DogTown (13 page)

Quite often, John added, dogs bite because they are simply trying to communicate that they are in pain. He guessed that seven out of ten times dogs bite not for some behavioral reason but because they’re in physical discomfort. In one case, a dog came in who had bitten several people in a rescue operation, and a simple vet exam determined that he was in severe pain. He was put on medications, and he stopped biting. Sometimes it’s that easy.

Other times, dogs bite people not because they mean to hurt someone but because they get overly excited and go into a “hyperarousal” state. When they get really excited like that, it’s like they forget how to act, John said. They almost get tunnel vision. It’s possible that’s what happened with Annie. “High arousal’s probably one of the biggest problems we have at Dogtown, because it’s a very stimulating environment, and when you have an environment like that, dogs do kind of get out of their heads. Then they start mouthing people. Then they start mouthing harder, which turns into a bite.”

What started out as a party can wind up with an arrest.

FACING DOWN FEAR

As one of the first steps in introducing Annie to the big, scary world and teaching her to stop reacting to it by biting, Sherry took her to see a dog groomer at Dogtown. Sherry knew the groomer well and thought her easy, laid-back manner would be a good start for Annie, since even such a comparatively low-key experience could send the dog’s anxiety level through the roof.

The groomer picked up Annie and set her in a utility sink, where she began washing the dog off with a hose. Ears up and alert, Annie seemed unfazed by the soap and water. The loud noise and hot air of the power dryer would be the next challenge. Annie was startled by the sound of the dryer being turned on. As the hot air hit her fur, she tucked her tail and tried to get away from it, moving from one end of the deep sink to the other. Sherry was pleased to notice that Annie, though clearly frightened, was not panicking and, better yet, was not growling, snapping, or biting. Sherry stepped in and stroked Annie gently as the blow-drying continued. Annie settled down but still nervously watched the dryer’s every move until it was turned off.

In the next step, the groomer tried to trim Annie’s nails. As the groomer held one of her paws and clipped the nails, Annie let out a high-pitched, anxious whine. The groomer had cut one nail too short, which had hurt the dog. “Sorry, honey,” the groomer said.

But Annie’s anxiety level was rising, and Sherry again stepped in to try to calm her. Only this time, it didn’t work as well. Annie bared her teeth at the groomer as she tried to work on another paw. Annie was not happy, and neither was Sherry. They decided to end the grooming session. Sherry muzzled up Annie, knowing they had a lot more work ahead of them. But Annie’s choice to bare her teeth rather than to snap or bite signaled progress. Annie was learning to tell people when she felt threatened rather than attacking right away. It was a step in the right direction.

MORE TESTS

Soon afterward, Sherry took Annie out for a more pleasant test. She drove out into the idyllic canyon country not far from Dogtown, where a small, clear stream meanders in and out of cottonwood shade and there are little sculpted dunes of pale sand—and no children. Then Sherry took off Annie’s leash to let her roam freely and to see if Annie would come when called. Annie seemed transported into a kind of canine rapture, rambling along scent trails here and there, splashing through the creek, and rolling in the warm, white sand. But when Sherry called to her, Annie immediately came back. Sherry was impressed that Annie had such great recall—she could follow the meandering trail of sense memories, like bread crumbs, and not get lost. She was also impressed with Annie’s obedience and quickness to return.

Behavioral consultant Sherry Woodard observed that Annie seemed “to enjoy life as much as any dog I’ve ever met.”

Sherry had been working with Annie for more than a month and was confident that she had made great progress. The next challenge would measure how far Annie had come. The two went to a public park where they could observe, from a distance, kids playing on the playground. Annie would be wearing her leash and muzzle, and Sherry would be watching her to monitor Annie’s reactions. Annie had made great progress learning to control her impulse to bite, but Sherry was still a long way from feeling she could let her loose in a park.

Keeping her muzzled and controlled made Sherry certain there would be no danger to the children. “This is a situation where I have control,” Sherry said, as Annie eagerly observed the herd of little children scampering around the park. “If there’s ever a situation where I think she is going to hurt someone, I’m going to manage it.”

It was a glorious summer day. Distantly, kids in bathing suits were horsing around in the splash park, while others did cartwheels in the grass. Looming over the little park was a red-rock butte, the sort of landscape feature so vividly evoked in Hollywood Westerns. By contrast, the grass in the park seemed absurdly, impossibly green.

The last time Annie had been close to children was the fateful day when she had bitten the infant. Now Annie seemed extremely alert and interested, but not out of control. Holding Annie’s leash with one hand, Sherry knelt at the edge of the grassy field while kids whizzed past, ever closer. Annie was standing up on all fours, intently watching, but she wasn’t straining on the leash. “That’s good,” Sherry said, soothingly.

Instead of showing fear or hyperarousal, Annie just warmly wagged her tail. She seemed particularly excited by the sight of some older kids, perhaps ten to twelve years old—she wagged her tail so excitedly that her whole body wiggled. Sherry thought Annie might think those were “her” kids, the children in the family she had lost.

“It’s a good sign, but it’s also a sad sign,” Sherry said, “because she had a wonderful life, I’m sure. I think she lost a lot.”

Shortly afterward, a mother scooped up a small blond girl in a sun-dress, who was playing fairly close to Sherry and the little dog. It set Annie off, and she struggled against the leash. Sherry held firmly to the leash and helped Annie to settle down. The result of the test was clear: Smaller children still scared Annie.

“I think we will need to be very careful when parents and children are interacting near her for quite some time,” Sherry said. “Maybe part of what we need to work on is that the parents are part of the picture, because Annie’s bad experience included a parent. It will take time, and I want to see some different behavior before I’m confident that Annie has it all figured out.”

Overall, Annie’s trip to the park was a good experience. Except for the one instance of panic, Annie was relaxed and played: She lolled around in the grass, enjoying the gorgeous, sunny day. She was able to watch and listen to the children at play without being scared. She became so comfortable that she was able to take her eyes off them and pay attention to other things in the park. Sherry ranked the outing to the park as a success for Annie. The pair would just need to work harder on helping Annie see that little kids were no threat to her.

THE ULTIMATE TEST

Finally, Sherry arranged a kind of “ultimate test” for Annie—a one-on-one encounter with a blond, dog-friendly two-year-old named Zoe. Sherry’s friend Carragh, who is Zoe’s mom, had agreed to help with the test.

“Sherry called me and asked me if I would have Zoe come and meet Annie,” Carragh said. “And, yeah, I’m a little nervous about it.”

“I’m very grateful to my friends for allowing this to happen,” Sherry said. “Annie will be wearing her muzzle, so it will be very safe.” The test began. Sherry put a more restrictive muzzle on Annie than the one she typically wore. This new muzzle, which resembled a small basket, was made of hard plastic and fit completely over her mouth and nose so that she could not bite. Annie did not like the new muzzle at all. She pawed at it and rubbed her snout against the ground in an attempt to get it off. But her attempts were in vain. The muzzle would stay on until the test was over.

“If I’ve done the work that I should have, Annie should be able to get very close to Zoe and be comfortable,” Sherry said. “So neither of them will be picking up stress and anxiety from the other. I think dogs are more comfortable when they’re moving, so I’m going to have everybody simply keep moving. We walk and we see how it goes, and if it seems like it’s going really well, then we could slow down and even stop.”

These isolated canyon lands near Dogtown provided an ideal place for Annie and Sherry to work off leash together.

Next, Sherry, Annie, Carragh, and Zoe walked, fairly close together, out into the grassy area of the park. Sherry had Annie muzzled and on a tight leash. But though Annie was so close to Zoe that they were almost touching, Annie did not seem to be reacting at all.

“Want to pet her?” Carragh said to Zoe, gently. Zoe reached over and petted the little dog, who did not seem to mind.

“Is she soft? Say ‘Hi, Annie,’” Carragh said. Zoe drew her fingers through Annie’s luxuriant fur. Annie lifted her muzzle up, eyes closed, as if she wanted to enjoy it more. Then Annie shyly moved closer to Zoe and rubbed the back of her head against Zoe’s stomach.

“Aw, you like her,” Carragh said.

Zoe put her face against Annie’s face, and Annie tried to kiss Zoe through the muzzle. She was at ease with this child and was showing her affection.

“Aw, that’s sweet,” Carragh said. “She’s doing good!”

“She’s doing great!” Sherry said. “What a day!”

“It was wonderful and precious to see them together,” Sherry said after it was over. “I’m really hopeful that she can get out there in society and have a lot of fun and be safe. I think if she’s with the right people, the chances are she will succeed. Annie’s going to be a joy to share life with.”

HIGH JINKS AND A HOME

And as it turned out, Annie
did
find the right people to share her joy and her life with. After watching the
DogTown
episode about Annie on television, a Las Vegas family decided they wanted to adopt her. A woman named Irene drove to the sanctuary to take Annie back home, where she lived with her husband, Steve, and their 29-year-old daughter Alison.

The three of them fell for Annie’s high-energy high jinks and her seemingly inexhaustible enthusiasm for play. She loved to bounce into the air like a pogo stick, and “she will jump into my husband’s waiting arms, jump down, and do this until my husband tires,” Irene wrote in a posting to the Best Friends website (details of Annie’s adoption are available at
http://www.bestfriends.org/dogtown
). “Annie never tires of this game.” Annie’s energy was so extraordinary—and so in need of being burned off every day—that the family took her along on their daily bike rides. Each evening, Irene would attach Annie’s leash to the handlebars of her bright red bike, and then they’d all take off together, with Annie racing out ahead with so much spirit that Irene sometimes didn’t even have to pedal.

Annie was especially fond of Steve and Alison, choosing to sleep on Alison’s bed. She loved to go on car rides, sitting in the passenger seat just like a person, and selectively choosing to bark—or not bark—at people in other cars at stoplights. “There are definitely some people she likes better than others!” Irene reported.

An uncomfortable test took place when Irene and Steve’s year-old granddaughter came to visit. While adults were present, Annie stayed in the same room with the baby for a short while, but “she kept her distance,” Irene said. The little dog was not aggressive, nor was she affectionate; she merely tolerated the baby (who was never left alone with Annie). Perhaps the trauma of the incident that changed her world was still too vivid for Annie to come any closer—and that may be best for everyone.

All in all, wrote Irene, Annie “loves our family and is protective of all of us. She has some funny antics and makes us laugh all the time. We are all so glad that we adopted her.” This is a convincing testament to just how far Annie has come.