- M
- J
Short version:
Last year, we adopted a dog who was rescued from the Chinese dog meat trade. We paid the shelter to ship her from Beijing to New York. She’s had a tough life, including an attack by a man that left her with only 1 eye. We’re happy to give her a better life but she’s incredibly traumatized and scared of humans. We’ve been patiently trying to rehabilitate her over the last few months with little progress. We’ve already spent a fortune on behaviorists, but they’re unable to help and told us that we need to hire a specialized behaviorist, which will cost $1,800.
Long version (grab your tissues, light a candle):
Like many others at the start of the pandemic in 2020, my boyfriend and I adopted a shelter dog. What we knew was that we’d be giving a dog in need a new lease on life. What we didn’t realize was the long and difficult road ahead to her recovery and rehabilitation.
Willa, a 17 lb, 5 yr old, one-eyed mixed breed dog, was officially adopted from a shelter in Beijing at the end of March 2020. We were told that she was fearful and it would take a big heart and a lot of patience, but the shelter was positive she would thrive in the right environment. She had been rescued from the China dog meat trade. Her right eye had been horrifically damaged, but the shelter was able to operate on her and save her. She lost use of that eye, but other than that and her fear of some humans, was in good physical health.
Unfortunately, due to Beijing’s Covid restrictions, we didn’t receive her until the day after Thanksgiving. Until that point, we had received a few videos and photos of Willa. She seemed generally fine - in some videos, she is seen happily trotting about. She doesn’t engage with other dogs, but she doesn’t appear afraid of them. In other videos, she is with her handler. She is wary of him, but she seems to tolerate him. She appears to not like being petted. Sometimes if someone gets too close, she’ll squeeze herself into a corner or lower her body to the ground, trying to make herself very small. We felt the handler was too aggressive, too loud, too MUCH and we would be very different.
We studied these videos. We knew we had a lot to work with, but we were certain in a few weeks she’d be loving her new home and cuddling up to us. We watched countless videos on The Dodo, of amazing humans rescuing dog after dog, and the dogs adapting and thriving within a few weeks. We looked with eager anticipation for the day when we would finally welcome Willa into our home, and felt that in no time she’d know that she was a part of our family. We were too optimistic.
Today is Day 73, Week 11. 11 weeks is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, and she is very slowly progressing, but she will need a lot more time and training. Every shelter dog’s journey is different and we understand that, but it is starting to get very expensive to rehabilitate her.
We have already had 2 behaviorists, tried different types of CBD and calming chews like Solliquin and Zylkene, and used Adaptil sprays to no avail.
We need to get her on behavior medication, but we’re unable to get her to a vet because she darts away if we go anywhere near her. We can’t just grab her - it would set her back too much. Since we can’t get to her, we also can’t walk her so she goes on pee pads in the apartment. We have attempted to gently leash her many, many times. Each time, she runs away and trembles in fear. She has shown that she is a submissive eliminator and very easily gets stressed out and eliminates.
Her nails have become a detriment - they are so long that they are curling under, and must be hurting her. She won’t come out on the hardwood after slipping one time in Week 7 (due to hair growing between her paws), so we have bought a bunch of new rugs and mats to place everywhere, but she generally does not come out of her bed now except to eat and eliminate.
We have agreed that she won’t ever be a lap dog, and we will never force her to be, but we’d like to get her on behavior medication somehow and the behavior training will have to continue. We will not give up on little Willa, Willy Wonka, our One-Eyed Princess. We want to give her the best life but we need a little help.
The next step is to get her to a Vet Behaviorist. These are limited in the country, and cost $900 for a mandatory 2 part session, but they will be able to observe her and prescribe her the proper medication. We’d like to get her at least 2 appointments for what would total $1,800. For more info you can visit www.nycvetbehavior.com.
Thank you for reading and please pray for Willa!
Last year, we adopted a dog who was rescued from the Chinese dog meat trade. We paid the shelter to ship her from Beijing to New York. She’s had a tough life, including an attack by a man that left her with only 1 eye. We’re happy to give her a better life but she’s incredibly traumatized and scared of humans. We’ve been patiently trying to rehabilitate her over the last few months with little progress. We’ve already spent a fortune on behaviorists, but they’re unable to help and told us that we need to hire a specialized behaviorist, which will cost $1,800.
Long version (grab your tissues, light a candle):
Like many others at the start of the pandemic in 2020, my boyfriend and I adopted a shelter dog. What we knew was that we’d be giving a dog in need a new lease on life. What we didn’t realize was the long and difficult road ahead to her recovery and rehabilitation.
Willa, a 17 lb, 5 yr old, one-eyed mixed breed dog, was officially adopted from a shelter in Beijing at the end of March 2020. We were told that she was fearful and it would take a big heart and a lot of patience, but the shelter was positive she would thrive in the right environment. She had been rescued from the China dog meat trade. Her right eye had been horrifically damaged, but the shelter was able to operate on her and save her. She lost use of that eye, but other than that and her fear of some humans, was in good physical health.
Unfortunately, due to Beijing’s Covid restrictions, we didn’t receive her until the day after Thanksgiving. Until that point, we had received a few videos and photos of Willa. She seemed generally fine - in some videos, she is seen happily trotting about. She doesn’t engage with other dogs, but she doesn’t appear afraid of them. In other videos, she is with her handler. She is wary of him, but she seems to tolerate him. She appears to not like being petted. Sometimes if someone gets too close, she’ll squeeze herself into a corner or lower her body to the ground, trying to make herself very small. We felt the handler was too aggressive, too loud, too MUCH and we would be very different.
We studied these videos. We knew we had a lot to work with, but we were certain in a few weeks she’d be loving her new home and cuddling up to us. We watched countless videos on The Dodo, of amazing humans rescuing dog after dog, and the dogs adapting and thriving within a few weeks. We looked with eager anticipation for the day when we would finally welcome Willa into our home, and felt that in no time she’d know that she was a part of our family. We were too optimistic.
Today is Day 73, Week 11. 11 weeks is not a long time in the grand scheme of things, and she is very slowly progressing, but she will need a lot more time and training. Every shelter dog’s journey is different and we understand that, but it is starting to get very expensive to rehabilitate her.
We have already had 2 behaviorists, tried different types of CBD and calming chews like Solliquin and Zylkene, and used Adaptil sprays to no avail.
We need to get her on behavior medication, but we’re unable to get her to a vet because she darts away if we go anywhere near her. We can’t just grab her - it would set her back too much. Since we can’t get to her, we also can’t walk her so she goes on pee pads in the apartment. We have attempted to gently leash her many, many times. Each time, she runs away and trembles in fear. She has shown that she is a submissive eliminator and very easily gets stressed out and eliminates.
Her nails have become a detriment - they are so long that they are curling under, and must be hurting her. She won’t come out on the hardwood after slipping one time in Week 7 (due to hair growing between her paws), so we have bought a bunch of new rugs and mats to place everywhere, but she generally does not come out of her bed now except to eat and eliminate.
We have agreed that she won’t ever be a lap dog, and we will never force her to be, but we’d like to get her on behavior medication somehow and the behavior training will have to continue. We will not give up on little Willa, Willy Wonka, our One-Eyed Princess. We want to give her the best life but we need a little help.
The next step is to get her to a Vet Behaviorist. These are limited in the country, and cost $900 for a mandatory 2 part session, but they will be able to observe her and prescribe her the proper medication. We’d like to get her at least 2 appointments for what would total $1,800. For more info you can visit www.nycvetbehavior.com.
Thank you for reading and please pray for Willa!