Trust Rescue

This is my rescue Honey.

Our adventure is less about breath taking views, and relaxing shore side sunsets. It's more internal than that.

Let me explain.

Honey came into my life as a leap of faith. While renting a room from my aunt and after helping their rescue stray give birth and raising puppies, I wanted a dog friend of my own. I saw the companionship everyone else was getting, and became jealous. Plus I was sick of people telling me to be careful any time I told them about my solo hiking trips.

Because I was just renting a room, I wasn't serious in my search for a furry pal. I would casually browse the Humane Society and other rescue websites just to see what was out there. Then I saw this picture of a honey colored pup upside down with a purple ball in her mouth. It was love at first sight. To make the moment even more perfect, the shelter had named her Honey! (Which is my favorite color, word and sweetener.) I couldn't get her though, because my aunt was very strict on no more animals once the puppies and momma went to their new homes. That didn't stop me from checking the website everyday to see if Honey was still available for adoption.

After a month of seeing her sweet picture on the site, I did what everyone told me not to do, I went to meet her. On the way to the shelter I started to get anxious. What if she didn't like me? or worse, what if she did? That anxiety followed me into the 20 minute wait I had to endure as they were getting her ready to meet me. We went outside, and it was like she could care less that I was there. What a bummer! She was more focused, like dead-focused on whatever was going on outside of the covered gate of the yard. The worker and I chatted for a bit about Honey.

She came from a rescue in Texas with no information. They also informed me that she has behavioral issues towards other animals, and they would only adopt her to a very specific home. Next thing I know, there is a large honey colored dog being cradled in my lap!

At that moment, I didn't care what type of training she'd need, or how much it would cost me. She was my dog. This is where our adventure begins.

My aunt stuck to her no animals rule, so I packed a bag and we made the 45 minute drive to my Grany's house in Eureka, Utah. Grany has two male dogs, Rowdy (small pitbull), and Monster (Dachshund). She also had my other aunt's female pit Ryder. Honey was so good with all three dogs, which made me think the shelter was wrong about her behavior. She played and played with them, Monster being her favorite new friend. Everything was perfect.

The next day things were calm, but they didn't stay that way. Ryder had food aggression, and Honey doesn't know boundaries. When Ryder snapped, Honey turned to the type of aggression I had only seen on T.V. She started attacking Ryder in every way she could. Scared, I quickly grabbed Honey by her harness and took her outside to walk around the block as a way to deescalate. When I noticed she was calm, I brought her back to the house. Right when Honey saw Ryder again, she went straight into aggression. She was lunging and barking, whipping herself around the lead. Doing whatever she could think of to get to Ryder.

That was the moment I realized I may of bitten off more than I could chew by adopting Honey. I wasn't about to give up though.

After unsuccessfully trying to get Honey to be okay with Ryder again, we left Grany's to go back to the city. I went to my aunt's and made a plea that I will move out in a month if she'd let Honey stay with me there till then. Which luckily she agreed to. From there my focus was finding a new home for us, and starting training.

COVID was still very prominent around this time, so Honey's training was remote. We met with our trainer every week to go over basic commands, which to my surprise Honey already knew. While doing basic commands, I was still trying to introduce Honey to other dogs to see if how her reactivity was. She made great friends with my aunts 3 dogs, and my cousin male pit puppy. She also made friends with a random Corgi. Which made me more confident in her ability to socialize. When I tried to introduce her to two female pitbulls though, the moment Honey saw them she lost her manners and would start lunging and barking. From that I figured she had a problem with female pitbulls, and pieced together some of her past.

Honey has scars all over her snout and her legs. She even has a scar across her eye. Her aggression is limited to female dogs, especially pitbulls. She has never been fond of men, she actually will bark and growl at them until she sees me touch them. The vet and I have speculated that she could have very well been a bait dog, which is common in Texas.

One day, Honey and I went to my best friends house where she was able to run around the backyard. Something she couldn't do at home. While my friend and I were talking, her chihuahua came outside. Honey rushed the dog, and started attacking her instantly. It was an intense moment of fear for all of us. I pulled Honey away, and took her to the car. I then went to check on my friend and her dog, to discover Honey punctured through skin with her teeth. As any dog parent, I felt responsible for what happened. I became overwhelmed with guild, anger, and embarrassment. Most of all, I didn't know what to do.

That moment, I was faced with the hard truth that Honey's aggression is something that can't be put off. I called around to rescues asking them how to handle the situation, and to possibly surrender Honey. Not something I wanted to do, but at the time I felt she deserved better. She deserved someone who could afford a board and train for her socialization training, who was confident in being the leader of her pack. Someone who knew what they were doing when it comes to training a dog with reactivity, and could afford the training she desperately needed.

That night, as Honey and I were laying in bed, my mind was racing. How can I be the alpha she needs? How am I going to show her how to act around other dogs? Am I even the right person to do this? Should I find her a new home? As I thought about these things, I felt a cold nose touch my arm. Looking down, I saw the sweet honey colored pup with amber colored eyes, begging for her new momma to snuggle her.

I'm not sure what she did to me right then, but I was filled with a feeling that everything was going to be okay.

Fast forward six months, we are living in our own apartment. I say "we" because although I pay the rent, she runs the roost. Our days are filled with snuggles, laughs and lots of treats as we continue training, including muzzle training. She has a best dog friend, which she gets to see three times a week. She is still reactive. I can see she is getting better. When another dog walks by us, she looks to me first. Her lunging has subsided to leaning into the leash. There is still hope.

Honey and my adventures haven't been tangible. Hiking is out of the question until she has had proper socialization training and can prove to be civil upon meeting new dogs. Parks are a risk where we are due to people not leashing their untrained dogs. Our adventure is more internal.

She is learning to trust a human again. I am learning patience. We are both learning confidence in ourselves and each other.

It's been an adventure nonetheless.

I'm excited for the day I can finally take her on her first hike. When that happens, I'll be sure to tell you all about it.