About Haley |
- Status: Adopted!
- Adoption Fee: 250.00
- Species: Dog
- Rescue ID: 2011-039
- Color: Tan
- Current Size: 40 Pounds
- Potential Size: 80 Pounds
- Current Age: 14 Years 3 Months (best estimate)
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(9 months old) Good with older considerate kids, dogs and Cats.
8/11/11 - Update: Well it has been almost 4 months and I am loving it at my foster home, but I am looking for my forever home. I am still a bit timid, but I am working on this every day. I am a quiet dog, my foster mom barely knows I am here. I do play with the other animals in our house (a dog and a cat and occassionally another foster dog), and cuddle with my foster mom. I love to sit right next to her. I actually love to play and run in the yard too. I know I will make someone very happy, just give me a chance to show you!!
6/22/11 - Update: We have had the pleasure to have Haley now for over a month. She was very timid when she came to us. She has come so far and now is trusting us. Of course we have no idea what she went through when she was in the shelter. She plays with our other dog and gets along with other dogs we come across when we take her for her walks. She loves to sit and cuddle. Recently, we have started to train her. The sit command took 3 tries and she got it. She is very receptive to training and she is very willing to please. It is so rewarding to see how far she is come.
Are you looking for a classic black & tan German Shepherd? Yes? OK, then stop reading, because Haley ain't it!
Still reading??? Then you must be looking for an exceptionally sweet, deserving pup who is ready & waiting to soak up all the love you can give. Perfect - because Haley might just be the girl for you.
As with many of our pups, we don't know much about Haley's first few months. But we do know that she & her sister Jelly ended up in the Chesterfield County, SC Animal Shelter. Here at GSRA we try to be like our dogs & live "in the moment", but in Haley's (& Jelly's) case, you really need to understand what they survived in order to truly appreciate how special these 2 little girls are. The details of what supposedly happened at this shelter are well publicized, but for those of you who don't know, please click on this link:
http://www.seattledogspot.com/tag/chesterfield-county-animal-shelter/
Fortunately for Haley & Jelly, a rescue group pulled them & many other dogs from this shelter in order to give them a chance at life - an opportunity that almost certainly wouldn't have been afforded to them had they remained at the shelter. However, since foster homes weren't available for so many of the dogs, Haley & Jelly spent weeks living in a barn, in a horse stall - being fed & sheltered, but receiving little human contact. On March 25 though, this all changed. A GSRA volunteer who had heard of the plight of these Chesterfield dogs drove down to SC and loaded up Haley & Jelly & transported them to my home. To say that Haley & Jelly were terrified would be the biggest understatement of the year! They were deathly afraid of humans (& who could blame them after how they had previously been treated?)...when we put a leash on them, they froze... they refused to come into the house... when I tried to approach them, they ran. I have fostered more pups than I can count i n my years as a foster for GSRA, but I have NEVER seen puppies as bad off as these 2. You expect puppies to be happy-go-lucky.. too young to really understand how cruel the world can be to a defenseless creature. Sadly, both Haley & Jelly knew only too well how dangerous humans could be & they weren't about to let another one near them, no matter how good THIS human's intentions were. To add to their plight, both Haley & Jelly were suffering from an advanced case of sarcoptic mange. This had left most of the fur on their back end missing and their skin raw & oozing. These 2 little girls were simply heart breaking.
Fast forward 6 weeks... Thanks to the amazing capacity of dogs to forgive, & thanks to the incredible tutorledge of my 3 adult GSDs, Haley & Jelly have made remarkable progress in their rehabilitation. I've learned a lot working with these 2 girls - they are easily the biggest challenge I have faced so far as a GSRA foster Mom - but to see how far Haley & Jelly have come makes the hearbreak of those early days all worth while. They now come in & out of the house when instructed. They follow me out to the kennel in the morning & stay there while I am at work. When I get home, they are very happy to see me - actually jumping up on me to show me how glad they are that I am there. They love to run & play in the backyard, with each other or with my GSDs, especially my alpha Patty. The like to chew on their squeaky toys & are starting to play with balls. Leash work is coming along - Haley's getting better although she still needs lots of training. Jelly still needs to learn that the leash will not hurt her, but that will come in time. These pups are not recognizable as the terrified, broken, helpless little creatures that came to me so many weeks ago.
Haley has always been the more independent of the 2 pups. She was the first to come around to being touched, & petted & loved on. Her nature is that of sweetness. She seemed willing, early on, to believe that humans COULD be trusted & COULD be a source of all things wonderful. Now she is reaping the reward of the trust & is enjoying being loved on & included as part of the family. Saturday Haley attended her first dog event: Paw Jam in Wilmington. There were dogs of all shapes & sizes & people coming & going. Haley was a little timid but did great overall. She walked on the leash with little hesitation, she did great with people approaching her & she seemed interested in all the festivities going on. Looking at her you'd never suspect her horrific beginnings. She appeared to be just a normal, young pup at a doggie event.
Haley is a mix of ??? Maybe Rhodesian Ridgeback, without the ridge? Maybe Lab? Maybe Hound? She is about 40 pounds now & we expect her to continue to grow, some. There's no telling how big she will eventually be. Haley definitely needs to be be in a home with another dog. She needs to continue to learn from other well-adjusted dogs, that humans are OK & that life is good. Being a puppy she loves to play, so having another playful dog in the house will be a bonus. We are not sure how she will do with cats (although Jelly has met cats & is fine with them) - no doubt, like most puppies, she will be curious & will want to play. Since she is less than a year old, Haley cannot go to a home with children under 8 years old (GSRA policy). Haley is crate & house (almost) trained. We are strongly recommending that Haley's adoptive family take Haley to an obedience class once she is settled in her new home. This would be good for helping Haley bond with her new family & it would teach her manners, discipline & self-confidence.
Haley needs a very special home that is understanding of her beginning in life, but also confident & capable of helping her to grow into a happy, well-adjusted dog. She will probably never be a social butterfly, but she has already shown an incredible zeal for life & a real joy in simple things like playing with other dogs, snuggling on the couch & chewing on a really good squeaky toy. It has been my priviledge to get Haley this far in her rehabilitation, but I know that, to go even further, she needs to find a family of her own. Although Haley might not be a classic looking GSD, she has the heart & soul of this noble breed, so if looks are not all that important to you, please consider adopting this little girl - she will repay you with a million wonderful, shared moments & lots of sweet puppy kisses.
