ADOPT 2010 CONTEST

In September of 2006, I pulled a ~7 year old little pom mix from the local Shelter. He had been picked up as a stray. He had a chip and the shelter called his owners. They said he was a runner and the shelter should keep him because if they took him back he would probably get hit on the street.

He had nipped at someone while in the shelter, so they could not adopt him out to the general public. So the rescue I work with was contacted and I pulled him. I named him Asher.

He was fine for about 2 weeks, and then he bit me. He bit me in the face. That became a pattern for Asher. About every 2 weeks, there was another bite, usually to my hand.

People think that nasty small dogs are funny. So not true. Asher's bites were hard. Deep puncture wounds that dripped blood and continued to ooze for days, my hand slowly turning from deep black and blue to a sickening green and yellow, swelling up so badly I could not close it. The scariest was that there was no overt warning. No growling, no snarling, no show of teeth, just Bam!

The rescue director decided we could not adopt him to anyone. He was a huge liability. She gently urged me to let him go and offered to do it herself.

But I am incredibly stubborn and taking away his life seemed like a personal defeat.

So, I sought a behaviorist and started working with him. I got really lucky and found a wonderful trainer/behaviorist who has tons of experience with dogs like Asher. She literally wrote the book on reactivity, in fact, she wrote two. She helped me learn to read Asher and, using non aversive techniques, transform him from an unpredictable biter to a wonderful companion. She recognized his potential and his intelligence and guided me through the process. She is Asher's Angel.

Ash loves to work, so beyond behavior modification, we started some serious training. He is so smart and he took to clicker training like a duck to water. The highlight of his day is when I get out my clicker and bait bag. He acts like a puppy. He learns quickly, sometimes picking up new behaviors in a matter of minutes. He keeps me on my toes because sometimes I feel he just reads my mind and knows what I am looking for.

Ash has attended several trial in the past year and earned many, many pretty ribbons, often taking first place and pulling in perfect scores. Even better, I regularly leave the ring to comments about how wonderful our relationship is and how well we work together. On June the 5th, Ash earned his ARCh at Bella Vista Training Center. In December, he earned his ARCHX and just recently he earned his Veteran's title.

Ash has transformed my life. I have learned so much from him.

Ash has gone from being just another fosterwho scared me to my student and my teacher, my follower and my leader, my partner and my heart dog. The wounds on my hands have healed and faded to scars, but the impact this little dog has made on my heart will last forever.

He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion - Unknown

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Barked by: Lily (Dogster Member)

May 11th 2010 at 9:24 am