By Julia Lehner
Nautica pranced through the doors of the Humane Society of Baltimore County with an energy that let everyone know she was ready to P-L-A-Y. Which apparently was the exact reason why the puppy found herself at the shelter in Reistertown, Maryland this past April.
The seven-month-old Australian cattle dog mix was a little too active for the previous owners' lifestyle. The facts of the mismatched pooch and family are only privy to them, but there was one small indication of their brief struggle together. When asked on the Humane Society's relinquishment questionnaire what they liked about Nautica, the family replied with a terse, one-word response: "nothing."
While that may sound like an unusually cruel thing to say about a poor animal, shelters around the country hear something like it everyday. They know how to cope with such situations, find a solution to the problem, and maybe even a home for the animal. It's one of the many reasons The HSUS annually salutes U.S. shelters through the National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week, which this year runs from November 2 to 8.
Humane Society of Baltimore County volunteer Laura Totis is a classic example of a problem solver. She looked into Nautica's caramel eyes and knew immediately that the same high energy that landed the dog in the shelter would eventually lead her out again.
Totis should know. In her full-time job, she's a dog trainer who sometimes works with a Sykesville, Maryland organization called Dog Ears and Paws, whose mission is to train assistance and therapy dogs for people with special needs. One way the organization supports its vital mission is by providing general dog obedience trainings for the public. It also regularly visits shelters like the Humane Society of Baltimore County to provide obedience trainings to make the pooches more adoptable.
Totis, like all of the Dog Ears and Paws trainers, is a member of the Association of Pet Dog Trainers; one look at Nautica, and Totis knew the dog would require a bit more work. Totis recalled that at first Nautica was a "wild, crazy puppy," but the trainer also noticed that the dog would become totally focused on her toys, never growing bored with repeated games.
This intensity, Totis knew, could be a plus. If the trainers and shelter workers could channel her energies, Nautica's innate enthusiasm for a given task would make her more adoptable to the public.
It might, Totis thought, even make Nautica a good service dog.
Nautica soon started her training with Totis, through Dog Ears and Paws, to become a cadaver dog, a specially trained search-and-rescue dog who can find human remains in any sort of environment, including under water. First up for Nautica were the aptitude tests. For one such test, Totis would hide objects, and Nautica would search for and recover them. The dog proved to be extremely quick and clever, and reacted well to the initial trainings, Totis noted.
"Once she's got it, she's got it," Totis said. Nautica, in fact, would "get it" so well that the dog quickly figured out ways to get around the tests.
Meanwhile, shelter staffers were putting in extra hours to help Nautica learn the basics: not to pull on the leash, to look at the person on the other end of the leash, and to sit and wait as staff entered her kennel to affix her leash.
In a sense, you could say that Totis and the shelter workers were determined to prove Nautica's original owners wrong.
Change of Plans
One afternoon in May, while Nautica was outside for her cadaver training, Robin Haines visited the shelter, looking for a dog for her family. The local resident began inquiring about Nautica.
Totis was candid. The trainer told Haines that Nautica's high-energy level makes her something of a handful. Totis flatly told Haines that the dog "will need a job or she will drive you crazy." That's when the trainer explained how she was preparing Nautica for life as a cadaver dog.
Call it fate. Call it divine intervention. Call it whatever you like. But at that moment, Haines realized Nautica might make the perfect companion for her 14-year-old son, Bryan, who has cerebral palsy, a brain condition that affects the boy's body and muscular movements. Bryan is unable to speak and has very limited movement. He naturally needs constant attention and monitoring, some of which can be done by a trained service dog, who can perform tasks as varied as turning on lights or seeking emergency assistance.
Robin Haines and Totis discussed the possibility of training Nautica to assist Bryan, and agreed to give it a shot. The dog immediately started on a two-year assistance training program, which Dog Ears and Paws provides for free (the organization's fundraising helps to cover these costs). Totis explained that Nautica is still absorbing the basic lessons and has "a lot" yet to learn.
Nautica may still have a ways to go, but Bryan and the pooch have hit it off immediately. "She can't wait for Bryan to come home from school," Robin explained. "I wake up in the morning and find her in bed with him."
Nautica seems to understand that Bryan has extra needs and limitations, and the dog has learned to be gentler with him. Frank Branchini, the Humane Society of Baltimore County's executive director, is moved by Nautica's bond with Bryan. "Nautica usually likes to tug very hard," Branchini says, "except when Bryan is holding something."
The dog who was worth "nothing" to her previous owners is now learning how to pick up objects that Bryan drops and how to respond to his hand taps when he needs something. She is also learning to recognize when Bryan is having a seizure so she can get help.
The Haines' newest family is also making sure that she sticks around for the long haul. Nautica is constantly licking, herding, and guarding them. At first, Nautica's favorite way to show her love was to nibble on Bryan's toes, but she has since learned that kissing him earns a more favorable response. She has also figured out that she is best able to guard him by sitting under his chair.
Nautica's new family members have made an important discovery: They discovered that, with professional training, they could channel the dog's unfocused energies into something constructive. Nautica now has a mission: to protect, love and serve one special boy.
Sheltering Arms
Nautica's story may seem one in a million. But there are millions more stories, each a little different, just waiting to be told at shelters across the United States. November 2-8 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. What better way to show your appreciation for all the hard-working professionals at U.S. shelters than by adopting an animal?
And if you can't adopt an animal, why not show your support of shelters in other ways? The HSUS has compiled a list of ways you can lend a hand, from volunteering at your local shelter to serving as a lobbying force when animal-friendly legislation is introduced.
Your local shelters play an invaluable role in your community. This week—all year long, in fact—is the time to say thank you.
Julia Lehner is an Outreach Assistant in The HSUS's Animal Sheltering Issues section.
