Been Found By A Rescue Dog

[ShodokanJenn]

You are doing a superb job of being the alpha for Hank. It sounds like you are doing exactly what he needs, and he in turn is doing exactly what YOU need. A beautiful partnership. Thank you for updating us!

 

[Ellabella44]

thats great he trusts you enough to accept you in alpha role! You are gentle and kind to him and he must think very highly of you to accept the repair man on just your acceptance of the repair man. And to stand up to him and let the repair man know he cant come in till Hank says he can. Brave boy! You made him feel secure enough to look out for intruders in the home instead of cowering in a corner or running away. He deserves a huge muzzle hug, some treats etc for all of the progress he has made! And you should be proud of yourself that you helped him make all of this progress. Love hearing and keeping up with Hank.

hugs to you both!

 

[City Slicker]

Thank you so much @gizmo for your support and for your comments about my parenting. I feel your words so strongly as I also wanted to have the kind of parent I hope I have been able to be with Hank so far. I haven't taken him running because it's been way too hot here but during my runs outside I have thought about illustrations for Hank's story! It makes me smile.

@ladee Without a doubt, Hank has been the most precious and enormous gift I have ever received. I still have moments when I think I am going to screw it up somehow but then I look at him and think if I did someone do something stupid it would be hopefully with the best of intentions and Hank would forgive me for it. I think that's how dogs think - they just live in the moment and if you show you love and cherish them, they accept who you are and love you anyway.

@Ellabella44 Truly such wonderful words - I gave Hank a huge muzzle cuddle afterwards. Today I had a man come to the door and pound very loudly. Hank jumped up immediately and came to the door with me and stood off to the side so I could open the door. The man saw Hank standing there and backed up a few steps. He gave me much more space than these guys usually do when they come up and try to sell you something. Hank didn't like him and I could tell because the fur on his back came up a bit. But Hank didn't move or make a sound. He just stayed beside me and slightly behind me. I put my hand on his scruff and patted while I spoke to the guy - he was selling something stupid but he was definitely pushy. After he left, I cuddled Hank and kissed his beautiful little kissing spot right below his nose.

@ShodokanJenn Thank you so much. I do feel it's been a most amazing gift and the partnership gets stronger as we continue to find new adventures and new situations.

So tonight I decided to watch a docudrama about a woman who does extreme races. She had adopted a dog from rescue and as the dog grew, they grew into a fabulous pair together. She called him Taz and he became her best friend, training buddy, running buddy etc. One day they went out in a canyon to run and she fell. Taz was able to alert people to come and find her and save her life.

As they talked about Taz, and about Taz getting older it made me think of Hank and how long we will have each other. Well that did it and I started crying. Hank was asleep on the floor so I got down on my hands and knees all lovey dovey and leaned in to plant a kiss on his sleeping head. Just as I got to his head, something tickled his ear and with the biggest and strongest head ever he shook that massive head right into my cheek and lip. My lip split open and I said 'owwwwwwww' in a kind of funny way and put my hand to my lip to stop the bleeding.

Hank jumped right up with the goofiest look of puzzlement and confusion on his face. He did that head back and forth thing looking at me and looking really worried and scared.

I told him it was ok and didn't act like anything was wrong and went into the kitchen for a cloth. Hank followed me to the kitchen and sat. At one point while I was cleaning out my lip, he raised his paw for me to take and shake. I moved out of the area and grabbed a treat and then called him to me. I asked him to sit and I gave him the treat. Just like normal - like nothing had happened. I bent over to cuddle his head again because I always do that. He leaned in so gently to sniff my lip and tried to take a tongue swipe at it but instead I crouched down and hung on his neck for a few seconds telling him everything was fine.

I gave him his Kong and he's blissfully licking out peanut butter now as I type. I have no idea what he thought when this happened but is fine now and I think I might have concerned him when I said 'owwwwww', the way I did.

I pity anyone that tried to get past him with that head of his. OMG!! One smack with that head and he would disable any workman in a heartbeat lol.

 

[ladee]

Poor Hank and poor City Slicker. He was so confused and you handled it with your grace and love for him. He was probably just as confused as yo why you were on the floor with him to begin with.!! Great to hear obnoxious sales dude stepped back. Hank sensed something was off about the guy.
I really think you need to make Hank a cape!! He is our community hero.
Never thought I could love a dog so much that I have never met. But I get all goofy and mooshy as soon as I see you posted.
Thank you for sharing your precious gift with us.
Hope you are doing ok on your healing journey. I don't forget why you are here.
Lots of mutual hugs and kisses for both of you!!

 

[City Slicker]

Thank you @ladee - you are very wise and your posts make me feel loved and supported.

Thank you for loving Hank - he's truly a most unique and very special soul and I truly feel honoured to have had him 'pick' me.

I am doing ok. I have a legal matter pending with a therapist who crossed some bad boundaries with me when I was quite young. I finally brought charges against her through her association and a few weeks ago they let me know the outside prosecutor had found enough evidence to move toward the formal discipline process. My mind drifts in and out of it and I feel good that I took steps to at least finally tell what she did.

Hank's been a blessing to me through all this. When I get lost in my head, he's right here and so present. I grab a brush and brush him gently and talk softly to him. It gets me present and more grounded plus I can slow down when I am with him. I deal with things by working or working out leaving very little time for thinking.

I hope you are well and wish you peace and healing on your journey.
Hugs and kisses right back.

 

[ladee]

Very happy and proud of you for doing what you needed to do about the T. Apparently there were other things brought forward in regard to her.
Making a stand for our self is very empowering and hope thing go as planned. Very happy Hank is there to help ground you and share his love With you.
Thanks for letting me know how you are. You are more to me than Hanks mom.

Let me know how things turn out and come and share if it gets too big.
Love and hugs to you!

 

[Deleted member 12723]

• @City Slicker I love your sharing and I know that Hank is very closely bonded to you as you are to him. I love his protective streak coming out in such a good and restrained manner and that actually gave you some space between you and the salesman.

I so enjoy reading about Hanks healing process and how he loves you. He does live in the now and I know for a fact that a dogs vocabulary for words do actually increase with words spoken to them. So pat yourself on the back for this one. You both have formed a team where you are the Alpha and this must make you feel good inside.:hug::hug:

 

[City Slicker]

Thank you @gizmo - I really feel Hank's communication with me and how special it is.

The last few weeks I have noticed when I leave the room Hank will follow and put himself down at the foot of the stairs until I come back down. When I come back down he relaxes and sleeps. I think I will have my neighbour come in a few times again throughout the day in case he's having some anxiety. I had asked her to stand outside my door at different times through the day and listen and look through the window to make sure Hank is ok. So far he's been not showing anxiety when I leave but seems to when I am in the house but he can't see me.

The other day I was not focused. I had a tin of treats for him that I hadn't opened and put it on the table. When I went looking for it I couldn't find it so I forgot about it and gave him some dry treats thinking I had put the tin somewhere and would find it later.

When I got home later that day I discovered Hank had not only found the treat tin but he had eaten right through it and flattened the rest of the tin. There were big hunks of the tin missing. The tin had sharp edges and of course I got immediately worried that he had ingested the tin and the edges would cut his innerds. I called my vet immediately who told me to give him simethicone right away and he could see us in three hours.

I rushed to the pharmacy and got the simethicone and got some into him. We sat for a few minutes and I spoke calmly to him because I could see he was upset but I noticed he would occasionally paw at his mouth. I though he had probably cut his gums with the tin. I got some paper towel and gently ran it along his gums. He was so gentle that he let me open his mouth wide and stick my hand in.

Suddenly my finger hit something very sharp - it was a piece of tin that had embedded itself into his gum right behind his far tooth. I tried to grab it and that's when he decided to close his mouth. It took a bit of gentle coaxing to get him to relax and I rubbed his tummy and held his muzzle with my other hand. Once he relaxed again he let me open his mouth. I knew right where to go and there was a big piece of the tin sticking there in his gum. I grabbed it and as I started to gently pull, it came loose in my hand. I think by then I was shaking but he knew I had gotten the bad thing out of his mouth.

I went over and sat quietly on the couch as Hank started grooming his muzzle. A few moments later Hank came over and set his huge head in my lap and seemed to relax the full weight of his head into my lap. We sat like that till it was time to go to the vet.

It turned out this was the only piece that he had eaten, or had tried to eat - the x ray was clear but the vet said to give him more simethicone before bed.

Again, this was an example of how much this boy trusted me and I think we was telling me he knew what I was trying to do was only to help him. When we got home he was a bit subdued but then after a few moments at home he came and lay with his head on my foot. I had to pee and didn't have the heart to move him. True love when you really have to go and you just can't stand the thought of disturbing them.

He's right as rain now and it was a good reminder to me to make sure to stay focussed and to also check that he's settled when I leave the house.

He's been on a few long runs with me but I feel him when he gets tired and so I slow down and head back to the car. Now that the cooler weather is coming he likes to sit in the car and watch things going on. This is good because I can move out of his sight line and do some stretching and some short cool down runs.

Another of my neighbours works in a convalescent home and asked me if I would consider Hank for a visiting dog. I am thinking about it and maybe in a few months when he is even more settled than he is now we can go check it out. I am very careful to try not to put him in any situations that overwhelm him - on the other hand I don't want to baby him and somehow 'stunt' his 'dogness'. I figure if I pay close attention to how he's doing he will let me know if and when he's ready to try something like this.

Tonight he's lying on the back porch on his own. He looks in now and then to see me and then he relaxes again. This is a lot further than he's been before in his relaxing - he generally can't stay out on his own too long before asking to come back in. Now he seems even more at home than before. I am amazed watching this boy become more and more himself as each day goes by.

 

[ladee]

So good to hear what a sweet boy He was letting you get the tin out of his gum. A very trusting boy He is and your patience and love lets him know things are ok.
Thank you for letting us know how he and you are doing. Sweet gentle hugs to both of you.

 

[City Slicker]

Thank you @ladee - you have been such a support for us. I am truly so grateful to be able to share Hank with you.

 

[ladee]

In a way, it's crazy to love a dog I have never met! You are such a loving mom that when you share the love and his personality comes thru with your words.
You and Hank share hope and success. Deeply appreciated

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I am so relieved that you were able to get the tin out of his gum. I think that the both of you are doing so very well together and I love it when you post about your lives together.

What a long way you both have come. I imaging you will giving happiness to each other for so many years.

I still think there is a book in your stories.:hug::hug: