Poor Charlie looked more bedraggled mop than canine when he arrived at
HSCC.
A white miniature
poodle mix, Charlie had been purchased at a pet store as a young puppy. Over
the next five years, his daily life was limited almost entirely to the confines
of his home.
As our medical supervisor, Jen, examined his severely matted
coat and overgrown toenails (which were so long that they were causing his toes
to twist in odd directions), Charlie bravely held still for her—but quietly shook
in fear. With the help of our canine supervisor, Robyn, Jen gave him the first
grooming he’d seen in a very long time—carefully shaving the tangled fur that
was matted down to his skin in some places, and clipping his curling nails.
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| Left: Charlie's overgrown nails. Right: Charlie's right front leg groomed. |
Two
and a half hours later, Charlie resembled a miniature poodle again! Yay, Charlie!
His medical check-in and grooming complete, Charlie’s first
major ordeal was over. But he now had to face life at the shelter. Robyn brought
him downstairs to the kennels, where he was greeted by loud barking and strange
dogs staring at him from behind their glass doors. According to his former owner,
Charlie had never met another dog before. He’d never met many other people
aside from his owner, either, and now suddenly he was being cleaned, fed, and let
outdoors by multiple unfamiliar people. Not surprisingly, Charlie reacted with
fear-based aggression over the next few days, growling and barking at our staff
from within his kennel. When reached for, Charlie would growl and lunge, and we
had to keep a lightweight leash attached to him to avoid having to reach for
him directly.
Fortunately, once outside of his kennel, Charlie would eventually
warm up to his handler, and after some time even began to solicit attention and
play!
Though he was making progress, we
realized that Charlie would gain the confidence and world exposure he needed a
lot faster in a foster home. He needed a quiet space with patient, dog-savvy
folks who could invest a lot of time in giving him positive experiences with
new things. Robyn contacted Poodle Rescue of New England to see if they might
be able to take Charlie into rescue. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any
room, but referred us to Poodle Rescue of Vermont. Within moments of
seeing Charlie’s picture, Poodle Rescue of Vermont agreed to take him!
Soon after we'd said goodbye to Charlie and wished him luck, we received an update from the president of the Poodle Rescue, Terri Gerard, saying that as soon as Charlie reached his foster home, he ran right up the steps, found his dinner, and gobbled the whole thing down. A great first start!
Charlie's foster dad works from home, so the pair bonded quickly, and Charlie spent his afternoons napping right next to his foster dad's desk.
Now, two weeks later, Terri writes:
Charlie is such a little superhero who has come so far from the scared little boy in the shelter. Charlie has had his first professional groom at Doggie Styles in Colchester. Charlie raced around the place happy to meet all the dogs there, large and small.
Since arriving in foster care with Poodle Rescue of Vermont, Charlie has mastered the stairs, is nearly 100% potty trained and has expanded his play to toys other than a ball and has an excellent appetite and eats two meals a day. Charlie is working on losing a few pounds which will come off easily now that he is getting exercise and a healthy diet. Just in the last few days, Charlie will leave his foster Dad's side and venture into the other room to snooze by the fire.
Charlies' foster parents had a very busy holiday season and Charlie was right in the thick of it, with overnight house guests, parties, other family dogs. Charlie had a few moments of nervousness and feeling unsure but for the most part, no one would be able to know that just a few weeks prior Charlie was in terrible shape.
Charlie went snowshoeing this past weekend, riding in a front pack and enjoyed the trip very much.
Could Charlie have ever envisioned a life like this just one month ago? For this little poodle, the New Year truly brought a new life.
Charlie is currently available for adoption through Poodle Rescue of Vermont. Click here to view him on their site.
Charlie was in a loving home for the holidays, and so were the 725 other formerly homeless animals we matched with new families in 2012--plus 25 lost animals who were reunited with their people!
Of course, we wouldn’t have been able to place any
animals in homes if you--our community--hadn't opened your doors to them. This is
teamwork, really, and we’re so grateful to be partnering with such a compassionate community! Whether you
adopted, fostered, volunteered, or donated in 2012, THANK
YOU for helping us give so many dogs, cats, and small animals a better life.
