Banjo, embarrassed, but happy to be home, studying up on his formal nouns.
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Banjo, embarrassed, but happy to be home, studying up on his formal nouns.
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12 comments so far...
Hi Katie,
Of course, you are welcome to share Banjo’s story.
We were up from Santa Cruz, visiting my daughter and son in law in Sparks, and it was our second night. Banjo was locked in the house while we went to a Christmas party at some friends of theirs. He never likes being left alone, but it has never turned problematic in the past. When we returned from the party, he was nowhere to be found. He had gone looking for us by leaving through the cat door and going through a hole in the fence. We were completely dumbfounded. He is a mountain dog, and as he stepped through that hole, he was instantly, and irretrievably lost and alone in the suburbs.
Some of us retraced the route we took on our walk, the last two mornings, some of us went out in the car looking for him, while I did the media blitz, with the Washoe County Animal Shelter, Craigslist posts in Pets, and Lost and Found, and about five lost dog help groups including PawBoost, where I received copious moral support, in my time of crisis.
Banjo was found two miles away after spending the night out in 33-degree weather. After many people saw him and called the animal shelter on his behalf, he was picked up by an animal control officer, standing beside the freeway hitchhiking with a little crudely written and slightly misspelled “ Santa Cruse” sign, as cat people in their big cars whizzed by him, only inches away, we were told.
Banjo was taken to the Washoe County Animal Shelter, where they scanned his chip. Within 12 minutes we were told by the chip company, www.found.org, that he had been found, and where to pick him up. We are ALL rejoicing, and once again looking forward to a happy and merry Christmas. I shed many tears of hope over the kind wishes and prayers of people I have never met, many of whom were from the PawBoost website.
I wish you as much love in your lives as you have given me, and a holiday season, as happy as ours will now be. This story is shared as a reminder to people to chip their dogs.
Again, thank you all, gratefully.
Again back in grace,
Eric Rothchild
Having worked with rehabilitating problem dogs & generally training dogs, I will say that separation anxiety that severe can be greatly eased with an article of clothing & a pet bed from home .... Having a t-shirt (100% cotton is best) with your scent on it set aside for the pooch.... When you're about to leave him alone, get him all good and relaxed on a pet bed or pillow that already has his scent from his normal home and put the t-shirt either in the bed with him -- or better yet tie it around his neck like a bandana.... Tell him to "stay", don't allow him to follow you around the strange home when you know you will be leaving him there for whatever reason --- especially, don't let him follow you to the door when you're leaving. By doing these simple things, you can actually eliminate the separation anxiety altogether. Many people wrongly assume that it's just a quirky behavior in their dog they just have to live with, but I can actually induce it in even the best behaved/balanced dog.... It's not always a problem behavior as much as humans doing the wrong things in their leaving rituals that set a dog up to have anxiety attacks when their pack leaders leave. Dogs that have a particularly strong attachment to their human & other pack members are highly susceptible to get anxious when they've been left behind suddenly without preparing them for the fact that you are leaving ... If you make the preparation beginning in familiar home surroundings first and maintain it, the dog will soon understand that your leaving just means it's relaxation/sleep time and you will in time return. Extending that routine -- along with his doggy bed and your scent on a shirt -- into unfamiliar surroundings helps him understand that you will be returning because he will already be familiar with that routine & what it all means. Just a bit of unsolicited advise ..... I've worked with clients with this same type of scenario where, though the dog was chipped, the end results of such behavior were far from happy and I always hate to see/hear of their heartbreak over their "problem dog's anxiety issues" that could have been fixed/avoided so easily.
People who are sympathetic and/or empathetic to animals aren't THAT rare.... People who truly understand that are the endangered species. I can't tell you how many "problem" dogs I've worked with were simply the result of their well-intentioned, caring owners absolute, sometimes mind-boggling, ignorance of animal behavior. You see these folks all over the place --- the ones being dragged down the street or through the park by their dogs & they don't see that that's the symptom of larger behavior problems they're lovingly developing and/or nurturing in their dogs. That's not even addressing how many dogs are surrendered to shelters every day by owners who can't deal with their problem behaviors --- and the problem more often than not turns out to be human ignorance .... For which, many dogs (and other pets, I daresay) pay with their lives.....
But, I don't want to put a sad pall on a story with a good ending for Banjo =) He's a cutey, too =) What kinda hound is he, anyway?