I’ve got to tell you, the change in Rosie this past year has been remarkable. I’m not sure when it started to kick in, as this summer will be the two year mark, but over the last year, she has just completely made a turnaround. There is no more hiding under beds or underneath chairs, the random snarling is gone, and she even is allowed on the bed now because she no longer bullies Lily or bites my feet in the middle of the night. She’s also no longer binge eating, has lost a little weight, and constantly wants to be on my lap (which is where I want my dogs). It’s really just remarkable.
Maybe she just needed some time for her little head to rewire after years of abuse and then being dumped in the middle of nowhere. Lily is by far still my favorite animal I have ever known, but the margin isn’t anywhere near as big as it was. I guess Rosie just needed some time.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
Didn’t you say the crate helped? One of my dogs loves hers, and no one had better touch it. I think it gives them a space they own, and a cave to dwell in.
trollhattan
Awwwww.
Very happy to hear this, actually. It’s been a long haul and who doesn’t love a good outcome?
Joy in FL
I am so glad Rosie is doing well. I’m glad you stuck it out with her. Animals are awesome– yours, mine, everybody’s.
elisabeth
I took in an adult male cat a few years ago. For the first year I was tempted many times to open the front door and boot his ass out. But he is still here and a largely different cat, calm by comparison. I almost get a full night of sleep now.
I guess we get all the baggage they bring with them, whether good or bad.
I’m glad Rosie has settled into your house; wasn’t looking good there for awhile.
Egg Berry
That title was a total oversell.
PeakVT
I need an easy friend
I do, with an ear to lend
JD Rhoades
Belafon, I used to think the crate idea was cruel and confining. But then I noticed our mixed breed looking for places to “den”: in a group of big potted plants, behind furniture, etc.
John: very happy to hear that Rosie’s getting her head together. It takes a special dog owner to do that.
Watusie
Every time she is a good girl you should reward her by taking her picture and posting it.
Much better than some stupid sticker on a chart.
cathyx
Good for you John, I’m glad she has turned around. I hope you realize that it was your hard work that did it.
Cathie from Canada
I think some dogs are easier to love than others — but isn’t it surprising that they don’t find those same differences in us? They love us unreservedly.
Anne Laurie
Yes, John, you finally gave her a safe space all her very own. It looks like a “cage” to you, but to Rosie, it’s a refuge, and she can be much calmer now that she has a place to retreat. Even if she doesn’t use that retreat very often, for animals (even people animals) with a past history of abuse/abandonment, having that safe space is important!
cathyx
@Egg Berry: Were you hoping he was writing about a human?
Sandra
Rosie hasn’t changed. You have!
ellennelle
your second graf says it all; of course she needed time to develop trust and feel safe. and the crate sure helped, as it works like ‘swaddling’ with babies. the confinement has a fascinating protecting effect. especially for animals, they definitely feel protected, like in a lair.
but then, you’ve done a good job of giving her the protection and safety she’s needed. paying off; you both deserve it!
penpen
After all those many tortured Rosie posts, these updates are heart-warming stuff, great to hear, John.
Nicole
Things always seem to take more time than we think they should, don’t they? At least, the worthwhile things do. I’m so glad she feels secure with you. She hit the lottery the day you found her.
Justin
To quote John back when he first brought Rosie home, and went through the motions of finding her another home:
jl
Congrats, Cole. Rosie looks much happier in the pics.
Which brings to mind, a Rosie well adjusted happy happy dog pic would go nice with this post (thnx in advance).
That leaves Tunch, and… well guess you should leave that be. Not that you have a chance escaping his doom, but why rile him? He will just draw out the misery.
JordanRules
I wonder what Rosie’s perspective of the year is like?
I’m depending on this comment gang for some hilarious speculation and role play.
RossInDetroit
Even a good, smart dog takes a while to train. To train their human, that is.
BruceFromOhio
Safety. Food. Routine. Maslow was thinking humans, but its pretty much any mammal.
Take care of the basics, and the intelligence has space to exert itself. The good times are blotting out the bad times.
And you check the comforter before flopping down. Dogs remember that kind of stuff.
What was the mantra? “Better then the pound, better than the pound …”
suzanne
Dawwwww.
This thrills me. May all sad and lost and homeless puppehs find their own personal John Coles.
gogol's wife
I knew this would happen. I’m really glad. I knew you loved her.
Cain
Man, I don’t know why I felt so emotional when I saw your post. It’s just that I knew how much you hated Rosie, and your post sorted of shown a quality about yourself that you won’t give up on your piglets. That’s just awesome.
Good karma to you sir, good karma.
BTW I solved my own problem with my cat, who was pee’ing all over the place. It’s finally stopped (thanks to drugs) and she’s such a good kitty now. So much more loveable. Like you, I don’t give up on my pets. I’ll work hard to make them better. Success makes it so good.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
Seems that cage has helped Rosie grow up some and behave herself. Maybe you ought to crawl in it a night or two, jefe. Couldn’t hurt. Take yer laptop and give us up to date reports. You might start sleeping like a baby, and put some clothes on while mopping.
edit – and maybe stop trolling your own blog so much.
fuzed
It was the same with a 5 yr old I found in the humane shelter. I could tell she’d been beaten, did the possum posture when I yelled or raised my hand. Wouldn’t allow other dog near his food, and generally a real btch. But she’s real smart and over 2.5 yrs or so, has learned to share food, not binge eat, not bite your fingers for a treat, and rarely harasses the other dog. Listens pretty well know, though she’s still a little stubborn. Still likes to walk in the middle of the road, and really fears thunderstorms and medium rain or wind.
But yeah it takes them a year to get into a pattern, settle there nerves, and get rid of most of the doggie PTSD.
geg6
It’s a beautiful thing, isn’t it, Cole? So glad that you two found each other and Rosie could find a loving, happy home with you, Lily, and her partner in crime, Tunch.
Our progression with our sweet Otis has been similar. He, too, was a rescue who had obviously been abused and abandoned. And he had many issues for the first few years (jumping, peeing, barking, difficulty socializing with other dogs). He’s five now, though, and is such a different dog. He’s the best about pooping and peeing regularly and in the proper places. He doesn’t jump all the time, just little hops when excited. He’s sweet in temperment, definitely a lover and not a fighter. Just the best doggie ever. If you ever spend any time over at Charlie Pierce’s place, you can see a photo of him on my comments. You can’t resist him. No one can.
JasonF
I’m dealing with the opposite. A year ago, I got a second rabbit (Burton) and after a short bonding period, he and my first rabbit (Silverado) were the best of friends. Then, this past weekend, Burton got aggressive for no discernible reason and put a pretty bad gash in Silverado’s neck. One trip to the emergency room for stitches later and Silverado is doing well now, but we’ve kept them separated since then. Tonight, we tried to reunite them, and Burton promptly got aggressive again.
Both rabbits are neutered males. Silverado is probably about 5 and Burton is about 2 (but both were strays, so who knows). We’re taking them in to the vet for full checkups this weekend, but meanwhile, if there are any rabbit experts who have insight, thoughts, or words of wisdom, I’d love to hear from you.
trollhattan
Anyone else having commenting problems in Firefox? I get a mobile device commenting page and when I try switching to “normal” it locks up.
Not an issue in IE.
johio
@Cain: Cain, what drugs helped with the peeing cat? I’ve got one who marks territory even though he’s fixed. And since his territory is in my house, I’m looking for a solution.
General Stuck (Bravo Nope Zero)
@trollhattan:
No prob with FF 10, you aren’t using FF 11 beta are you? I used to install the betas, but quit after all kinds of weird shit happened.
Betty Cracker
That’s great news about Rosie! I can’t believe it’s been two years, though!
@trollhattan: I was getting the mobile device view on my laptop (running Chrome), but it didn’t lock up when I tried to switch and has apparently resolved itself.
Anne Laurie
@Cathie from Canada:
Dunno. In my experience, dogs have their own preferences, too. Being what they are & what we have made them, they’ll learn to “love” the person(s) they live with, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love one human member of the household more than others — or that they don’t have “favorites” outside their family.
Our rescue girl Gloria, for instance, tolerates me but adores my Spousal Unit; she humps his leg to greet him (yes, she’s quite the alpha bitch) and does her best to squirm in between us if there’s any PDA. Which is ironic, since I’m the dumb sucker who was responsible for bringing her into the household (“temporarily”, so she wouldn’t be euthanized) in the first place.
On the other hand, when I went away for a few days, she had a complete meltdown, searching for me frantically & howling at the door. Spousal Unit packed all three dogs into the car, came to pick me up — I got 5 minutes of frantic love&wigglebutt from Ms. Gloria, followed by the cold shoulder and one of her best ‘you are not the boss of me’ routines.
SiubhanDuinne
@JordanRules:
Probably feels like seven.
SIA
@SiubhanDuinne: Nice!
khead
Maybe you (anyone?) can help Gracie with her “Jan Brady syndrome”.
She’s been acting out like a middle child ever since we brought Bella in.
SiubhanDuinne
@geg6:
I’m just catching up spottily, so you may very well have posted, but I would be glad to know how your John is doing after his surgery yesterday (or was it a few days ago? I’ve lost track). Anyhow, was sending all kinds of good vibes to both of you, and hope all is well.
Vanfur
Pics?
geg6
@Anne Laurie:
Heh. Your Gloria sound like the mirror image of our Otis. John is the one who actually rescued him and is his “owner.” But he can’t get enough of me and, though he’ll hang with John if I’m not around or not paying attention to him, but he so obviously prefers me that it’s kind of embarrassing and, since Henry died, sad for John.
I so know that we’ll have a new dog within the next year. John really needs his own buddy.
SiubhanDuinne
@SIA:
How the heck are you? Haven’t talked in forever.
Citizen_X
You people are too polite. PICS OR GTFO, COLE.
BruceFromOhio
@SiubhanDuinne:
In a dog’s life
A year is really more like seven
And all too soon a canine
Will be chasing cars in doggie heaven
It seems to me
As we make our own few circles ’round the sun
We get it backwards
And our seven years go by like one
…
It seems to me
While it’s true that every dog will have his day
When all the bones are buried
There is barely time to go outside and play
N. Peart
SiubhanDuinne
@BruceFromOhio:
Lovely. Thanks.
garbo
Having watched Lily bloom, I had little doubt you would work the same magic on Rosie given time and patience. So happy for you both.
geg6
@SiubhanDuinne:
Oh, thanks! The surgery was yesterday and he came out of it okay. The pain seems pretty bad, both yesterday and today. But he’s done all his physical therapy well so far, though with much complaining and grumbling. They let me go along to therapy and it was all I could do to not cringe too visibly. He did have to have a blood transfusion, which sorta surprised me. But he sounded okay, if drugged, when I called him about 9:30pm to say good night and I know that every day the therapy will be less painful. Most of the other patients only have had one knee or one hip repaired and are in awe of him having both done. And now that I’ve seen him go through it, I’m in awe, too. I can’t imagine going through this, myself.
TaMara (BHF)
@SIA: I have to tell you that we have 3 number 3 alpha license plates in CO – and one of the 3 alpha combos I see frequently is SIA and I ALWAYS think of you.
Anne Laurie
@JasonF:
Don’t know much about rabbits, but we’ve got a (fortunately) minor version of that going on with our two neutered-male rescue lapdogs, and I’ve had a similar problem with neutered-male cats in the past. It’s “natural”/instinctive for a younger, stronger male to bully the older guy into submitting to them as “pack leader”, and removing the testosterone doesn’t alway completely damp down the hardwired impulse to Assert Mah Authoritah. If your younger guy’s actually injuring his ‘brother’, you may just have to keep them separated…
Sometimes you can work around the problem by removing the ‘stimulus’ — for instance, our five-year-old dog Sydney only attempts to dominate ten-year-old Zevon at suppertime, and Syd is such a wormboy at heart that he’ll give up when I yell at him. (I mostly worry about the situation because Zeev’s got bad knees & Syd’s t-boned him painfully a couple times.) Burton might be okay around Silverado as long as there’s nothing really significant (food, a favorite space, people-attention) right at hand to “compete” over, if you can figure out his triggers (feed them in separate crates, don’t cuddle Silverado unless Burton’s crated/out of sightline, etc.) But if your vet has experience with bunnies, I’m sure he can give you good advice.
SiubhanDuinne
@geg6:
Well, please give us frequent updates. I don’t think I realized he had a double surgery. Yikes! I’m in awe too! I do think it will get much easier for him with each day, and I hope there are appropriate meds to keep the worst of the pain at bay.
Rita R.
So nice to read a late night post that warmed my heart after a day of that vile disgusting pig Rush Limbaugh and trying not to speak ill of the dead. Thanks JC (and Rosie!) And yes, pics would be welcome.
kindness
You’re a good man John Cole.
binzinerator
Love, and a room of one’s own, is very powerful.
Rawk Chawk
Time really does have a lot to do with healing. But Rosie wouldn’t be healing if you hadn’t provided the steady, unconditional but firm love she needed, Cole.
Sounds like she is simply learning to trust again, that’s my guess.
And the crate is an awesome tactic. To her, it is probably her refuge and private territory, which helps provide a sense of security and self.
I used a crate schedule/system to house train my beloved mutt Hellen, but I think it also gave her a lot of comfort to be in there. I left the door open for her to come and go as she pleased even after we were done with the training.
Dogs are so cool.
Anne Laurie
@geg6: Just in case you haven’t seen this, an unmetered NYTimes link for you: Knee Replacement May Be A Lifesaver for Some
Jebediah
I knew this was where you and Rosie would end up – happy and loving and enjoying each other. (And I agree that the lap is a great place for a dog, although with Otto it doesn’t work out so well.)
SIA
@TaMara (BHF): Well, I think of you every Thursday night when i read your delicious recipes, and think, Yeah! This time i’m really going to make that!
@SiubhanDuinne: Doing well, but getting ready for a few weeks of travel. For a homebody like me, it’s not fun. Hope all is well with you?
WaterGirl
@trollhattan: I have now seen 4 people report that same problem on BJ today, so it’s not just you.
Violet
So thrilled to hear this, John. Rosie is so lucky she jumped in your car. Can’t believe it’s been two years. You did all the right things and hung in there when the going got rough. Everyone won in the end.
TuiMel
@gogol’s wife:
I didn’t (X 3).
Back when Cole was bitching about Rosie and hoping she would run away, I was one who counseled finding another rescue home for her. I felt the experiment was going to end very badly. I am so happy I was wrong. As a lover of JRT’s and owner of a quirky but sweet one, I felt particularly sensitive to Rosie’s difficulties. She’s home and secure. Hooray!
mattH
Sometimes the moblile site, sometimes a seemingly misformatted site where everything is nested and I have to expand comments, leave comments, site meter, etc. And I have a very old version of Firefox, so I know it’s not because I have updated it.
mattH
It just switched back after I posted, but now there’s no edit button for what I just posted.
edit: but there was for this one…
Nancy
Here is a great story about a “hospital dog” in small town Arkansas. He has a home nearby but volunteers everyday to provide comfort. The author’s father did pass away, and now her husband is in the hospital with an undiagnosed illness.
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/the-hospital-dog/Content?oid=2082277
Wonkie
@johio:
WOnkie, my namesake, marked the house. WE put him on valium from the vet and it helped immensely. He marked because we had three other cats. They were all spayed and neutered, of course, but they were in door cats and it was all too much for Wonkie. We h=also had three cat boxrs and they got cleaned daily. I probably have that catbox ox brain parasite. But that’s a digression. The pint was valium and a clean cat box. I hope this helps.
Dog is my co-pilot
It’s the same with our rescue pups… it just takes them awhile to come around. Thanks for sticking by Rosie.
gogol's wife
@Wonkie:
Valium worked with one of my cats too. But after a while it made him lethargic so we stopped it. But he didn’t go back to marking the house.
Laura
@JasonF: Hey, Jason, I had this happen with my rabbits and the attacked rabbit was actually getting sick (an abscess). A full checkup may find some underlying issue. You might also want to have the attacking rabbit checked as well, he may have a underlying pain that’s causing him to be aggressive.
You may also want to try introducing them in some very neutral territory. Do you have a rabbit rescue group in your area? They may be able to help with re-bonding and some neutral territory.
Lex
… and constantly wants to be on my lap (which is where I want my dogs).
Love. This.
(However, kids, don’t try this trick with a puggle, particularly a puppy.)
Lex
Also, when we adopted said stray puggle, we started using a cage (although we called it a crate) for him to sleep in at night after staying out in the fenced back yard during the day. We covered it with an old, dark sheet so that it could even sort of look like a cave. He loved it. Most nights, we’d open the back door and he’d trot to his crate, enter and lie down without hesitation. Young puggles are … exuberant, and for this one to behave so calmly under those circumstances was wonderful for all of us.
Steeplejack
@SiubhanDuinne:
LOL! Good one.