Submitted by EARS volunteer Marcia Goodman of Cromwell, Connecticut
When we walk into the main barn at the EARS emergency shelter in St. John, Arizona, we immediately see Juliet and Delilah in the front cage, hanging out together. Delilah looks fine, and Juliet seems shy but willing to accept human friendliness. This is a big change from when they arrived at the shelter. I talked with Janell Matthies on Monday, March 28, about their former situations and their progress at the shelter.
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| Juliet the day after the rescue. |
Marcia: Let’s start with Juliet. How was she at the beginning of the rescue?
Janell: Juliet came in as a “caution” dog because she was so scared. She went into survival mode out on the property when the rescuers were trying to catch her. Juliet has probably never had human contact and didn’t know what the rescue workers were doing. She was very, very nervous and the rescue workers were concerned she might be a fear biter because she showed her survival instincts. When she arrived at the shelter, Juliet kept herself in a ball in the back of her cage for the first 72 hours.
Marcia: How has she progressed since then?
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| Juliet starting to come out of her shell. |
Janell: Multiple volunteers have gone into her cage and sat with her, and given her treats. Now, she’ll actually come up to you and give you kisses on your hand. She’ll  even take food out of your hand, and she’ll let us touch her now.
Marcia: How about Juliet’s kennel mate, Delilah?
Janell: While Juliet was a major behavioral concern, Delilah was a medical issue. She has a very old compound fracture and her leg is completely unusable. It’s still painful for her because there are fragments still in there; it’s pretty much shattered. Delilah will be an amputee candidate, and, as many people know, a dog with three legs is 100 percent dog. This will not be an issue for her.
Marcia: How have you made Delilah comfortable?
Janell: We have her on some pain meds, so she should be pain free now. We took x-rays, and we’ve made sure that we’ve done everything we can do to make her comfortable until she can have the surgery. And she’s coming around very nicely.
Marcia: Were Juliet and Delilah together at the time they were rescued?
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Janell with an attentive
Juliet and Deliah. |
Janell: No, they’re not related, and they were on different sections of the property. But we had put them in crates next to each other, and their personalities seemed to go well together. In order to get them more socialized – since dogs do better when have another buddy with them  – we’ve now put them in the same cage, and it seems like they’re getting comfortable with each other. One other thing that Juliet and Delilah have in common is that they’re both getting spoiled rotten by the volunteers!
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We’ll continue to report on Juliet’s and Delilah’s progress in future blogs as long as they are at the UAN emergency shelter.
