“Do you have time to go look at a dog?”
It was my friend, Marty, calling to ask me to meet her near my house to do a quick evaluation on a Newf in need of rescue. It’s always a good idea to have more than one person along for these initial face to face interviews with the owner, and to get an impression of the dog’s overall health and personality.
I agreed, but didn’t get much information about the situation before I got there. I had no idea what to expect.
On arriving at the owner’s house, I entered through the back door into the kitchen where Marty and the owner were already engaged in conversation. In a dark corner, tightly curled up, was Ebony, a smallish black Newf girl. She had no reaction to my arrival and lay with her head on her paws, not moving to meet this new stranger. It wasn’t the usual greeting that I have come to expect from a Newf and I noticed that the dog didn’t even look up to meet my gaze. I got down on the floor to introduce myself, but Ebony didn’t even raise her head when I stroked it. She was very subdued.
The owner, a nice young woman, explained that she had only gotten Ebony a year ago. She had been looking for something else on Craigslist when she ran across a listing from someone wanting to give away their dog. She contacted the people and Ebony came to live with her. She was told, at the time, that Ebony was about 3 years old, making her 4 when we went to see her.
It was at this point that the owner mention that Ebony’s teeth were worn down. Without thinking about it much, I lifted Ebony’s lips, put my fingers in her mouth, and was shocked to find that all of her teeth were barely visible at the gum line, even her canines. Ebony didn’t react at all to this intrusion. I noticed her eyes, though soft, were void of any emotion, and took note of this disturbing fact.
The current owner’s vet thought that the worn teeth were an indication that the dog had been chewing on metal. Perhaps cage wires or something similar. I couldn’t imagine the amount of chewing that had to occur over a long period of time to wear down teeth to that extent. It was a horrifying and sickening thought of a dog’s desperation to set itself free. This must have happened at her first owner’s home because she had free run of her current home.
Worse still, Ebony’s demeanor was one of an animal who had completely shut down. Her owner had tried everything to make Ebony happy in her home, but Ebony only wanted to hide in a corner or seek refuge in the bathroom. Ebony didn’t want to go for walks, or ride in the car, or play, and she avoided almost all contact with people, especially strangers or guests. Marty asked if we could see her outside in the yard.
We went out and sat on the patio while her owner coaxed Ebony out of the house. Ebony quickly slinked around the perimeter and had several obviously stress related bowel movements. Just as quickly, she ran back to the door and with a cowering stance, pawed at the door, begging to be let back in. She refused any of the extra yummy treats that Marty had brought. Ebony was very unhappy and just wanted to be left alone.
Apparently, the first owner had gotten Ebony from some man who had four Newfs in his van. They wanted Ebony as a guard dog for their family. Their reason for giving her up to the current owner was that they were moving.
Her current owner tried so hard to “fix” Ebony. She took her to the vet regularly, tried anti-anxiety meds to no avail, had her thyroid levels tested and put her on medication, tried to socialize her with people and other animals, and everything in between. Ebony showed little interest in other animals (dogs, rabbits, cats) after an initial brief sniff or two, but did seem to gravitate a bit towards children. Otherwise, Ebony just wanted to be alone in her hidey hole. And to add to her misery, storms and loud noises would have her retreating to the darkest place she could find. After having her a year, the owner gave up and felt it was best if someone else tried to help this poor dog. It had to take a lot of fortitude for Ebony’s owner to deal with these problems for a whole year and even more love and courage to realize that Ebony needed a new chance for happiness.
After seeing Ebony, Marty and I had no doubt that we needed to get this dog into rescue. But how? Could Rescue find a foster home who was willing to take this difficult and probably long term challenge? It would take a very special person to foster this girl and an even more special person to adopt her. Ebony had been in this deeply depressed state for so long, I wondered if she could ever come out of it. Who would adopt a dog that had absolutely no joy in its life, didn’t want to engage with the world, who might spend the rest of its life hiding from everyone and everything? It looked rather bleak to me.
Marty and I left for our homes, to write evaluations for our Rescue Coordinator. I know we both felt that somewhere inside Ebony was a dog that was desperate for happiness and love, but didn’t know how to find it and certainly couldn’t communicate her need. My gut said that something was terribly wrong and I hoped that there was an underlying cause that was solvable. Illness perhaps. I suggested a very thorough medical exam to our Coordinator in my evaluation and secretly hoped that something would be found. Who hopes for an animal to be sick? I did, because it seemed to be a better alternative than dealing with a long term behavior problem.
I thought about Ebony a lot. Disturbing thoughts, mostly. An email was sent out asking for a foster volunteer, but it was several weeks before anyone stepped up. I knew I couldn’t take on Ebony’s problems at this point, so it was a relief when I finally received an email saying a foster home had been found.
Ebony could not have gotten a better foster mom, and she also has another dog now to help bolster her. I know her foster Mom is up to the task and has the courage to confront Ebony’s misery. Because determination is what it will take to make Ebony happy again, and it may be initially depressing to live with this dog. Poor Ebony, who has been through too many homes already, will have to endure the anxiety of being moved around again. Oh, how I wish we could lift this dark cloud from her mind and spare her somehow.
Today, our Rescue Coordinator was thoughtfully kind enough to send me news from Ebony’s foster mom and I am grateful to have received it because it brought tears of joy. Ebony has been to see a dental vet who determined that Ebony has been in a lot of pain for a very long time and needs extensive dental work done, not only to remove many of her teeth, but to try to preserve some of them. He also decided that Ebony’s age was probably closer to 8 years old, instead of 4 years.
Ebony was scheduled for a first surgery and her foster mom reported an amazing and nearly immediate difference in Ebony. She left the safety of her crate by herself the morning after her surgery, willingly coming out without being removed from it. She wanted to be back in the world. Her foster mom said that Ebony even chased a rabbit in the yard and ate her breakfast with gusto, which she was previously loathe to do, lingering over her bowl for hours. It’s a wonderful new beginning!
Ebony has already had and will need at least $4000.00 worth of surgeries before her ordeal is behind her and her pain is relieved. But I am confident that she is now beginning to enjoy being the happy and contented dog that I always believed was deep inside, begging to be let out. She will still face other challenges while she learns not to fear life. We can have hope that she will improve rapidly, but she may still have a lot of obstacles to hurdle for a long time.
I can only imagine what extraordinary bravery it has taken for this dear Newfy girl to face each day in constant pain, believing that no one was going to help her. It must have pierced her very soul to the core. Yet she never lashed out at anyone, and quietly in her own way, accepted her fate for what she thought it was.
That, my friends, is the heart of a Newf. That is courage.
If you would like to take part in Ebony’s healing, please consider making a tax deductible donation (we are a 501c3 charitable organization) in her name to:
HANR (Heart of America Newfoundland Rescue, Inc.)
PO Box 111
Louisville, NE. 68037
Or go online to HANR’s Facebook page where you will find a PayPal link if you prefer. You don't need a PayPal account to donate.
https://www.facebook.com/newfrescue/?ref=hl
Edited to add: I posted a photo of Ebony below from HANR's FB page.
It was my friend, Marty, calling to ask me to meet her near my house to do a quick evaluation on a Newf in need of rescue. It’s always a good idea to have more than one person along for these initial face to face interviews with the owner, and to get an impression of the dog’s overall health and personality.
I agreed, but didn’t get much information about the situation before I got there. I had no idea what to expect.
On arriving at the owner’s house, I entered through the back door into the kitchen where Marty and the owner were already engaged in conversation. In a dark corner, tightly curled up, was Ebony, a smallish black Newf girl. She had no reaction to my arrival and lay with her head on her paws, not moving to meet this new stranger. It wasn’t the usual greeting that I have come to expect from a Newf and I noticed that the dog didn’t even look up to meet my gaze. I got down on the floor to introduce myself, but Ebony didn’t even raise her head when I stroked it. She was very subdued.
The owner, a nice young woman, explained that she had only gotten Ebony a year ago. She had been looking for something else on Craigslist when she ran across a listing from someone wanting to give away their dog. She contacted the people and Ebony came to live with her. She was told, at the time, that Ebony was about 3 years old, making her 4 when we went to see her.
It was at this point that the owner mention that Ebony’s teeth were worn down. Without thinking about it much, I lifted Ebony’s lips, put my fingers in her mouth, and was shocked to find that all of her teeth were barely visible at the gum line, even her canines. Ebony didn’t react at all to this intrusion. I noticed her eyes, though soft, were void of any emotion, and took note of this disturbing fact.
The current owner’s vet thought that the worn teeth were an indication that the dog had been chewing on metal. Perhaps cage wires or something similar. I couldn’t imagine the amount of chewing that had to occur over a long period of time to wear down teeth to that extent. It was a horrifying and sickening thought of a dog’s desperation to set itself free. This must have happened at her first owner’s home because she had free run of her current home.
Worse still, Ebony’s demeanor was one of an animal who had completely shut down. Her owner had tried everything to make Ebony happy in her home, but Ebony only wanted to hide in a corner or seek refuge in the bathroom. Ebony didn’t want to go for walks, or ride in the car, or play, and she avoided almost all contact with people, especially strangers or guests. Marty asked if we could see her outside in the yard.
We went out and sat on the patio while her owner coaxed Ebony out of the house. Ebony quickly slinked around the perimeter and had several obviously stress related bowel movements. Just as quickly, she ran back to the door and with a cowering stance, pawed at the door, begging to be let back in. She refused any of the extra yummy treats that Marty had brought. Ebony was very unhappy and just wanted to be left alone.
Apparently, the first owner had gotten Ebony from some man who had four Newfs in his van. They wanted Ebony as a guard dog for their family. Their reason for giving her up to the current owner was that they were moving.
Her current owner tried so hard to “fix” Ebony. She took her to the vet regularly, tried anti-anxiety meds to no avail, had her thyroid levels tested and put her on medication, tried to socialize her with people and other animals, and everything in between. Ebony showed little interest in other animals (dogs, rabbits, cats) after an initial brief sniff or two, but did seem to gravitate a bit towards children. Otherwise, Ebony just wanted to be alone in her hidey hole. And to add to her misery, storms and loud noises would have her retreating to the darkest place she could find. After having her a year, the owner gave up and felt it was best if someone else tried to help this poor dog. It had to take a lot of fortitude for Ebony’s owner to deal with these problems for a whole year and even more love and courage to realize that Ebony needed a new chance for happiness.
After seeing Ebony, Marty and I had no doubt that we needed to get this dog into rescue. But how? Could Rescue find a foster home who was willing to take this difficult and probably long term challenge? It would take a very special person to foster this girl and an even more special person to adopt her. Ebony had been in this deeply depressed state for so long, I wondered if she could ever come out of it. Who would adopt a dog that had absolutely no joy in its life, didn’t want to engage with the world, who might spend the rest of its life hiding from everyone and everything? It looked rather bleak to me.
Marty and I left for our homes, to write evaluations for our Rescue Coordinator. I know we both felt that somewhere inside Ebony was a dog that was desperate for happiness and love, but didn’t know how to find it and certainly couldn’t communicate her need. My gut said that something was terribly wrong and I hoped that there was an underlying cause that was solvable. Illness perhaps. I suggested a very thorough medical exam to our Coordinator in my evaluation and secretly hoped that something would be found. Who hopes for an animal to be sick? I did, because it seemed to be a better alternative than dealing with a long term behavior problem.
I thought about Ebony a lot. Disturbing thoughts, mostly. An email was sent out asking for a foster volunteer, but it was several weeks before anyone stepped up. I knew I couldn’t take on Ebony’s problems at this point, so it was a relief when I finally received an email saying a foster home had been found.
Ebony could not have gotten a better foster mom, and she also has another dog now to help bolster her. I know her foster Mom is up to the task and has the courage to confront Ebony’s misery. Because determination is what it will take to make Ebony happy again, and it may be initially depressing to live with this dog. Poor Ebony, who has been through too many homes already, will have to endure the anxiety of being moved around again. Oh, how I wish we could lift this dark cloud from her mind and spare her somehow.
Today, our Rescue Coordinator was thoughtfully kind enough to send me news from Ebony’s foster mom and I am grateful to have received it because it brought tears of joy. Ebony has been to see a dental vet who determined that Ebony has been in a lot of pain for a very long time and needs extensive dental work done, not only to remove many of her teeth, but to try to preserve some of them. He also decided that Ebony’s age was probably closer to 8 years old, instead of 4 years.
Ebony was scheduled for a first surgery and her foster mom reported an amazing and nearly immediate difference in Ebony. She left the safety of her crate by herself the morning after her surgery, willingly coming out without being removed from it. She wanted to be back in the world. Her foster mom said that Ebony even chased a rabbit in the yard and ate her breakfast with gusto, which she was previously loathe to do, lingering over her bowl for hours. It’s a wonderful new beginning!
Ebony has already had and will need at least $4000.00 worth of surgeries before her ordeal is behind her and her pain is relieved. But I am confident that she is now beginning to enjoy being the happy and contented dog that I always believed was deep inside, begging to be let out. She will still face other challenges while she learns not to fear life. We can have hope that she will improve rapidly, but she may still have a lot of obstacles to hurdle for a long time.
I can only imagine what extraordinary bravery it has taken for this dear Newfy girl to face each day in constant pain, believing that no one was going to help her. It must have pierced her very soul to the core. Yet she never lashed out at anyone, and quietly in her own way, accepted her fate for what she thought it was.
That, my friends, is the heart of a Newf. That is courage.
If you would like to take part in Ebony’s healing, please consider making a tax deductible donation (we are a 501c3 charitable organization) in her name to:
HANR (Heart of America Newfoundland Rescue, Inc.)
PO Box 111
Louisville, NE. 68037
Or go online to HANR’s Facebook page where you will find a PayPal link if you prefer. You don't need a PayPal account to donate.
https://www.facebook.com/newfrescue/?ref=hl
Edited to add: I posted a photo of Ebony below from HANR's FB page.
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