Bonnie and Clyde

I’ve been waiting to tell you this story. The puppies were much too distracting, but now that five of six puppies have been adopted (and the sixth will go home on Sunday), I can tell you about Bonnie and Clyde.

The other reason I’ve waited is because I wanted to give them time. Their minds were so completely blown when I first brought them home and I didn’t think it was fair to assess them until they had the opportunity to settle in and be treated like the good dogs they are.

Bonnie and Clyde were born in a house rented by an elderly woman. She kept all of the dogs in a small ten by ten room off her kitchen closed in with a piece of plywood. She had illusions of breeding ‘Scotch Terriers’ to make money. Her story is not unusual. In fact, it’s the reason so many shelters are overwhelmed by the number of puppies coming in.

Bonnie and Clyde were part of a litter born about eleven months ago when their parents were about a year old. The other puppies were presumably sold (there are plenty of holes in this story). To keep Clyde from breeding with his mom (or sister), he was kept in a large wire crate for at least the last four months (until we showed up).

At some point in our story, the landlord sold the house. Facing eviction, the ‘breeder’ reached out for help and the Humane Society was contacted. That led to Melisa and I driving out to the house three weeks ago to pick up the four little puppies and the two older puppies. A day later the parent dogs were also surrendered.

In many places, the shelter would end up with these dogs/puppies, but Shenandoah County’s shelter functions much like a pound and would likely turn away or offer to euthanize these animals. Which is why the Humane Society gets the calls. (Beatrix and her puppies were turned away a few months ago.)

When we picked up Bonnie and Clyde, we put their first collars and leashes on them and herded/carried/dragged them out of the ‘poop room’ and the house (the only place they’d ever known) and maneuvered them into crates for the drive home.

To say they stunk is the understatement of my rescue career. Clyde had layer upon layer of poop on him from living in a crate in his own filth. Despite having washed the inside of my vehicle, the crates, the collars, leashes, and the dogs themselves (which was not easy), I still catch faint whiffs of it – possibly in my imagination.

The first week was hard on all of us. B & C were frantic and only knew to potty in their crates no matter how long I kept them outside walking endless circles of our hay field. Eventually, Clyde figured it out and in the last week Bonnie seems to have also mastered the go outside idea.

Having known no other world but that awful room, and now my foster cottage and dog yard, EVERYTHING is scary. I’ve been walking them around our back field as they learn about trees and grass and weeds and SMELLS. They also had to learn about treats and toys and full water bowls that don’t disappear (they were severely dehydrated when they arrived and tended to drink entire bowls dry whenever I filled them which didn’t help the potty-crate situation.)

Now that there is a little bit more time in my day for them, we have been venturing further – taking walks down our quiet road. They’ve grown accustomed to passing cars, although big/noisy trucks send them into a panic. Bonnie is finally relaxing a little since I’ve realized that if she can carry one of her stuffed animals with her she is calmer. Now she doesn’t just bounce in place or whirl in circles when I put a leash on.

Both dogs are doing great with everyone they’ve met (not many yet) and with other dogs. They don’t seem to have any real prey drive, so I’m gonna guess they might be fine with cats too. Reports are that Scooby Doo (dad) and Dixie Bell (mom) are fine with cats in their foster care.

Clyde has learned to play fetch. Watching him running and pouncing awkwardly is adorable. Just like seeing him try to climb up on my futon – which took him three days to master, despite the fact that he’s not a small dog (50 poundsish). Clyde’s favorite activity is stealing Bonnie’s stuffie and getting her (and Sam and Sugar) to chase him around the dog yard.

I couldn’t have imagined we’d have made so much progress in three weeks. To be honest, they seemed so damaged in the beginning. They didn’t act like dogs. I would guess they were very much like puppy mill survivors.

Luckily, their inner nature is a gentle and happy one. They still exude a nervous, prancing energy when they encounter new things or the noise/activity level ramps up in the cottage, but they are settling more every day.

In fact, I think, with the right patient adopters, they are ready for real homes. They will need slow introductions to everything, but they have trusting hearts and zero aggression (I’ve forced them to do so many things that a ‘normal’ dog might have snapped at me about – baths, shots, microchips, being put in crates against their will, taking away toys, etc. and they’ve never even growled.)

If you’re interested in meeting Clyde or Bonnie (or Scooby Doo or Dixie Bell), they are all available for adoption through the Humane Society of Shenandoah County.

I’m also more than happy for them to have visitors here. They need practice in meeting people and having someone to help me take them on adventures (even just a walk together up the road), would be great.

Until Each One Has a Home,

Cara

For information on me, my writing, and books, visit CaraWrites.com.

If you’d like regular updates of all our foster dogs past and present, plus occasional dog care/training tips, and occasional foster cat updates (!) be sure to join the Facebook group, Another Good Dog.

And if you’d like to know where all these dogs come from and how you can help solve the crisis of too many unwanted dogs in our shelters, visit WhoWillLetTheDogsOut.org and subscribe to our blog where we share stories of our travels to shelters, rescues, and dog pounds.

If you can’t get enough foster dog stories, check out my book: Another Good Dog: One Family and Fifty Foster Dogs. Or its follow up that takes you to the shelters in the south One Hundred Dogs & Counting: One Woman, Ten Thousand Miles, and a Journey Into the Heart of Shelters and Rescues.

I love to hear from readers and dog-hearted people! Email me at carasueachterberg@gmail.com.

If you’d like to support the work we do (and save the rescue and me some money), shop our Amazon wishlist. Currently, we are in need of washable dog beds (that fit in large or medium crates).