Guest Post by Guilie Castillo - Author of It’s About the Dog: The A-to-Z Guide for Wannabe Dog Rescuers

MUST-HAVE CHECKLIST

FOR ADOPTING A RESCUE DOG



Thank you so much, Susan, for hosting me for the ‘Dog Book’ Blog Tour! I’m thrilled to get the chance to interact a bit with your crowd of dog-loving lovelies. 

 

I know you have three gorgeous rescue dogs yourself, and I’m guessing some of your readers probably do, too. Anyone who’s ever adopted a rescue dog knows the joy they bring. The countless blessings. You also know, though, how hard it is. You have to work at it, not for a week or a month but for years. Your life will never be the same, for better or for worse. (Better, mostly, especially if you weren’t all that attached to the coffee table that got chewed up.) Most of us, at least that first time, jump into it with little to no idea of what’s about to happen. Some get lucky and either seek or stumble upon someone willing to give us guidance, and somehow end up making a success of it.  Others, however, aren’t so fortunate. This post is for them.

 

If you’re involved with rescue, you’ve seen it happen much too often: a family comes in, adopts a dog, and a few days later brings him/her back. “It’s not working,” they say. “He destroyed the entire yard.” Or “She keeps escaping.” Or “He attacked my mother-in-law!” Or “She growls at me!” Reasons vary, but they all boil down to a single, simple concept: the adopters didn’t know what to expect. 

 

Some of the blame lies with us, the rescuers (or fosters, or shelter personnel). We admit it. We spend a lot of time assessing the family and the home, but not nearly enough actually talking to the potential adopters about what they can do to avoid setting themselves—and the dog—up for failure.

Know Thy Rescue. A rescue dog isn’t like any other dog. They come with a history, one which exerts immeasurable force on the dog’s behavior. For most, the bond of trust with humans has been broken, and will need to be repaired. You have no way of knowing what this dog has been through, what they’ve survived, what these experiences have taught them; but you can get a rough assessment from the shelter personnel. Ask them about the dog’s backstory:

where s/he came from, the circumstances of the rescue. How does the dog behave around his/her caretakers? Have they noticed any fears or triggers? Is the dog okay with children, loud noises, other dogs? 

Know Thyself. Ask yourself—and take your time answering this, please: what can you—and can’t you—handle? How much time are you willing to put into this? Because, you see, when you adopt a rescue, you’re not just giving him/her a home; you’re becoming an intrinsic part of their recovery. You’ll need saintly amounts of patience. You’ll need creativity, and an eye for detail. Flexibility and humility, in mammoth doses. You’ll also need to reshape your life, if not permanently, at least for the first year after you adopt. No long holidays away from home. Less visitors. 

 

Adopt within your means. All adoptions require some level of adjustment, but there’s leeway. If you can’t handle big changes in your life, make sure you adopt a dog with few issues. If you fall in love with a furry bundle of trauma and damaged psyche, make sure you understand what the dog’s recovery will require of you. And be prepared to give it.

Bring a Trainer, Too. Or, rather, a behaviorist. You’re not really interested in getting your new Fido to Sit or Lie Down—not at this point, anyway; what you do want is a professional assessment of behavior and character. You want to know what he is and isn’t afraid of, whether he Fights or Flees or Ignores, whether he’s resource-protective or fearful-aggressive or submissive or a bit of a bully. In short, you want the low-down on the challenges you’re signing up for. And you’ll be amazed at the depth of insight a professional eye garners in twenty minutes with a dog.

Keep the Trainer Around. In this new life you’re embarking on, training is going to take up a big chunk. Yes, behavior modification (re-conditioning, expanding thresholds, desensitizing, etc.) will be part of it, especially if you’ve adopted a dog with… issues. But that’s not all training is good for. No, it’s not about Sit or Lie Down, either. Training, young grasshopper, is about communication. Whether you’re teaching a Sit or an agility course or desensitizing against the garbage truck, what you’re really doing is establishing a common language. You’re teaching your dog what your approval looks like—

and you’re teaching yourself to watch for cues to his/her thoughts. There is no stronger, more binding way to build trust than through the bond established by effective, two-way communication.

No Rushing. Your new dog has probably had little positive experiences with new things, so it’s to be expected that they produce anxiety. You are a new thing. Your home, your family, the car, the street, the dog park, the bed you chose so carefully at the pet store, the toys you’ve been stockpiling for weeks—all new things. All anxiety-producing. And this anxiety isn’t going to die down in a day or two (it takes a rehomed dog around six months to settle in properly). So: keep the new stuff to a minimum. Establish a routine (make it a simple one, as much as you can) and stick to it. Let the dog set the pace. Let him/her decide what s/he’s comfortable with, and avoid forcing him/her into activities or situations s/he seems reluctant towards. Here is where those saintly amounts of patience come in (and the advice of a professional trainer).

Embrace the Fear. Rescue dogs often have irrational (to us) fears: to men with baseball caps, for instance, or to squeaking noises (so much for those twelve squeaky toys you bought), or to… anything, really. One of my dogs (Sam, the same one who generously agreed to grace the cover of It’s About the Dog) is terrified of a 5-inch-high ceramic cow that sits on a shelf in the living room. Terrified. Why? Your guess is as good as mine (and mine is clueless). Could I ‘train’ this fear away? Maybe. But here’s the thing: I’m fairly certain it’s not the cow itself that he’s afraid of. It’s something that the cow represents to him. Maybe it’s the horns. Maybe it’s the colors. (It’s kind of gaudy.) So although desensitizing him to the ceramic thing might work, it probably won’t take care of the core fear: if we were to get, say, a ceramic goat (or colorful horse, or horned toad, or what have you), he’d probably be terrified of that, too. My point is that some fears just can’t be made to vanish as neatly as we’d like. Some fears we just have to accept are not going away. 

 

The lesson for me here is one of acceptance. We live in a world where perfection has more value than genuineness, where we look not for how things are but for how we think they should be. Loving a dog—or eight, in my case—has the power to guide us back to the genuine, to underline that not everything needs to be perfect to be valuable, or valued, that in fact it’s the imperfections that light the spark of love.

Do you have anything to add to this Checklist for Prospective Rescue Dog Adopters? I’d love to hear your feedback, your suggestions, and your own experience with rescue dogs. Thanks again for having me over, Susan! It’s been an honor and a pleasure, and I look forward to chatting with you all in the comments.

 

Guilie Castillo, Mexican expat, writer, and dog rescuer, is the author of It’s About the Dog: The A-to-Z Guide for Wannabe Dog Rescuers (Everytime Press, April 2018), a hands-on, less-tears-more-action, 100% practical introduction to dog rescue. During April and May, The Dog Book Blog Tour will be making the rounds of dog-loving sites on the blogosphere to talk dogs and rescue—and to give away THREE signed copies! Every time you comment on a tour posts your name will be put in a hat. On May 20th, the first-month anniversary of the book’s release, we’ll draw three names from the hat and announce the winners at the tour’s closing post the next day. (More about both tour and giveaway here.) Come join us!

You can learn more about the book and publisher here.

My Wednesday Hodgepodge

I've been reading a lot of other blogs this month because it is the A to Z Blog Challenge and I am participating by being a reader. So many blogs, so little time.  One blog I have been following for a year or two is called A Joyful Chaos. She writes a Wednesday Hodgepodge and so I'm giving her credit for the prompts here.

Three Things on Your Spring Bucket List

• Clean up the herb garden
• Keep boxing up items to take to goodwill
• Go photo walking with my buddy

Where do you find rest? What restores your soul? When was the last time you did whatever it was you answered here?

• Road trips
• Time spent with friends
• Last weekend

Read Beauty in the Mess for eight things to do before 8am to make your day less hectic. How many of these are you currently doing? Which one do you think would help you the most if you added it to your morning regime?

• Start one load of laundry, drink water, empty the dish rack, read something spiritual, plan your meals for the day, get dressed, brain dump (journal), make a to-do list

Describe the view from your window: It is dark o'thirty.
 

Insert a random thought here:  I can't believe it's Wednesday already. I'm starting a house/dog sitting job today and will get some down time to read  watch non-stop Netflix. I've been reading a lot of new blogs this month and added the blog mentioned above (Beauty in the Mess) to my roll. I love reading other people's ideas, don't you? 

Next week, I will have a guest post from a blogger I've been following for a couple of years now. She recently published an A to Z book about dog rescue that is coming out this month. I'm excited to introduce her and help promote dog rescue. Stay tuned!

 
love, susan

New Day: A Life List

 Hello Monday. I love the weather temps this week: 57, 61, 59, 65, and 70 by Friday and all with a bit of sunshine in the forecast. I'm more than ready for that.

 

My Favorite Moments from Last Week Work was a roller coaster ride. But Friday we took off for the beach and the week's worries disappeared fairly fast. Spending time with our grandkids was priceless. They each brought a friend with them to the beach house we rented. Despite the times we all had our faces in our phones, we played games, took a long walk on the beach, danced, and told stories. The hubs and I felt honored that they still care enough to spend time with us. They are the nicest people! Beyond that, I woke up Saturday morning and watched rain melt down the window in our rented bedroom. Looking out and being mesmerized by the rain, I drifted back to my childhood days of living in southeast Alaska, where it rains a lot. I don't know exactly what day I started hating rain but being transported back in time reminded me that I didn't always hate it. Rainy days are for sleeping in and reading a book. One time when the hubby and I had a motorhome, we spent a weekend at the Oregon coast and I stayed in my jammies all day and read an entire book. I long for some days when I can read like that. **big sigh**

What's Right in the World We didn't turn on the news the entire weekend. I know things were brewing in Syria on Thursday but I am unaware of what has transpired since then. What's right in my world is that I am grateful for a whole lot. I often think about people around the world and how different my life would be if I had been born somewhere else. What I'm Resisting I really fell off the wagon with sugar over the weekend and must get back on track today. What I'm Thinking I am going to be house/dog sitting for my good friend for 6 days starting on Wednesday. I am very excited about having some down time in front of Netflix. Maybe I'll even read a whole book while I'm there. I'll be walking her two dogs a couple of times a day so my Fitbit numbers should give me the win in my weekly WorkWeek Hustle with my son and daughter-in-law. What the Future Holds Dinner with friends tonight. If This Is My Last Day, Here is My Final Thought Don't miss a chance to tell people how much you love them. Hug them just a little longer, will you? Don't take time for granted. We're not promised tomorrow.  love, susan

Constantly: Deep Thoughts and Promises

I was with friends the other night and the topic of being busy and finding balance came up. This is on my mind constantly. Constantly, as in just about every waking moment. The older I get, this obsession gets worse.

 

It's been almost a year since the mother of my hubby's children died. I was there in her last hours and it has had a profound effect on me. No one wants to experience what we saw in those last hours. We struggle coming into this world and dying should be easier but sometimes it just isn't. I called her my friend and we had an understanding that the grandchildren we shared were the most important part of our friendship and it was an honor to know someone like her. A rare gem. I'll be thinking of her while we share some birthday celebrations over the weekend. I promised her I would be there for them always. It's a promise easy to keep.

 

How much time we get here is sometimes out of our hands. I often think about how much time I wasted when I was younger and that I have less time ahead of me than behind me. I have become obsessed with making all my waking moments matter in honor of those who are no longer here. How can I complain about anything?

 

That's all.

 

love, susan

 

Current Events: A Life List

Looking Out My Window Wouldn't you know it? Monday morning and clear blue skies, not a hint of wind and the temp is going to 66 today. The numbers this week are 66, 66, 63, 58, and 62. This is something to smile about.  My Favorite Moments Last Week We had coffee with some new friends twice and it did our hearts good to see new smiles and get to know them a bit. My hubby took a couple of trunk loads of stuff to goodwill and seems to have caught the spring clean frenzy. I walked my wild child and got the other two outside for a bit. What's Right in the World I never turned the TV on all week so I can honestly say my head has been in the sand on national events. What's right in my world is that we're preparing to go to the Oregon coast to celebrate some April birthdays. Time spent with these special people is always fun but when it's at the beach ... OMG ... it's epic. I look forward to the road trip. And, Prince is singing "Kiss" on the radio as I write this. Just makes me want to dance. What I'm Resisting Future tripping. I'm a believer in making plans but not planning the outcome. Trying to stay in today and just do what's in front of me. Writing helps. I never want to miss what's happening today by having my head in the clouds. I have my window open this morning in my home office and I can hear birds singing and see the trees bursting out in color as spring has arrived. It's so beautiful I could cry. Summer is coming but I want to enjoy this moment. This is the day after two very windy & cold days and I think that wind brought better weather. A girl can hope. I'll just enjoy today and not worry about the weather tomorrow. What the Future Holds We're meeting up with friends tonight after work but I don't think I have anything else on my calendar this week. If This Was My Last Day on Earth I'm not done ridding myself of stuff that no longer holds value with me. If this was my last day, I'd have to apologize to my kids for leaving them a mess. I'm always working towards a simpler life which includes less stuff.  An Extra Thought to Ponder Do you love living in a big space or do you prefer a small living area?  love, susan

Giving Up Things That No Longer Serve You

Hey all! This week has gotten away from me. That's always a good thing for me. I'd much rather be busy than sitting in my chair wishing my time away.

 

Last week, the hubby hauled in 20 boxes of vinyl records from the garage that have to go live somewhere else. There are still 10 boxes in the garage and we estimate there are 1,700+ albums in his collection. Long story short, he found a record seller up in Yakima and took the first 10 boxes up to him yesterday. Such a relief. I looked into doing the selling myself on Amazon but realized quickly it would be a full-time job getting them inventoried and graded. There isn't enough time in the world for me to care enough about that. We've been together 17 years and those records have been sitting in boxes for that long and are slightly bent from the heat of Arizona. I played a couple of them on the record player I bought last weekend and they play fine.

 

While I was peeking in the boxes I found England Dan and John Ford Coley's album. It instantly reminded me of my best friend from high school. I don't why. I cannot remember their hits but it seems to me she loved them. Or was it Seals & Croft? Then, I saw Rod Stewart peeking from another box. I love him. I'm not ashamed to say it. Back in the day, he was often the background music for my partying nights. Do Ya Think I'm Sexy! OMG, I loved the late 70's and 80's ... glad I survived ... nothing short of a miracle.

 

The Little River Band was there when I was going into my 20's and 30's. Their songs bring up memories, mostly good ones. If I looked in those boxes more, I could find some AC/DC, Aerosmith, Prince, you name it ... it would be there. Hubs was a true record collector. I say was because somewhere along the line, he wasn't interested in any longer. He never played those records in all the last 17 years. They have been taking up space.

 

We are transitioning our lives in anticipation of moving sometime between now and next May. There is a lot to remove before that can happen. I've been downsizing hard for the last year and still there is so much stuff to rehome. Stuff that just weighs us down and collects dust. For me, the process helps me think twice before I buy anything new. He seems to have gone through a grieving process and is on the other side of it now because he is willing to give up "the stuff" that we simply cannot move one more time.

 

While this post may be a lot to do about nothing, I needed to write today.

 

Have you had to give up things that no longer serve you?

 

love, susan

 

What a Difference a Day Makes: A Life List

Body painting happened at the art
show this weekend. It was amazing!

The numbers this week are 55, 63, 64, 63, 67.  San Diego weather! These are the numbers all eastern Washington residents wait for. Finally.

 

My Favorite Moment(s) Last Week I have a couple of them but what comes to mind is standing around visiting at the art show on Saturday afternoon. One of my friend's granddaughter was there and when some party music came on she could not help but start dancing. The sheer joy in her eyes will keep me this entire week. Tacos in the back seat of a friend's truck with 4 other hungry people was also a highlight. There's nothing like tacos to bring people together.

 

What's Right In My World The wind finally exited. The sun is shining. I found an airbnb that is just right for the hubs and I in Anchorage for our Alaska trip this summer. Everything is set and paid for so I can check that daunting task off my list. Next chore: taxes.

 

Wall art happened at the art show.

What I'm Resisting OMG! I so much want to see the fallout from Stormy Daniels interview last night on 60 Minutes but I don't want to be that girl who cares who the president hit up. I'm resisting the news this morning. It reminds of back in the day when Bill Clinton said he didn't have sex with that woman. I believed him. (Rolling my eyes right now) Whatever. I actually could not care less who people have sex with. None of my business.  None of anyone's business.  Talk about the tail wagging the dog.

 

What I'm Thinking I talked on my phone more over the weekend than I have in an entire month. People needed to talk. It was all good. I'm still a bit teary eyed over talking about end of life stuff. I am writing it here because I want my son to know I was perfectly straight up when I told him I would not want people visiting me on my deathbed. Let's do more reunions and celebrate birthdays and get together while we are healthy and happy. Now is the time!

 

What's Happening This Week I have training on Wednesday. Maybe lunch in the park with a friend today. Hoping to get outdoors a lot this week.

 

If This is My Last Day on Earth I could die happy today. The sun is finally here and days are getting longer and warmer. I spent the entire weekend with good friends and there was not an unhappy moment in all of it.

Gotta go now and get a move on! Hope you have a fabulous day wherever you are.

 

love, susan



The "It"

The weather is finally warming up a titch. The numbers this week are 63, 64, 59, 56, and 54. Now, if the sun will just come up a little sooner, this princess will be happy.

 

I'm not going to follow my usual Monday life-list list format this week. Besides, it's not Monday any longer. I've been in a funk and it came to a head yesterday. I'm on the other side of it I think but now it's time to get real.

 

It's no secret to anyone in my inner circle that I fall prey to depression (seasonal affective disorder) in the winter. I have had it all my life and it is a familiar place for me. Mostly I am able to control it with a light box and Vitamin D. Some years I take a low dose of anti-depressant when it gets out of hand. This winter I stopped taking medication but can't remember exactly when. The cure is sometimes worse than the disease and that's what has happened with medication. The side effects are shitty. Mostly, I am unable to concentrate on anything ... feeling like a total zombie.

 

So, I've done fine until this last week. I've not been sleeping well and my brain will not turn off. Yesterday I woke up with a familiar impending doom feeling. I got dressed and headed to work but couldn't quite shake it. On the verge of tears every moment. I took my lunch and headed to the river to get some blue sky in my life and maybe have a good cry. My friend, T, who lives near the river, happened to see my not-so-conspicuous car and pulled into the parking lot to say hello right before I launched into a full out meltdown. Ha. She had no idea. I'm good at sucking it up. And, I did. And, it passed.

 

This morning, I don't have that feeling any longer. That standing-on-the-edge-of-the-abyss feeling. If you've never felt it, I am so happy for you. If you have, you know what I'm talking about. It's not a suicidal feeling. What I've discovered is that it is a change of season feeling.

 

My life is a series of seasons and the hubs and I are getting ready to go into a new season. A weather season and a life season. Change is coming and it causes me to think too much. Most of the time I'm not even aware that I'm thinking too much until it causes me a total mind and body breakdown. Thankfully, today I am able to talk about it and work through it. I'll be okay. I am okay.

 

The new job is a roller coaster ride for me. Some days I feel really good about it and confident. Other days, my confidence is shaky and I wonder what I was thinking by stepping out of my comfort zone. In the end, it's all good. I didn't get to be almost 59 by always taking the back seat in life. I'm a risk taker. I'd rather risk failure than to be paralyzed by fear and live my life going down the same road. Been there, done that, not going back.

 

What comes to mind this morning as I write is an experience I had when I first met my hubby. We were new in our relationship, mind you. I had taken a job at a title company and was 3 days into the job and knew immediately it was a bad fit for me. He said, why don't you quit? Because I'm not a quitter, I said. He said, is it going to get any better? No, I said, it is what it is. He suggested I run it through the serenity prayer, which has become a filter I use often.

 

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And, the wisdom to know the difference.

 

I do like my new job and I daily get attaboys from my mentor. This means a lot to me and I am ever so grateful to work with such devoted public servants. It is my life's purpose for now. Every day gets a little better.

 

More will be revealed.

 

love, susan

 

 

Human Flow ... the Documentary

This movie finally arrived on Amazon Prime. I am one hour into it. I can only watch a little at a time.

 

Thank you to my pen pal who insisted I watch it. I promised her I would.

 

I will never be the same.

 

love, susan

A Quick Post: A Life List



Great spring day in Eastern Washington

The weather this week couldn't be better. Today will see 64 degrees followed by 60, 56, 55, and 56. I'd say just about perfect, wouldn't you?  I'm running behind today already. I had a full weekend and the best parts were when I went outside. The hubs and I traveled two places on Saturday to get some rescue dog photos. It was fun to have him come along. He's a great help when he's not trying to engage the releasing owner in conversation. My husband is a talker and can easily get distracted from the task at hand. Luckily, he takes my cues light-heartedly and he really does a good job cajoling the dogs into positions where I might get a decent shot. Plus, I'm glad he got out of the house.  I got our airplane tickets purchased for the Alaska trip we're taking this summer. Reservations for a rental car are done. I'm glad to get that off my to-do list.  Yesterday, we stopped at WalMart (where I never shop) to pick up some clip-on sunglasses for him. I'm happy to write that he found a good fit there. He has needed them ever since he misplaced the ones I bought him at Costco. They are probably in the jacket he left somewhere over the winter. I have to watch him like a hawk.  I am having lunch with my good friend, T, today to celebrate her 43rd  birthday. Last night we had dinner with another friend. I love celebrating birthdays as much as possible. She quipped that she didn't know how she got to be 43.  I said, well, you just didn't die. She thought that was funny. It's true! I love watching people start to examine their life. It usually happens in the mid 40's. I've discovered it happens again when one nears 60. Eeeeks!   Well, I've run out of time to write more this morning. I blame it on daylight savings time. Hope you have a great day wherever you are!  love, susan



Gypsy, 5 month old Border Collie

March On: A Life List

Monday, March 5 ...The temps this week are encouraging in this area. We'll go from 55 to 62 on Sunday. This makes for a happy me.  My Favorite Moment Last Week Oh, I had lots of them. I moved all my stuff to my new desk at work and cleaned off my old desk in anticipation of a new person starting today. Once I had it cleaned off, I thought "wow, what a nice work space!" My new office is small and I often eat lunch at my desk but there is simply no room to do that. This will force me to get away for an hour every day. I also had an epiphany about part of my new duties. I get to thoroughly read criminal police reports in my role as a part-time public records person. Dream job! Getting paid to read true crime. I'm not looking forward to the sexual assault cases but give me a homicide and I'm hooked, word for word. Right now I am in the middle of reviewing a crime from 1984 ... back when transcripts were printed on onion paper. My tactile senses are going crazy! What is right in the world is that we are emerging from a long, gray winter and spending more time outdoors. We took two road trips this weekend and it did my heart good to take in the sunshine and blue skies. What I'm resisting is sugar. We went to a spaghetti feed Saturday night and my hubby thought it was sweet to tell me there were chocolate covered cherries on the dessert table. Up until then, I was doing fine and then one ended up in front of me. Well, about 8 (could have been more) chocolate covered cherries later I think he may finally understand my sugar addiction. I'm not blaming him. I got right back on track yesterday and attended another potluck last night. I took a big container of cottage cheese and loaded up my plate with salad to go with it. Resistance is mine. What I'm thinking is that I have a super busy week ahead of me with training a new person. I'm going to need to stay on top of my energy level and keep a good attitude. What's on my camera makes me happy. Getting outdoors over the weekend makes me want more outside time. We saw probably 200 deer on our road trip to Heppner, Oregon on Saturday afternoon. Our friend who drove said the full moon keeps the deer out eating all night due to the full light. The future holds a very busy couple of weeks getting our new person trained at work.  I am learning new job skills and my head may explode. I am weirdly excited about this. Finally, if this was my last day on earth I want to tell you that it's all going to be okay. I've been reading a lot of garbage posts on FB but also some encouraging articles about the political climate. Our future is in the hands of the young people and we can only hope they keep rising up. Do not be discouraged. love, susan