Buddy's Buddies 2001 and prior
College Creek / Jamestown Island
Buddy's Boondocks
Buddy's Boondocks is a continuation on the theme of Klaus' Korner, detailing my travels around the Yorktown, VA area with my current wGSD, Buddy. Buddy is an approximately 7 year old, 92#, white German Shepherd Dog, who was rescued from Chesterfield County Animal Control by BARK with the help of Coastal White German Shepherd Rescue Referral (CWGSRR). I adopted him October 29, 2005.
As adopted, Buddy was quite a bit underweight at 72#, and suffered from a tapeworm infection. He also exhibited aggression to strangers. In fact, he bit a family member visiting over the following Thanksgiving holiday. He had many issues on leash as well. He would not relax or even check up if we encountered any deer on our walks, and he'd try to shutdown rolling over on his back, wrapping his front paws around the leash when asked to sit on lead. Consulting my long term vet, Dr. Liz Leonard at the Seaford Veterinary Medical Center in Seaford, VA, I chose to use the PetFax service of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. We began a "nothing is Free" regime and started using a Gentle Leader during walks. We subsequently enrolled and passed basic obedience at the Merrimac Dog Club in Hampton, VA. This is the second dog I've taken through a class at Merrimac and I highly recommend them. We've recently progressed to the point where I have begun walking Buddy off leash up the street and around the neighbor's property at the end of the block. We have to pass a neighbor who has a dog behind an invisible fence, who is not friendly and Buddy minds as we go past in the street with no problems no matter how much of a fuss this spoiled bitch makes.
Having worked with and observed Buddy for 3 years now, I'm convinced he was physically abused. Even now he will head duck his head at times when I go to pick him up to put him in the back of the truck. I believe the biting incident when I first got him was caused by someone reaching for him to "try to make friends" but was interpreted by him to be someone grabbing for or trying to hit him. So, this is still an issue with strangers that I have to be aware of and make sure the encounter happens in such a way that he doesn't feel threatened.
