LIFE CHANGING INTERVIEWS WITH SAVANNAH…
WOW! You guys are so appreciative! I had so many “LIKE” this feature comments…and then I started to receive the “I will volunteer to be interviewed” emails and comments!!!
I have had sufficient (vocab building project VBP) volunteers to allow me to do this two times each month!!!!!!!!!!!
AND…I have cats AND dogs!!!! I will do this feature twice a month, the first and second Tuesday each month through December 2012…and then we will see if you still find it interesting, helpful and informative…
As I said in the first post…I want to share other rescue cats’ and dogs’ recovery stories to spread our learning about the challenges we face and the joy our Guardians get to experience as they help us into, and through, recovery…(recovery meaning we show as much as we can of our REAL SELF).
So, here we go! My FIRST UP DOGGIE…
Please welcome CHANCY !!!
APAWS!!…APAWS!!!…APAWS!!!
Savannah: Hiya Chancy. I can’t believe that you would honor me by being my first ever doggie interview!!! You are so kind to do this!
Chancy: Hi, Savannah, Thank you for invitin’ me to be interviewed. We was happy to hear that you interview dogs too. I am excited about answerin’ your questions.
Savannah: Chancy, would you mind sharing with us how you arrived at your furrever home???
Chancy: A teenage boy across the road from Mumsy and Popsy adopted me from the local Humane Society. He got in trouble and was put in the jail. His mama did not want me and gave me to Mumsy.
I was 4 months old when I got my furrever home. I now am 4 ½ years old and I loves my furrever home and specially my Mumsy.
I was very bad off and near death when I came to my furrever home. I had two kinds of mange, lots of worms, staph infection and was covered from nose to paws with ticks and fleas.
There was a collar embedded deep into my neck. Mumsy cut the collar and carefully removed it. She says she will never forget the love in my eyes as I stared straight into her eyes as she was cutting off the collar. My neck had a very deep gash that went almost from one ear to the other. Mumsy called the vet right away and they scheduled me for surgery the next morning.
Dr. Scotty called in a special surgeon to fix my neck. The collar had grown so far into my neck the surgeon had to cut away a lot of tissue and neck skin that was dead. He stretched my skin tightly in order to stitch my neck back together.
You can see I had to wear my collar very low so I would not be afraid it would choke me. Mumsy tightened it ever so slightly ever couple of months until I got to where I was not afraid of to have it on. This picture was taken after I came out of the 2 months in isolation.
Mumsy did not want pictures of me when I first came. She said the memories were sad enough without picture reminders. She still cries when she thinks back.
Savannah: Chancy, I know you have been in your furrever home now for what…about 4 years??…Do you remember what some of your most scary challenges were as you tried to trust and depend on your Mumsy and Popsy???
Chancy: I was ‘fraid of everybody when I first came to Mumsy and Popsy’s.
I didn’t stay afraid of Mumsy though. I fell in love with her the second she cut the embedded collar from my neck. I still don’t like to be held but I will let Mumsy and Popsy pick me up and take me to my kennel when I don’t want to go. And I let Mumsy holds me close when we go to the Vet ‘cause I get real scared.
Dr. Scotty says I am a “clinger” ‘cause I hold on to my Mumsy tight as I can.
I am afraid of a brush and won’t let anybody near me with one. I will let Mumsy brush me with her fingers though.
I am still afraid of a leash and go ballistic if Mumsy tries to attach one to my collar. She is happy we have a very large yard for me to run in. Mumsy is proud of me for wearin’ a collar too, ‘specially after what happened to my neck she didn’t think I ever would.
We are still workin’ on separation anxiety issues and Mumsy says I am a tad better but I still get very afraid when Mumsy leaves me.
We also are still workin’ on me learnin’ that when people come to visit they are not goin’ to hurt Mumsy. Mumsy makes sure our guests are sitting down before she brings me in the room with them. I am okay after they sit down. I won’t let them sit close to Mumsy though and we are very slowly workin’ through that issue.
When Mumsy can reassure me the peoples are okay then I settle down. I have to go behind the gate when little peoples are here ‘cause I don’t like them. We have worked up to me lettin’ 2 people besides Mumsy and Popsy pet me, my oldest human brother and Mumsy’s best friend. They still have to be sittin’ down though to pet me.
Savannah: Ummm…ahhh…Chancy, would you mind telling us about some of the ways you and your Mumsy and Popsy worked together to help get you moving forward…ya know…like the peeps call it, “recovery”…where you try to overcome your issues or challenges?.
Chancy: Mumsy talks to me softly when she is reassuring me. The way she helped me be okay with my human brother and her friend was…she would sit by them, put me on the other side of her, hold me by my collar then she would touch them on the arm or leg while telling me it was okay, they are good people. After a year or more I started goin’ up to them to be petted.
When Mumsy has to leave for a while she puts a special toy, a dog cookie and a chew bone in my kennel with me. Before she leaves she pets me lots and tells me she promises she will be back soon. She also leaves the door to the room open so the cats can visit with me and I won’t get lonely. And she always brings me somethin’. I never eat my cookie until Mumsy gets back home and opens my kennel door.
Savannah: Ok Chancy…now let’s be real; be honest. How successful have you been in working with Mumsy and Popsy so you can show your REAL SELF ??
Chancy: It has been slow, but we have made progress.
The cats have helped me a lot to adjust. They were not afraid of me at all when I finally got out of isolation. I wasn’t afraid of them either. We have always played together. They are my furriends!
I tattle on them a lot but they still loves me…(snicker, snork)…koff, koff…ahem…moving along…
The challenges we are still working on is me not being so overly protective of Mumsy and be more trustin’ of family members and friends.
I also try to jump up and bite people who walk up to the fence and Mumsy is teachin’ me that is not a good thing to do. I get so upset when people come near the fence Mumsy has to pick me up, stroke me and whisper in my ear that it is okay until I calm down.
This is how I look now after Mumsy and me worked together to get me all well and happy. I am one happy boy now.
Savannah:..Oh Chancy, you are such a great dog! Luvluvluv ya man! High Paws!!!
Ok, I promise…the very last, last question…Do ya have any advice or tips, to our readers to help them support their adult rescue dog, or maybe a new rescue dog they may be thinkin’ about brining into their home…anything you think is impawtant to help that dog be able to show its REAL SELF??
Chancy: Just give ‘em lots of tender, lovin’ care, be patient and consistent.
Savannah:..Oh My Cat! Chancy, this has been so pawsome to get to know you better…to learn about your early days before your furrever home.
Any last thought or words of wisdom you want to share?
Chancy: You all probably already knows this but…I wants to say that there is a whole lot of doggies and kitties that are neglected and has collars on that do not grow with ‘em and they needs help to get those collars off.
Sometimes the collars are very hard to see because their lovely furrs is covering them.
So when you sees a kitty or doggie anywhere; check their neck closely to be sure they don’t have a collar growin’ into their neck. If they does not gets help they will eventually choke to death or starve.
And I wants to thank all of you who have taken in doggies and kitties and give them lots of TLC. Hugs and nose kisses to everybody from me and my Mumsy. We thank you, Savannah and your mom too. We were happy to do the interview and share my story.
WOW!! I hope all of you are holding up way better than me!!!…I am EXHAUSTED from talking with Chancy…what a SURVIVOR he is! What FANTABULOUS peeps are Mumsy and Popsy!!!
…I have to go take a little rest in my closet after that one…
PURRLEASE, PURRLEASE…remember what Chancy and his Mumsy and Popsy said…never, ever, never let a cat or dog pass you by without just taking a quick look to make sure their collars are the correct fit…even if they are strays or belong to neighbors…just a suggestion…
Paw pats, until next time…Savannah
Savannah's Paw Tracks 