On July 8, Becky and I adopted a dog: Loki. He has a sketchy history and probably some neuroses. So I thought I'd make a record of how he adjusts to his new home. Here's a little background on him.
The Sonoma County police found him on April 16th abandoned in a crate without water along Highway 680, between the towns of Benicia and Cordelia. Loki was estimated to be 5 years old. At 55 pounds, he was very underweight and his fur was extremely matted. Clearly, he had been badly treated or at least badly neglected. He was taken to the Solano County animal shelter. While there, he underwent a umbilical hernia operation. He was neutered and vaccinated. At one point, large ticks were found dropping from his coat. Beyond his recent traumatic experiences, there's no telling just how hard his life was before being abandoned.
On June 6th, Loki was rescued by CalPaws, a dog rescue group that looks out for German Shepherds in particular. Loki is by no means a pure bread shepherd, but he's enough shepherd that CalPaws found him a foster home in Sacramento. He had reached an adequate weight of 67 pounds.
When we first visited Loki on June 29th, he had healed from his surgeries, but a "hotspot" had reappeared on his rump, something that was an issue earlier during his care at the shelter. It was about the size of a quarter -- not so serious as to change our decision to adopt him, but a few days later it expanded to at least 3 inches in diameter. Apparently, he aggravated it overnight. A vet in Sacramento put him on antibiotics, an anti-inflamatory, and a sedative to keep him healthy and comfortable. The spot was now a more serious problem, but still not enough to change our minds about adopting him; so we brought him home.
We've had him in a recovery collar cone for over a week now to keep him from further aggravating the hotspot, and thankfully, it's healing nicely. He continues to get twice daily doses of his meds which we feed him by hand, powderized and wrapped in treats at each meal. I expect he'll be healed soon.
He was extremely anxious during his first day with us. He paced about our condominium unit. On walks, he was cautious, if not frightened of every dog or human he saw. Happily, he has calmed down and is more comfortable on walks; however today he actively opposed going for a walk. He backed away from the open door and bit at the leash, trying to pull it from me. When I got on my hands and knees to comfort him and remove the leash, he pinned my hands to the carpet with his paws, clearly trying to prevent me from getting up. It was a very puzzling encounter.
We've convinced him that his bed is a good place to be, but he'll lie down just about anywhere. He's not too particular. He generally sleeps through the night at the foot of our bed, but on three occasions he woke and started barking in the darkness. Sometimes he craves attention; other times, he avoids us. He sometimes gets exuberant, but he wimpers a lot, especially when Becky leaves the house. Separation anxiety is certainly one of his challenges, but he wasn't destructive when we both left him during a 90 minute trial separation. It will be interesting to see how he behaves after his hotspot heals and he's off his sedative.
Loki has a lot to learn and much more to teach.
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