Ella was the most fearful dog I had ever met. We saw her at Petco. Lost Angels Animal Rescue was there with their crew of foster parents and dogs needing adoption. Ella was the only one not making any noise. She was curled up in her crate trying to be invisible. She looked like a plain, medium brown dog. I don't know what attracted us to her. She wouldn't come out of the crate on her own. My husband, Scott carried her down to a bench at the shopping center, away from the crowd. She curled up on the bench with her ears back and the whites of her eyes showing. We talked to her and within minutes she lifted one paw and put it over Scott's arm and left it there until we got up. We were hers, at that point. We went through the adoption process and took her home.
We named her Ella because we both love music, she was a Louisiana Catahoula mix and she had the blues. Ella Fitzgerald came to mind. The first few weeks, we scrambled to educate ourselves about dealing with her issues. It took two weeks for her to come out of her crate on her own. We left the door open most of the time, and would have to close it after she exited, to make sure she didn't run right back in. Our old Jack Russell, Siggy, wasn't interested in dealing with a new dog, but he tolerated her. Ella wouldn't eat with us in the room. She wouldn't roam the yard until dark. In the daylight, she hugged the fence or the house, searching for shadows or hedges to hide in. She had no idea what dogtoys were and kept a wide berth of them. She made very few noises, no barking or whining. She was a stealth machine, walking on the tips of her toes. Even with her tags on, she could jump on furniture without making a sound. We deduced that she'd been born on the streets and remained feral until she and her siblings were captured by animal control when they were four months old. Her siblings were adopted out, but Ella was too timid to be a good candidate. The day before she was to be euthanized, Lost Angels took her. We got her a week later. She was six months old.
We looked up a training facility that used only positive reinforcement. The folks at Courteous Canine in Lutz became our mentors. The owner, Angelica Steinker guided us through the first few weeks with Ella. A couple months later we attempted Basic Obedience. Ella spent half of each class under the chair and the other half learning. It took months for us to encourage Ella to walk to the end of our block. She eventually stopped being terrified of every human she met. She loved other dogs, so we visited friends with friendly dogs. It took a few months to convince her that toys weren't aliens. She would investigate every new toy with extreme caution for days. She played with squeaky toys like they were alive, tossing them and jumping after them, but handling them very gently in her mouth. She would make little yipping noises like a coyote. Her tail gradually came out from between her legs. She was about nine months old when we saw her try to wag it for the first time. After a year, she started carrying it out behind her like a normal dog. About the same time, she attempted barking, but her voice was rarely heard.
Ella is now two years old. We moved a year ago from the city of Tampa to the semi- rural area of Lutz. She now takes long walks down our quiet winding streets. She runs like the wind at the dogpark and plays vigorously with her toys. She's still shy around new people, but warms up to them faster. She's found her voice and uses it. She is a kind, honest dog and a joy to be around. I can't imagine that we ever saw her as just a "plain brown dog". She's one of my heroes.
We named her Ella because we both love music, she was a Louisiana Catahoula mix and she had the blues. Ella Fitzgerald came to mind. The first few weeks, we scrambled to educate ourselves about dealing with her issues. It took two weeks for her to come out of her crate on her own. We left the door open most of the time, and would have to close it after she exited, to make sure she didn't run right back in. Our old Jack Russell, Siggy, wasn't interested in dealing with a new dog, but he tolerated her. Ella wouldn't eat with us in the room. She wouldn't roam the yard until dark. In the daylight, she hugged the fence or the house, searching for shadows or hedges to hide in. She had no idea what dogtoys were and kept a wide berth of them. She made very few noises, no barking or whining. She was a stealth machine, walking on the tips of her toes. Even with her tags on, she could jump on furniture without making a sound. We deduced that she'd been born on the streets and remained feral until she and her siblings were captured by animal control when they were four months old. Her siblings were adopted out, but Ella was too timid to be a good candidate. The day before she was to be euthanized, Lost Angels took her. We got her a week later. She was six months old.
We looked up a training facility that used only positive reinforcement. The folks at Courteous Canine in Lutz became our mentors. The owner, Angelica Steinker guided us through the first few weeks with Ella. A couple months later we attempted Basic Obedience. Ella spent half of each class under the chair and the other half learning. It took months for us to encourage Ella to walk to the end of our block. She eventually stopped being terrified of every human she met. She loved other dogs, so we visited friends with friendly dogs. It took a few months to convince her that toys weren't aliens. She would investigate every new toy with extreme caution for days. She played with squeaky toys like they were alive, tossing them and jumping after them, but handling them very gently in her mouth. She would make little yipping noises like a coyote. Her tail gradually came out from between her legs. She was about nine months old when we saw her try to wag it for the first time. After a year, she started carrying it out behind her like a normal dog. About the same time, she attempted barking, but her voice was rarely heard.
Ella is now two years old. We moved a year ago from the city of Tampa to the semi- rural area of Lutz. She now takes long walks down our quiet winding streets. She runs like the wind at the dogpark and plays vigorously with her toys. She's still shy around new people, but warms up to them faster. She's found her voice and uses it. She is a kind, honest dog and a joy to be around. I can't imagine that we ever saw her as just a "plain brown dog". She's one of my heroes.
