 |
| Adoptable: Lacey |
Let
us imagine.
Let us imagine being a small child in which your home has always been
temporary; maybe a neighbor’s house, maybe a car, maybe a shelter. Whichever way, you have had no permanent
home, no consistent rules or boundaries, and certainly no people around long
enough to even attempt learning respect of others. You have been let down by everyone and
everything in life, so your outlook is bleak. You know no different though, you
just know that such is life. You learn
what you can from your surroundings - you learn how to get food when you’re
hungry, even if that means acting immorally, which you may or may not know is
wrong. You learn how to manipulate people to get your way, because, let’s face
it, chances are you’ll never see them again.
To a stable and responsible person, this is deeply saddening; but for
the child who lives it, they just learn to live the only way they know how … surviving each day as they come.
Now imagine: this child walks into your house tomorrow. They don’t know that
this is a good home. They don’t know
that their meals will come on a regular basis.
They don’t know that they will feel warmth, love and affection
here. They only know what the world has
taught them – to live each day in survival mode. How long do you think it would take them to
relax? To release the tension and anxiety in their muscles? To overcome their
struggles and begin to open up their hearts?
A foster dog comes to you in this exact situation. The dog you get on Day 1 is only a rough, outer shell of the dog you will have on Day 14, Day 28, and Day 100. Maybe this is why fostering is so rewarding – because you see the rock bottom of a dog and you get to help them, you get to rise them up to become the dog they were always meant to be.
That’s pretty powerful. It’s also pretty inspiring.
This thing called the two week shutdown is a fancy way of saying “adjustment period”. It is an acclimation to a new life that is so absurdly different from the one that they’ve known all their life, one in which the learning curve is not the bunny slope, it’s the Black Diamond’s steep, treacherous hill. Essentially, they are learning how to do everything in their life in a completely different way, all at the same time. Not only do they need to learn who the hell you are and what language you’re speaking, but they need to figure out what you want from them, figure out how to navigate the house, the boundaries of the yard, what’s acceptable of the new pets, kids, furniture, and then to top it all off, suddenly there are rules and a thing around their neck stopping them from doing what they want.
The
first two weeks is in no way an acceptable form of judgment of a dog’s
temperament and personality. It would not be expected of a person, so it should never be expected of another species that
can’t even understand our language.
Their initial behavior may be reserved and depressed. Their initial behavior may
be bordering unmanageable from their acting out. Either way, giving a dog a few weeks to
acclimate to their new house, smells, routines, humans and pets will allow them
to slowly become the dog they actually
are. As humans, we are quick to rush
into things and we want to show everyone our new dog and take them everywhere
and do everything with them, but that will only overwhelm and stress out your
new friend in a way that could be very detrimental to him, your bond or others around
him.
If you are committed to the well-being of your new dog, family and existing
pets, please consider following the structure of the Two Week Shut Down. It is not written in stone and can be modified for your dog’s individual needs. It is a
guide in order to help your new dog experience his surroundings and learn to
trust the people around him.
If it were you, you’d wish the same.
 |
| Adoptable: Winnie |
Please consider becoming a foster parent today. You have the tools to do it; now you just need the final part – the courage. Take a deep breath and jump in with both feet.
The rescue world will be waiting with open arms.
