How to save a (dog's) life

This week, we have had a new experience. On Tuesday, I got a Belgian Sheepdog out of a local shelter on behalf of Belgian Sheepdog Rescue Trust. She is 14 months old, and she is staying until Friday morning when I take her north where she will be fostered.

Ultimately, it's the wonderful people in animal shelters and animal control offices that save these dog's lives. In this case, it was a special animal control officer who in spite of all the information given to her didn't want to put a dog down.

The family told her the dog was snapping and biting them and she was vicious. When she arrived, she was in a muzzle, barking and snarling and spitting. But the animal control officer took her in after the family surrendered her and evaluated her. Even when the dog's initial reaction was to try and bite the officer, no one gave up on her. Instead, the officer started trying to find a Belgian Sheepdog rescue group.

Three days later, I met a different dog. I met a Belgian Sheepdog that was wary of people she didn't know, but who trusted those she had met just 24 to 72 hours earlier. She wagged her tail, she took food and she allowed them to love her. Within 10 minutes, she even came up to me and sniffed me.

By the time I picked her up on Tuesday, she was wagging and accepting and eagerly taking treats and greeting people. She has been a gem to have around the house, even though she's not socialized with other dogs. She is learning Goldens are pretty neat while safe in a crate or on the other side of a baby gate, but she's still not ready to be loose with other dogs.

This girl is going to make someone a really nice pet. She's loyal and loves people. She's free with licks and tail wags, and all she wants is someone to love and protect her.

I know I'm not cut out to work with rescues full time. My Belgian Tervuren Cammie taught me that years ago when I rescued her. I gave her everything I could, and in the end it still wasn't enough.

But this week my little Belgian Sheepdog gem has reminded me that everyone in the dog training community needs to give back to the dogs we love. We need to donate time or money to our rescue groups. If we get that phone call out of the blue, we need to return it and do what is being asked of us - or do more.

We have years of dog training and dog behavior experience to offer rescue groups. We know what stress looks like and we know how to get through it (good treats, redirecting behavior). We know our dog's behaviors and the quirks our breeds have. In this case, the family should have never owned a Belgian Sheepdog. Out of ignorance, they did so much damage. We have video cameras, and we know how to tape dogs. I had no idea how grabbing my video camera and taping a dog at a shelter would tell the rescue evaluators far more than a still photo would. We know dogs, and rescue groups need our expertise. And we need to give back to our dogs.

In the end when I transfer this beautiful Belgian Sheepdog tomorrow she will take a little piece of my heart. It's right there next to the piece the animal control officer gave her. But those little pieces of our hearts told her that humans can be trusted again. That she doesn't have to control her world; humans are supposed to do that for her. And humans are supposed to love her. And someday really soon, she'll find that love in her forever home.