Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Haunted Hound Hotel?




Last night we went to bed with our trusty hounds by our side, and our foster Carrie in her crate. All was well for a while...until it happened. It is Halloween after all. We were awakened by low creepy noises which increased in crescendo into bloodcurdling howls. We jumped out of bed thinking that the Hound Hotel has become possessed! Then I thought back to the movie ghostbusters and told myself, "I aint 'fraid of no ghost." I went to the closet and got out the slime machine and went downstairs, ready to face the fearsome ghost. What I found was no ghost, but our little Carrie whining and wailing in her crate. She may be shy, but that doesn't apply to her lungs. I calmed her down and thought she would be ok. She had slept through the night without a peep on Sunday night. She was fine for a few minutes, and then the ghosts returned. I tried calming her down again, and again it didn't work. After the third time, it was clear that Carrie had no intention of letting the proprietors of the hotel get any rest. I took her out of her crate and carried her up to our room. She paced around for a few minutes and then laid down and went to sleep and slept the rest of the night quietly. Our house was no longer possessed. Having her wail like that is not necessarily a bad thing. It means that she is developing a bond and wants to be with the family. Even though she is still afraid to come near us, she is obviously warming up to the idea. She made some progress yesterday when she mustered the courage to come out of her crate and try to visit us in the family room and kitchen, and she is making more progress today. She sneaks down the hallway and pokes her head into the kitchen until she feels like she might get caught, then hoofs it back to her crate. She has been going a little farther as the hours go by. The good news is that we can see that underneath all that is a really peppy girl that is waiting to come out. When we let her into the yard with our dogs, she turns on the afterburners and starts a race. Carrie in the yard is a fun, fast, and confident dog with our dogs. When she is with people, she is scared. I don't know what happened to her, but it is such a shame. I don't know what brought on this unnatural fear, but obviously something was going on in her past and it will take some time to rebuild the trust that greyhounds normally have in people. We can tell that behind the fear, she is a sweetheart of a dog. There is not an ounce of agression in this dog, and she just needs a home and a family that will treat her well to turn her back into the dog she is supposed to be, and that she will be. We will continue to provide regular updates on her progress. Stay tuned.

3 comments:

Never Say Never Greyhounds said...

I think often they are just born that way. Racing greyhounds aren't properly socialized, yet some are the most confident, curious, outgoing hounds you could ask for. Some are born shy and no socializing kept them that way. I'm sure you guys will do a great job bringing her out of her shell.

Jen

Corrine said...

she is sooo adorable! what a little sweetheart. i'll look forward to reading about her progress.

she'd make a great sister for bruno, if only i were ready to take on another...

Mykyla said...

From the sounds of it -- I'm sure you'll be able to show her what it's like to be loved. Best of luck :)

On a side note, you should check out:

http://www.greentreecoffee.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=BEAN&Store_Code=GTCAT#mgac

It's an organic coffee company (Green Tree Coffee) that directly supports The Mobile Greyhound Adoption Center by donating $1 per pound of "dog friendly" coffee they sell.

Take care!