Margaret's Story
I got a message from the foster coordinator of the Humane society asking if I could take one of three sisters who had just been rescued from “a bad situation”. She sent me pictures and when I looked at Margaret she just looked so defeated and miserable it broke my heart. I had never fostered an abused dog before, all I had done at that point were puppies. I messaged back saying I would take Margaret.
When I picked her up from the shelter I had to carry her to the car because she was completely shut down. She wouldn't look at me at all. For the next 2 days she stayed curled up in a ball, not moving. She didn’t eat, drink or go to the bathroom. I would carry her outside but she didn’t move except for trembling with fear. I texted the coordinator often during those two days because I had never had any experience with this kind of behavior. My instincts were to just leave her alone and let her process what was going for a little while before trying to coax her to interact. During that time Milo slept by her kennel.
Finally on the 3rd day she took a drink of water and interacted a little with Milo. She ate later and finally went to the bathroom. I was so relieved! I didn’t push her, just let her do her thing. As the days went by she started to follow Milo around and eventually they started playing together. I left her kennel open so she could choose to sleep with Milo or in her kennel. Meanwhile I was in contact with the other two people who were fostering her sisters. We shared ideas and support.
When I would get home from work, she watched how happy Milo and Fritz were, greeting me at the door and started to come a little closer every day. After about two weeks she started to come to me and let me pet her. After about 2 months Margaret was my shadow. She followed me everywhere and loved cuddling. We worked quite a bit with her going in and out of doors as she was terrified of them. I learned that many dogs who have been abused or neglected are extremely fearful of doors. One possible reason is from being hit with them when going in or out, also being trapped in or out in a bad situation.
When it started getting closer for her to go up for adoption I played all the scenarios out in my head. Would she get a good home, who would understand her, etc., etc. But the bottom line was Margaret had become my princess baby girlfriend (real nickname, she loves it). I couldn’t give her back. Besides which her and Milo were the perfect couple. So, we kept her. Foster fail number one.
Not only is she excellent with most of our fosters, but she is also one of the smartest dogs I’ve seen and food is her best motivator. Most of the time when you foster you don't know their past or exactly what happened to them. You can only watch for triggers and know that you are helping them learn to trust us and hopefully get a home where they will have a great life.
Look for videos of Margaret. She is an amazing girl and the fact that she trusts me even though people were not good to her, always makes me feel grateful.
