thought I'd add a pic that makes me laugh every time I see it, she came out of the water/mud to stalk a bunch of geese Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted October 9, 2010 Report Share Posted October 9, 2010 That's a wonderful update, and terrific news! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 It is amazing that dogs can go through hell and are willing to trust humans again. It is nice know that she is happy and well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted October 10, 2010 Report Share Posted October 10, 2010 Thanks for the update. She sure got lucky. It makes me seethe to think of those poor dogs in conditions that caused such damage to their teeth. And all the more appreciative of the efforts of Angie, Jodi, and all who are doing their best to keep that horrible excuse for a human from starting up again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Zoey's a cutie! And you seem to have done wonders for her in a short period of time. How wonderful! I also just adopted a Swafford dog. It's been 5 weeks and he's slowly coming around. At first, terrefied of the stairs, going outside, everything! Now he is very compfortable in the house, but when strangers come in, he hides. I also haven't been able to get him to go out front and walk on the sidewalk yet. He'll only walk out back, where there's no people. I'm not quite sure how to get him out front. Right now I just sit on the front stoop and let him watch the world go by, but he jumps at everything. I guess I just need to take it little by little and not overwhelm him too much. He has the sweetest, most gentle disposition and is a total lover! He is glued to me and I see it in his eyes that he trusts me 100%. It's nice knowing someone who is in the same boat as I am. I would love to get any advice on how to get Danny socialized. What did you do/didn't do? If you have time, you can pm me. Aljones: Can you see if Danny was part of the 2nd group you were part of? I'd love to get pictures if you did indeed handle him. He may have been from the original seizure, though. I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljones Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Aljones: Can you see if Danny was part of the 2nd group you were part of? I'd love to get pictures if you did indeed handle him. He may have been from the original seizure, though. I'm not sure. Of course! I think I would have remembered Danny's distinctive look, but I will review my photos now to see if I had a chance to meet him. From what rescue did you adopt him? I ask because I know where the dogs I evaluated were going, but I didn't get to see all the dogs from the group because they were distributed through 2-3 different facilities, and I was only at the Gallatin shelter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljones Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Well, unfortunately for me, I have no Danny photos--so I'll just have to keep an eye on the boards for the ones you post, Diane. Best wishes as you continue to work with him. There are several folks here (including Friends of Pep BCR, West TN BCR, East TN BCR, and Starfish BCR, just off the top of my head) who also have experience rehabbing Swafford dogs, in case you might want to reach out to them, as well. For our Ody, going slow and being patient were keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Well, unfortunately for me, I have no Danny photos--so I'll just have to keep an eye on the boards for the ones you post, Diane. Best wishes as you continue to work with him. There are several folks here (including Friends of Pep BCR, West TN BCR, East TN BCR, and Starfish BCR, just off the top of my head) who also have experience rehabbing Swafford dogs, in case you might want to reach out to them, as well. For our Ody, going slow and being patient were keys. Thank you so much for looking! He actually went to one rescue until April '09 and then to Mid-Atlantic Border Collie Rescue where I adopted him from on Sept. 4th (my husband's bday ) And thanks for the info on the others who have worked with Swafford dogs. Izzysdad has been nice enough to reach out and give me advice. I'm always willing to listen to anything that will help Danny be happy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedismom Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 I fostered Shay for Starfish last year. She was adopted by my sister-in-law last Thanksgiving. By all reports she is now meeting people at the door and no longer hiding. This took 6 months, so patience is key. Do you have other dogs or a friend with a dog that you can walk with? This helped Shay tremendously. When she saw that it was ok with the other dogs, it quickly became ok with her. Good luck and thank you for adopting Danny. He's so gorgeous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PSmitty Posted October 11, 2010 Report Share Posted October 11, 2010 Great update, Tim! I just LOVE reading the stories of how these poor Swafford dogs are learning to trust and love, to eventually live happy and normal lives. Thank you to the folks who first rescued them, adopted them, and continue to help them every day. Such a blessing! Mary is busy with a sick dog (another one! ) right now, so I don't know when/if she'll see this thread. She still has Thea, a Swafford dog, in her rescue. Thea has come SO far and is just waiting for her perfect home. Her wonderful foster mom has a blog for her: http://thea-bravegirl.blogspot.com/ and she has her own Facebook page, too: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001426766365&ref=mf She's another success story that shows what love and patience can do for these dogs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 12, 2010 Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 I fostered Shay for Starfish last year. She was adopted by my sister-in-law last Thanksgiving. By all reports she is now meeting people at the door and no longer hiding. This took 6 months, so patience is key. Do you have other dogs or a friend with a dog that you can walk with? This helped Shay tremendously. When she saw that it was ok with the other dogs, it quickly became ok with her. Good luck and thank you for adopting Danny. He's so gorgeous! Thank you for your response. All of this is giving me hope that he will, indeed, get over this. I DO have another BC, Lacee, who is 11. She's a rescue also...from Texas. She's been a great help with Danny. He watches everything she does and has started to imitated her talking. At least he tries, but he doesn't quite get it. I apologize if I hijacked this thread. That wasn't my intention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzysdad Posted October 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2010 No hijack at all! Glad we can share and learn from each other about these dogs! Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted October 13, 2010 Report Share Posted October 13, 2010 Do you know what rescue Danny originally went to? I don't remember seeing pictures of him, so I'm wondering if he's one of the dogs from the first seizure that went to the all-breed in Indiana. Tim, it's great to see and hear that Zoey's doing so well. She was a doll. We only have one Swafford dog left here at GHF, but Willow won't likely be leaving since she has severe epilepsy and an OCD spinning behavior. She's a special girl, but there's nothing like seeing her break out of her little world and start to follow around one of the other dogs (it's one of her "games") or her randomly picking up a jolly ball to play with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 Do you know what rescue Danny originally went to? I don't remember seeing pictures of him, so I'm wondering if he's one of the dogs from the first seizure that went to the all-breed in Indiana. Tim, it's great to see and hear that Zoey's doing so well. She was a doll. We only have one Swafford dog left here at GHF, but Willow won't likely be leaving since she has severe epilepsy and an OCD spinning behavior. She's a special girl, but there's nothing like seeing her break out of her little world and start to follow around one of the other dogs (it's one of her "games") or her randomly picking up a jolly ball to play with. I asked the director of MABCR if she knew where Danny was before going to her and this was her reply: "I do not know which part of the seizure Dan was part of, nor do I know the rescue he was released to. Sorry, all my dealings were directly with the HSUS." I don't know if that helps? If she dealt directly through the HSUS, it sounds like he might have been from the original seizure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aljones Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 For what it's worth, I know the HSUS was also directly involved also with the later batch of dogs because I walked the kennels at the Gallatin shelter with the TN rep, LeighAnn (I may be misspelling her name) as she asked me which dogs I was tagging for Buckeye BCR and if I had an opinion on where (from her list of rescues) would be good fits for the others. Very glad Danny has landed with you, whatever route he took to get there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BayouBC Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 I asked the director of MABCR if she knew where Danny was before going to her and this was her reply: "I do not know which part of the seizure Dan was part of, nor do I know the rescue he was released to. Sorry, all my dealings were directly with the HSUS." I don't know if that helps? If she dealt directly through the HSUS, it sounds like he might have been from the original seizure. Like Angie said, it's just great that Danny landed somewhere safe, both with MABCR and you. I just still wonder how the group that went to Indiana did, since that was the only batch that didn't go to a BC rescue so there wasn't a lot of information about them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 14, 2010 Report Share Posted October 14, 2010 For what it's worth, I know the HSUS was also directly involved also with the later batch of dogs because I walked the kennels at the Gallatin shelter with the TN rep, LeighAnn (I may be misspelling her name) as she asked me which dogs I was tagging for Buckeye BCR and if I had an opinion on where (from her list of rescues) would be good fits for the others. Very glad Danny has landed with you, whatever route he took to get there! Thanks, I'm also glad to have Danny! I absolutely adore him! He's gonna have a nice, comfortable life now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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