First Impressions

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Clementine - Mt. Feist

Molly - Boxer Mix

Thursday night was my first visit with Clementine and Molly. Their parents are gone through the holiday weekend. Since I'd never met the dogs, this would be our fist time meeting ever.

I'd been alerted to the fact that Molly is wary of strangers and she startles easily. Good things to know. I've had several encounters with dogs who are a bit on edge through Out-U-Go! and the shelter I work at. The main thing to keep in mind is that it will take a while for animal to warm up to you and don't judge them on their first impression.

The clouds were thick that night. As I got out of my car, I could hear thunder in the distance. I walked up the steps to their apartment feeling the heaviness of the air. About halfway up, the barking started.

In an attempt to soothe the dog, as I unlocked the door, I sang in a soft yet high pitched voice. "Hi Ms. Molly and Ms. Clementine! I'm here to walk you and feed you and we're gonna be good friends."

The snarling, barking face that greeted me as I pushed the door open, did not want to be my friend. But, just beyond Molly was Clementine. It was a strange juxtaposition! Clementine was practically dancing in place, she was so excited to see me. She ran to my other side and there she was - ears forward, running up to me and trying to lick my hand. On the other side was Molly - ears back, hackles up, teeth bared, snarling, barking and backing away.

I put my hands in my pocket, averted my eyes from Molly and kept singing. "Nothing to be scared of. I want to be your new friend. Let me give you a treat!"

Since Molly wasn't rushing me, I moved very slowly to the kitchen table where the treats were. They both sat, though Molly still looked freaked out. I fed them and read over the notes the pet parents left me. I took Clementine for a walk, hoping Molly would see how much fun Clementine had and be okay with me.

As we were outside, I noticed that the weather had gotten worse. It hadn't yet started to rain, but it is pretty dark and I could see lightening in the distance. Clementine didn't seem to mind.

I gave them treats when I got back in and, since Molly seemed to be chilling out, I moved very slowly to put her leash on. Two things happened almost simultaneously: I heard a loud crash of thunder and Molly bit!

Fortunately, she only got my shirt.

Time to call for backup. (One thing I really like about Out-U-Go! is that if something goes wrong, I'm not alone.) Amanda, my boss, was on a visit herself. We discussed the situation. Amanda was baffled. She'd met Molly before and had never seen her behave like that. But just talking to Amanda calmed me down. As we talked, I continued to give the girls treats. Molly was no longer barking or snarling, but she was still fearful, stress panting and, every few seconds, her body would jerk... as if something was startling her.

That's when it hit me. Though I couldn't hear it, I realized there were fireworks going off in the distance. That combined with the thunder and this strange person in her house was terrifying her! I understood the situation. But what to do...

Thinking back to my work with not so friendly dogs in the shelter, I decided to try to lasso her with the leash. I pulled the leash through the handle end and looped it over her head. It worked!

We managed to walk and, even though it was sprinkling, the thunder is closer and I heard more fireworks she did well. She finished up her business and we get back inside. While walking, the leash managed to get caught under her collar so I couldn't just drop it to let her slip out of it. But I'm still not putting my hand anywhere near her neck. I found a long wooden spoon in a drawer and slid it under the lasso. It came right off. Phew!

The next morning, I come in with treats. Molly barked, but then settled down. No snarling at all. Over the next few visits, she got more and more comfortable with me until I was able to cuddle with her in the livingroom. She even put her head in my lap while I wrote notes!

Just goes to show, you can't judge a dog by the first meeting. Especially when thunderstorms and fireworks are involved!