by Silvy on July 27th, 2011, 4:01 am
This was passed on to me and I'd like to share it:
If you’ve just rescued a life from the shelter or plan to (yay!), taking these words into serious consideration can make all the difference. See below!
“I find that many of us make a big mistake when we '...spring' a dog from a shelter....we, as humans, are all so excited! Whoopee! The dog is saved! It's outta there. Let's party! Well, I have news for you: dogs don't see it that way. That dog from the shelter just came from a noisy, lights-on-all-the-time, place that smelled of fear and death. In a word: SCARY.
Now, he/she is moving into another NEW, potentially (in his/her mind) scary situation. If there is one thing I have learned from my years with dogs and years in rescue is this: DOGS LOVE HABIT. They love to know that what they expect WILL come next, DOES come next. Therefore, go slow with your shelter dog...allow it some time to de-stress from the shelter smells of fear, death and excitement. Lots of loose leash walks, followed by some good food, some more loose leash walks and back to the safety of a crate, just hangin’, just chillin’.
Time to sleep it all off and get ready for a new life, new habits, new people. If you have a resident dog, and your foster is a dog-social dog and so is your foster, wonderful. Take walks together. But no need for the all-out party time yet. Allow them to sleep in crates next to each other, so they can absorb each others smell, so important to dogs, lost to man.
Be prepared for a first night of crying, whining and barking in the crate. The shelter pet may have never in its life seen a crate before. Be willing to pull out that old sleeping bag and put up for night next to your dog in his/her crate. It won't be that way forever, but for the first few nights, do what you can to make your dog feel safe...it's the best part of loving that dog.
Because, in the end, the way you act with your shelter pet will determine the whole of your future relationship. GO SLOW. This is NOT the time for a party, jumping on furniture, or running to Petsmart for every toy in there! The most valuable thing you can give your shelter pet is this: YOUR TIME. It is priceless...you cannot buy it in any store.”
Looks up--yikes--wow I can talk huh? I can't help it--I can talk animals every minute for the rest of my life! 
Aaww thank you Cayenne! I adore them too! Do you have any animals?
