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November 2004 We collected Purdy in November 2004 from a rescue centre in Wales. My first sight of her broke my heart, she cowered in a corner when we approached her and eventually had to be extracted from her accommodation by a staff member and brought to our car. Purdy is the name we chose for her as she did not have one of her own. Purdy was a discarded puppy farm bitch, she was six years old and it was estimated that she has had eleven litters of pups. She was very small but not emaciated. She smelt dreadfully, her feet were brown with ingrained excreta, and she had excreta stains up to her shoulders. She had worms, ear infections and was hopping with fleas. Many of her teeth were missing. When she was rescued her eyes were covered over with a crust of yellow puss, untreated 'dry eye' meant that she was blind in one eye and 7/8 blind in the other. She had a bad limp because of untreated luxating patella. On the drive home she sat on my lap, she was touch sensitive, every time I tried to cuddle her she stiffened into a terrified rigid state. Her bald little rats tail was kept clamped tightly between her legs. We stopped at a service station and I took her out on the grass thinking that she might need a toilet break. She refused a drink of water. She was obviously not lead trained, she was in a state of panic to be on the end of one and would not walk or relieve herself. She stood rooted to the spot trembling, eyes wide with terror. When I made the swift movement of bending down to pick her up she bolted and freaked out, behaving like I was going to hurt her. So I wrapped her in a blanket and we started off again. She smelt dreadful and even though it was a frosty November day we had to open the car windows because of the stench of excreta. She never moved once on the 200 mile journey home but stayed in a stiff rigid state, head down and trying to be invisible. Both my husband and I cried for the ones left behind in such dreadful circumstances.
When we got home she was introduce to her new dog family , six of them, she was not fearful of them and they were very gentle with her, I was very proud of them all. A blackbird sang his evening song and she jumped out of her skin, I could only assume that she had never heard birdsong before. She continually crept into corners of the garden, under the hedge and cowered into a little ball. Although it is not advisable to bath a rescue dog straight away, so that they can settle down a little first, I had to, because she smelt so bad and the fleas were all over her. She didn't complain and smelt lovely afterwards, although the brown stains on her legs did not wash off. After a gentle rub dry she settled down wrapped in a blanket with a fluffy pig hot water bottle for company. While she slept the other dogs in the family cuddled up to her and she seemed at peace. She enjoyed a supper of chicken with vegetables and pasta. As many of her teeth were missing and she had problems picking up her food, it kept falling out of the dish. She was not interested in treats of any kind. She toileted in the garden before settling down for the night, although not keen to go out under her own steam, she had to be carried and while outside she walked about ok. She looked very frightened with her tail between her legs. She would not walk past anyone, but waited for the coast to be clear and then bolted into her bed.
Day 2 Next morning I was expecting a puddle but there was not one. The first attempt of placing her outside was met with disgust and she bolted back to her bed. She enjoyed her breakfast and seemed alert, looking about as we went about our daily routine of breakfast, cleaning and lunch making etc. She did not go with the others for a morning walk as she was not lead trained, she was not bothered about being left behind. She was very scared but wagged her tail in a nervous way. Later in the day I tried a few short training exercises, she was not ready yet for basic obedience, sit, down, stay etc. She freaked out completely when a lead was attached to her . She was still very touch shy, we had to take things very slowly with cuddles as she could not cope with the attention. She elected to stay in the kitchen on her own watching everything from her bed. Several attempts were made to just attach a lead to her collar but she just freaked out, she was like a little wild thing. Medicating her ears and eyes were distressing for her, she was so fearful. She was absolutely terrified that I was going to damage her.
Day 3 She decided to move into the living room and sit next to my husband with her pig hot water bottle for comfort. She ate well but wouldn't take any treats between meals, or take from the hand. She had to be taken outside for toilet, which she did quite willingly to great praise, afterwards scooting past into the house and the safety of her bed. Unwilling to walk past anyone, tail between her legs permanently. I tried to give her a little brush session but she was too terrified and could not be touched around her rear at all.
Day 4. Was a little waggy and acknowledged us and the other dogs in the morning. Went outside to toilet on her own, but was much happier if she doesn't have to pass anyone. Her lead was attached to her while she was on her pig and she accepted it well while being bribed with sausage. After a little while I put her on the floor with the lead held loose and lured her with sausage, she was able to move a few steps although still very unsure. This was repeated several times during the day.
Day 5 Much the same as day 4 , but she managed longer on the lead, in very slow increments of perhaps a foot at a time we were able to move into the kitchen and out of the back door, she was fine so long as there was no tension on the lead. Again several repetitions during the day.
Day 6 She was quite bouncy, had a good sniff around the garden , her tail now hanging straight down instead of being tucked between her legs. She accepted a meaty strip treat and had a good chew, although it is soft she had great problems because of her lack of teeth. Managed to comb her ears for a very short period. She has had some lovely sniffing sessions with the others and seems a little more brave today. Walked round the garden on the lead.
Day 7 Her first week has been quite successful with small strides and positive progress, she has such a long way to go and is still so fearful and mistrusting of the human touch, her fragile nature is so heartbreaking.
After nine months Purdy is much happier and making good progress. She is still very, very frightened of swift movements and when she is picked up she freezes like she is expecting to be hurt. She will accept short massage sessions and wrap sessions with a warm towel but appears relieved when they are finished. She will now come and ask for a cuddle, but when she gets it she is unsure how to behave, she loves her walks and is the first one to have her lead attached, she 'sings' with little chirpy noises as we walk down the road, she loves running on the common, but she realizes now that she must keep coming back and making contact or she will get lost because of her bad eyesight. She has changed so much for the better. Sadly she does not play, with the others, or play with toys, although she does cuddle up with soft toys and she visibly squelches into soft bedding. She is good with basic obedience and comes when called. For now I'm happy that she is happy, although it doesn't take much to make her fearful. My only aim for her is that she can eventually live without fearful flashbacks.
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