Scout couldn't climb stairs,bark,jump.

When Scout left the Berkshire Humane Society, she never had done anything that dogs usually do. She had to learn everything! In order to get her into the house, she had to climb stairs. I put treats on each step and pulled her one step at a time up the steps. Her legs didn't know how to climb. She didn't jump on any furniture because she couldn't jump. She couldn't bark, she only make a small ruff noise, cause she never barked or heard barking. On the car ride home, she hid her head under my arm because the light hurt her eyes.
Scout knew nothing about being a dog, but this also meant she had no bad habits that a shelter dog can have.
Scout came with her crate and a blanket which was put in the living room. She would go into it often just to relax.
Scout had never been on grass either, she just didn't know what it was.
So many thing that Scout had never done, how could anyone treat a dog like that.

Here is a picture of Scout in my bed:

I bought her a bed but she ripped it to shreds, it was the only thing she ripped up so far. She hated it!

Scout loves being supported by soft pillows also. Here she is on the couch. Notice how sad her face looks, she is so skinny too.

Just so you can see the difference here is Scout today as a country dog!

Berkshire Humane Society

This is what the Cairn Terriers looked like when they first arrived at the Berkshire Humane Society.

Here is their newsletter "Humane Tails" which tells about the lucky 17!

You can also go to Pet Connection, Channel 10 news Albany NY to see the before and after pictures/video of the dogs. Click here for the link to Steve Caporizzo's Pet Connection on 4/9/12 about the Cairn Terriers.

I will be posting about Scout's first days with us later today.
          Here's Scout pix from Father's Day.

Kismet for Scout!

Kismet


It was kismet that I went to the Berkshire Humane Society and found Scout. I began the process of looking for a dog in April, I had been thinking about it for awhile. My last dog Armani passed away 5 years ago and I missed having a dog. This time, I wanted a small dog. I live in the country and this is big dog country. I went to the Humane Society several times and would ask, "Do you have any small dogs?' I always knew the answer, no, just big dogs. Since I was traveling down to Long Island, I knew the North Shore Animal League would have small dogs, so I called them after seeing all the small dogs on their website. They told me that they only allow adoptions in the tri-state area. Since I live in MA., I couldn't adopt from them. It made me so sad that I would never find my small dog.
I live near the city of Pittsfield and they are doing major construction on the main roads. One day I was coming home and decided to take the back road home from Pittsfield. That back road goes rigght past The Berkshire Humane Society. I decided to pull in and ask my usual question,"Do you have any small dogs?"
I was greeted by a women and she said, "Small dogs, do we have small dogs, we have 30 of them!" I thought she was joking cause they never have small dogs.
I was told that they were all Cairn Terriers and ranged in age from 2-9 years old. I was told the heartbreaking story of how they came to be there and what they had to do to make the dogs presentable.
I was taken to see a dog named "Maggie". She was a sweet dog but very shy and had a hold on her.(hold meaning that someone else was interested in adopting her.)  They were bringing the dogs out slowly to be adopted as it would have been overwhelming to bring them all out at once. I was told that it the person didn't want Maggie, I would be next in line and they would call me. I went home and told my husband about the cute dog I saw. I waited by the phone all the next day, waiting for a call that didn't come.
My husband and I went back the next night, a thursday. Maggie was gone but there was another dog that had come out for adoption, "Irish". Again, the dog had a hold on her. My husband and I took her on a walk and played with her. She was shy but took to us right away and rolled over for belly rubs. The couple that had a hold on her came in the door while we were playing with Irish. They were a young couple and the guy was a big strapping fellow who I was sure was going to want a big country dog.
We left the humane society but I was hopeful that they wouldn't take the dog. When we got home, I looked at my answer phone which was beeping. (Yes, I still have a landline and an answer machine.)
The message was, the couple did not take Irish and if we wanted her, she was our dog.

On Friday, we went back and after filling out the paperwork, we took "Irish" home. We were told that everything would be a first for her since she didn't know how to be a dog. I will relay some of these things in my next posts. Here is a picture of "Irish" at The Berkshire Humane Society.
On Saturday, she became"Scout".

Dog in Cage for 2 years!

Scout's first two years of her life was spent in a crate in a dark barn along with 30 other Cairn Terriers. She was allowed out of her crate for 1 hour a day to exercise in the barn. The breeder had become too old to care for the dogs and she just began to hoard the dogs instead of selling them. The dogs sat in their crates with their fur all matted and just enough food to keep them alive. No sunshine, no love.
The women became sick and had to go to the hospital and that is when the dogs were found in the barn.
All the dogs were taken in by "The Berkshire Humane Society". They gave my dog the name "Irish" and all the dogs were sent out to be groomed, have their teeth checked, given all shots and had to be socialized. The dogs ranged in age from 2 years to 9 years and I was told that their was 30 of them. When I saw the newsletter from the Humane Society, the adopted dogs were called, "The Lucky 17." I don't know what happened to the other dogs since some had been in crates for way over 2 years.  All I know is that "Irish" came into my life in May 2012 and we renamed her "Scout" because of the way she stands with one paw up, like she is out scouting in the woods.
The is my first post about "Scout" and in my following posts, I will tell how I happened to go looking for a dog and found my Scout. Scout now lives in the country, everything is a first for her. I will tell about all the first things that she has done and follow her adventures as she enjoys her new life in the country.
I am blessed to have Scout in my life and hope that I can makeup for the first two horrible years of her life.

Follow Scout's adventures in my posts,videos and pictures.