Marmaduke (Marmie)
joined our family September 29, 2000.
After losing our previous shephard in June, the time had come to
find a new K9 friend. I
stopped at the Mounds Pet Store in Middleton to get the name of a German
Shephard Rescue person. Through
that contact we found Sue and Tim Hasey who just happened to have a white
shephard they were ready to place. I
wasn't sure about a white shephard--always had the more traditional black
and brown or tan shephards plus sometimes white dogs are genetically
messed up. Sue assured me he
wasn't "funny"--just white. So we met and of course it was love at first sight for
me--can't speak for Marm because he was very attached to Sue and Tim.
Actually having
Marm's appearance be so different from my other shepherds has turned out
to be good because I can't possibly confuse or compare him with previous
K9 buddies. He is a wonderful
fellow, not inclined to take off on his own and roam, wants to be with us
and likes people. The only
exception to that was an embarrassing one when I had an African-American
friend, John, visit for a couple days and Marm was obviously upset with
his presence to the point of barking agressively at our guest.
Fortunately our friend had some insite into that and after several
days of John feeding him his meals and giving him treats plus throwing
sticks for him, they were buddies. Not
sure if he will respond the same way again. We did sign up for and
complete an 8 week beginners course with Trish McConnell that improved
communications between Marm and I.
Our transition to
becoming Marm's new family was quite smooth but not without some dilemas.
One might expect dogs
who have been abandoned once to be very nervous when left alone.
While Marm did/does not have "typical" separation
anxiety, he does get anxious when he senses we will be leaving him home
alone. While he has never
chewed up things, he goes right over the top of the 5 foot fence in his
outdoor yard which we would like to leave available to him thru a dog door
from the house. But we have
had to block his access to that. Also
another time when we left him, he went thru a screen and open
window--fortunately only three feet above ground level.
But had he chosen another screen he could have fallen a full floor
down!! ugh. Once out he seems
to run around looking for us and then ends up sitting on the front porch
waiting for us. So he doesn't
go far but we have seen him cross the road in front of our house--which
makes me very nervous. These symptoms have lessened with time as he grows
more confident that we will return. I
also have him on a non-perscription formula product that is supposed to
relieve stress. We hope to
take a 4 day weekend soon and have a friend house sit with him.
That will test how comfortable he may be in a more extended
absence.
Thanks to the GS
rescue group, especially Sue and Tim who were willing to bring home a
white dog covered with road tar and provide him with a nurturing
transition until Marm could take his place as a valued member of our
family and a good companion dog.