Strong Hearts/Strong Minds

Me Saving a Dog by Daniel
“One day I was walking through the street when I saw this dog running real fast. A man was coming after him with a gun. I stopped him and I asked him “why are you trying to kill him?” “Because he bit my daughter,” the man said.

“Why do you have to kill him? You could just take him to the dog pound.”

“Maybe I don’t have to kill him. Okay. I’ll take him to the dog pound.”

“Then I went to the dog pound and I got him out. Now he is my pet.”

The above story is from the website benderplace.com.

In Me Saving a Dog, the child, Daniel, not only saved the dog’s life, but taught the adult a great lesson. How often do we resort to an extreme response when faced with a challenge that seems impossible?

Like the time my friend’s son totaled her car. She admonished him and forever forbade him from using her new car. “Is this really a solution?” I asked her. “What will your son learn except that he has been judged and punished without a fair trial.”

My friend who is generally an open person, would not relent on her decision—at least not right away. A week later, after giving the matter thought and consideration, she decided to open a dialogue with her son that ultimately led to a willingness to trust again on her part and his promise to be more careful.

I see this kind of judgment in the world of animal rescue every day. The dog crosses a boundary and he or she is returned to the shelter to sadly face a downward spiral.

What is accomplished by giving up? My mother used to tell me “nothing worthwhile is simple.” Tough situations are like tests. Instead of giving up, maybe take a breath, think it through, try to understand why and how things got so complicated.

When Strongheart came to me off the NYC streets, he was fearful and mistrustful, which is the ultimate cause of aggression in dogs. In nature, dogs are not aggressive. I couldn’t know this dog’s background, but it was clear he had some bad times.

Back then I boarded my rescued dogs in a kennel in upstate New York until I could find a home for them. Strongheart was at the kennel for two weeks when I was told by the kennel manager he was too aggressive and unmanageable for her to handle.

I flew upstate as fast as lightning and took him back. The situation seemed impossible. Strongheart became unmanageable. How was I to deal with a dog who had become too much for a seasoned shelter manager?

That first night with him in my apartment I cried and prayed all night. We kept Strongheart in the bedroom away from my own dogs. We began a concentrated training program using positive reinforcement and teaching pack leadership, which is never easy for me since I’m basically an easy going person. But I either had to do it or lose Strongheart. Where I found the energy and will to play this role of leader was a miracle. See Cesar Millan’s website for further tips on how to be a pack leader.

“Time heals all wounds,” they say. It took a lot of time and I almost gave up. But eventually, with tough love, Strongheart learned there was nothing to fear and his deep trusting nature came to the surface.

What a discipline this was for both of us. Eventually I was able to place Strongheart into a good home with a family experienced with large dominant dogs and very willing to put time and effort into Strongheart’s needs.

After a while, I heard from the family who told me that Strongheart had become trustworthy and completely relaxed in every situation, even putting your hand in his food bowl!

If you’re wondering where I got the name, Strongheart was the famous pre-Rin Tin Tin canine movie star of the late 1920s and subject of a deeply touching, beautifully written book of love letters by J. Allen Boone, Letters to Strongheart.

I’ll always remember Daniel’s story, Me Saving a Dog; a child, who, with all his heart and mind and because he believed, went the distance to save a life.

Here’s to patience, intelligence, strong hearts and strong minds! Amen!
 
Photo: The famous movie star, Strongheart (born Etzel von Oeringen)

Send in a photo and prayer for your pet!
 
Sharon Azar is an assistant to the editorial staff at GUIDEPOSTS. In her spare time, she rescues dogs and does portraits of furry, feathered and scaled companion animals. She lives in Brooklyn, NY.

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