A fellow A2Z-er made the perfect comment on Saturdays post to introduce this one:
Mark Twain wrote: "No good deed goes unpunished." We must prepare for the bruises and wounds that come with helping the helpless. :-(Thank you, Roland. (Hop on over when you get a chance and show him some love!) Hes 100% right, you know. Sometimes rescue gets rough. Sometimes a dog that needs immediate help refuses to cooperate. For whatever reason—and variations are endless. But it comes down to this:
How do you catch a dog that doesn’t want to be caught?
CHASE & CORNER
This Hope for Paws video does a great job of showing what its like. Its a happy, happy story, but if, like me, you cry with Pedigree commercials, you might want to turn down the volume. (Especially after the rescue.)Cornering the dog is only 10% of the battle. Once s/he realizes theres no way out except through you, one of three things will happen—and you need to be prepared for all three.
S/hell submit
A dogs surrender, especially of a street-born dog whos been self-reliant all his/her life, is one of the hardest things to see in dog rescue. They have no way of knowing youre their lifeline; at that point, youre the bad guy, the monster in the closet that came out and sat on their beds, licking its chops. And still they give up. It breaks my heart every time.S/hell make a run for it
Thats what happened in the video above. You saw how quickly the rescuer had to act, how on the fly the snare leash went around the dogs neck. You need to be ready. And you need to be fast. At that point, its all or nothing.S/hell fight back
Once a skittish dog feels trapped, especially once the leash goes around their neck, they will fight it. Theyll thrash and howl and empty their bowels, and theyll bite at anything within reach—including you.
Its horrible to see. And to listen to. But heres the thing. You cant let go.
Let’s get our priorities straight. The goal here—the only one that counts, the thing that trumps every other consideration—is Getting The Dog. Everything else (getting bitten, getting hurt, looking stupid, whatever) is important only in the measure that it affects Getting The Dog.
I know someone who got dragged sixteen feet over sharp rocks by a feral dog shed been after for weeks and had just managed to leash. She delivered the dog to the foster (me) with blood trickling down both her shins. I asked if she wanted the first-aid kit. She said sure, but lets first get the dog settled in.
Priorities.
I know someone who got dragged sixteen feet over sharp rocks by a feral dog shed been after for weeks and had just managed to leash. She delivered the dog to the foster (me) with blood trickling down both her shins. I asked if she wanted the first-aid kit. She said sure, but lets first get the dog settled in.
Priorities.
And, while were at it, lets get something else out of the way. There is no such thing as a vicious dog. What people see as "aggression" is either training or, especially within the rescue context, fear. A dog will attack as a last resort only, and then only because s/he honestly believes his/her survival depends on it. When you dont have time to engage in dogspeak conversation about how all this is for their own good, you need to be prepared to give some blood.
Come on. Its for a good cause.
Come on. Its for a good cause.
The other thing theyll bite is the leash, which is why youll need a sturdy snare leash instead of the cute purple and pink one you walk Fido with (check out the K post for more on the Dog Rescuers Kit). I lost a dog that way once. Had her finally on a leash (after she bit me), and while we were waiting for someone to get the transport crate from the car—not even a minute, I swear—she bit her way through the leash and we had to start all over again.
TRAPS
If you cant get close enough to try anything else, a trap might do it. The trick is to use irresistible food as a lure (more about that in the Food post), and to be very, very patient. This rescue group did an amazing job here.
DRUGS
Rescuers hate using them. Not just because it feels like admitting defeat, but because they can end in tragedy. More on that at the Drug Dos and Donts post.
