Sadie's Diary

This is the on-going diary of Sadie, a shy dog who came to live with my family in New York the week after Thanksgiving 2001.

It all started in October 2001 when we decided to find a companion dog for Polly a retriever mix we adopted aged 10 months (we think) from Town of North Hempstead Animal Shelter in Port Washington, NY. Polly came to us on April 10th 2001, and has been a truly wonderful dog, friendly and happy, she loves people and animals alike, and especially other dogs.

It took a while to persuade my husband Steven that this was a good idea, as it had about getting a dog in the first place, but eventually he agreed. We started looking for another dog , medium sized and female resembling a flat-coated retriever like Polly. First I looked at the local shelters but no dogs matched our criteria so I tried the internet: Petfinders.org has a list of dogs in the shelters in the USA and usually there are photos too. I thought we had lucked out on our first search -there was a dog that looked exactly like Polly in POOP shelter in Staten Island but when I inquired there were other applicants for Nyla, and I felt that I didn't want to take part in a competition to get her. Reluctantly, I withdrew the application and continued the search. No dogs in NY were right but in NJ Irish Setter Rescue had a dog that was part black lab and part setter, the original flat-coat mix. Sadie looked ok but was partly obscured by a chainlink fence so it was difficult to be sure, but I emailed straight away and back came an application form.

A week later they sent a really nice person over to check us out and the whole family was at home to meet her including Verity my daughter, her friend Chandra, the three cats and Polly of course. She obviously liked us and Polly because we heard that our application had been successful, we only had to make arrangements to pick up Sadie and she was ours. A big thank you now goes to all those involved, including the original rescue team, Sadie's foster mom who drove her from PA to NJ so we could pick her up and to the folks in NJ who boarded her for the night and who had coffee for the prospective owners who had been stuck in traffic on the LIE for 2 hours.

November 29 2001 11am We had no idea of course what sort of personality Sadie would have, only that she was shy but I identified her straight away. True, she was the only black dog in the kennel surrounded by red Irish Setters, but I would have recognised her anyway, She was so scared and backed off but her tail was wagging and she really wanted to make friends, if only she could. But I wasn't prepared for her size. She was HUGE. Not just compared to Polly but to every dog we had owned, but one look into those black eyes and I was sold, she is gorgeous. We walked her a little and she was great on the lead and then it was time to get into the car for the long journey home. I was dreading this. It had taken two of us to get Polly into the car the first time, but my fears were ungrounded. She hopped into the boot of the Jeep and settled down. With my elder daughter Felicity stroking her ears she gave one enormous yawn and went right to sleep.

Back home by 3pm we arranged that Steve would take Sadie to the park while I fetched Polly so they could meet on neutral ground. When I got outside with Pol, Steve was still there. Sadie did not want to go with him nor did she want to cross Main Street to go to the park, so we walked them up and down the street a little. After 10 minutes all four of us were soaking so we returned to to the back yard and let the dogs off their leashes. Polly wanted to play but Sadie wanted out. She found the only hole in the fence and disappeared. We knew she couldn't get far- there are bushes and a 10' drop on the other side but it was a scary moment. Steve ran round to make sure she was ok and after a couple of minutes and a stop to relieve herself (I think all she wanted was a bit of privacy) she returned the way she had gone and we boarded it up. There were no further escape attempts that day.

Steve and Verity had to head back to NJ to take Felicity to catch a plane to Brussels so I put the time into bonding with Sadie. This worked so well that she has refused to leave my side since. The cats came over to say hallo and she was totally unfazed by them. I walked the dogs separately and she was superglued to my left leg all the way. It took all my strength to walk upright as she is no lightweight. She and Polly eat together at 5pm, and Polly actually ate all her dog food, something she has only done once or twice since she came, although she will always finish human food. Steven and Verity came back at 7:30, having picked up Chandra on the way and we settled down to our first evening together as a new family.

November 30 2001 Polly and Sadie got up at 1am and 4am to pee and check on each other, only to be expected but tiring after the excitement of the day before. Steve and I walked the dogs together and met Elvis the Basset Hound who was extremely popular with both girls and then he headed off to work. I sat at the computer and both dogs went to sleep at my feet. later I put a day bed like Polly's under the desk but Sadie preferred the floor. She met Mike the Mailman, who thinks Polly is the best dog in the world and who always has dog biscuits about him but Sadie growled at him when he tried to offer her one. I managed to get her to stop and to come a little closer but no way was she going to take that biscuit. When Steve came home, Sadie did not recognise him and barked at him, he tried to be philosophical about it but it upset him.

December 1 2001 A long walk with the dogs and we met lots of others taking advantage of the beautiful weather, 70F on December 1 cannot be beaten. Sadie was friendly with all the dogs and Polly always is so the walk was really enjoyable. Back home to work on the garden and Steve went out to see to the front yard whereupon Sadie barked and growled at him, so Polly joined in. I stopped this as quickly as possible but when I tried to swap places with him and take over in the front Sadie cried and tried to get to me. I gave it up for a while and only went back when I had both dogs with me. This worked ok. Sadie lay under my feet as I reached for the branches and Polly chewed the wood I cut down. Verity's friend Mark came over and Polly bounded all over him as usual (Get down!) but Sadie's tail went between her legs and she growled. There seems to be a pattern here. Maybe she doesn't like men.

December 2 2001 We left early for the Dog Run to give Polly some exercise. We had the place to ourselves and the girls played a bit and sniffed a lot. More walks and more working in the garden. We left Polly and Sadie on their own in the house for an hour while we did the shopping with Chandra and Verity asleep. All was fine when we returned, I was very anxious about this but the cats were asleep on our bed and I think Sadie and Polly had been asleep as well. Later Chandra came in in a hooded tracksuit and Sadie freaked. Hats and hoods seem to be a no-no for her.

December 3 2001 Sadie and Polly were actually left completely alone for 2 hrs and were great. Big treats. We had tired them out first by taking them to the Dog Run. Although they had the first 20 minutes to themselves about 8 dogs turned up later. Sadie was fine with all the dogs, wagging tail and sniffing, she was cautious but ok with the women there but wouldn't allow either of the men to go near her. She didn't bark or growl, though. Back home she barked at Verity wearing a hat. No hats. Verity is working with her on sit but we have to remove Polly as she is anxious to demonstrate her sitting abilities and then scoop up that reward.

December 4 2001 I walked both dogs together for the first time, boy is my arm sore. met Elvis and although she had let his owner stroke her each time they had met before today she was wearing a hood, and Sadie was very spooked by this.

December 5 2001 Polly and Sadie slept together outside the bedroom until 5:30. Hurrah! Walked the dogs together again which is much easier unless someone tries to get close or the bin lorry lets off its air brakes, both scare Sadie a lot.

December 6 2001 With the temperature at 70F I decide to take both dogs to the Dog Run on my own. They were fine and I got a lot of advice about getting Sadie to trust people. If she is still as shy in another month I will consider a behaviour therapist. Will also get some dog salami, though I am not sure of the benefit of this.

December 8 2001 It was cold so I wore a hat. Sadie did not like this but I am still her best friend.

December 9 2001 Sadie jumped from the boot onto the back seat of Steve's car and when he tried to put her back she put her butt down and refused. He tried tugging but it was no contest and Sadie was just getting scared. When I opened the door, she hopped back in her rightful place and was no further trouble. Last night though she went up to him twice unbidden and licked him and if I am not there she will sit with him. Very bizarre.

December 25 2001 Christmas Day, so we did the traditional Xmas walk on Nassau Beach on the South Shore of Long Island. Sadie loves it here because she can run and run without fear of being touched (except by Polly) and it was unseasonably warm so we all had a good walk.

February 2 2002 Sadie is still a very shy dog but she is 100% less timid than she was a couple of months ago. We discovered - thanks Neal at Christopher Morely Dog Park- that if you bend down to cuddle another dog Sadie will come up and allow you to stroke her and if you are lucky will lick your hand too. She will jump on the bench or a chair at the park and you can then sit next to her and get friendly. Last week she was so relaxed she allowed other dog owners to pet her and even took treats from them but walking up to her still means that she will dart away and she won't go to anyone unbidden.

February 28 2002 We have had Sadie three months now and she is so much more relaxed in her environment that she curled up by my feet in the dog park and went to sleep! She is also very relaxed at home and can be found curled up on our bed, where she is definitely not supposed to be. As you can see from the photo she and Polly love to play with Verity, preferably on the bed!

March 27 2002 Sadie will now play with the dogs for a while at the park. At home she will come when called by someone other than me for treats and to go out for a pee. This is great as I don't have to go with her all the time, especially first thing in the morning. She still prefers not to go for a walk with anyone but me, but when she has her lead on she trots away quite happily. This afternoon she also walked past two groups of teenagers without flinching. Hurrah for Sadie.

March 31 2002 Polly chased a cat across the garden and Sadie followed to see what was going on. Polly stopped at the 4' fence but Sadie just hopped over it onto the retaining wall of my neighbour's property. She chased the cat until it climbed onto the roof of his garage, which was too much of a leap for her . I called her and she came straight back to me, but it was a scary moment. So Easter Sunday it may be but I had to find a way to close off the gap. I solved it with a roll of planting wire from the nursery and now we are 100% fenced in - 6' all round.

April 8 2002 Sadie and Polly spent the week in kennels while we visited friends in Florida. When I dropped them off there was a run on space and so the dogs went into the office. I couldn't believe how happy they looked in their new secretarial positions and I thought that at least Sadie might jump over the desk and follow me out of the door. No. They happily wagged their tails and sat on the floor. When I returned I was told that Sadie was almost no longer a shy dog. She didn't want to leave her kennel to go out in the yard or for a walk each day but once she was out she was quite happy to roam around. It makes me feel happy that she is becoming more independent.

April 11 2002 Today Sadie took a biscuit form Al in the park and allowed herself to be stroked. Later she went up to him unbidden and nudged his arm with her shoulder. A dog less shy indeed.

April 29 2002 Sadie has greeted each dog as it arrived at the park and has even galloped around after a couple. She still would prefer if the dogs were unaccompanied by humans though, but at least she is getting more exercise. She also seems happier and more relaxed, her tongue isn't covered in saliva and she doesn't breathe so hard or dart away from people the way she did a few weeks ago.

May 8 2002 Sadie has gone to several people to be stroked today. The rule is: They must be seated and still and she must have seen them hundreds of times before. I think we have got to this stage because I have been enforcing a policy of putting her on the leash for 5-10 minutes each time we are in the park and have people walk around her. If she flinches I make her sit. If she tries to get up and move away I say no and praise her when she sits and stays. She has learnt that although she cannot run away nothing bad has happened. In fact she has been petted and praised by me and other people. All this training has given her much more confidence and we are seeing big improvements in her behaviour now.

May 31 2002 Another milestone today. After months of watching Polly dig, Sadie finally caught on to what it is all about, almost. Polly digs as she does everything else, with great enthusiasm: Both front paws down and working furiously, the soil flying two feet in the air and two feet behind her. Sadie takes a more hesitant stance: One paw gently scoops at the earth, is examined, rejected and a little more is excavated. This delicate manoeuvre woud be funny if it were not for the size of Sadie's paws. A couple of minutes and the hole is deeper than Polly's best efforts.

June 21 2002 We had a friend to stay with us who is not really a dog person, although she loves Polly and I was curious about how she and Sadie would get on. In fact it was great. Because she made no attempt to pet or stroke her when she arrived it allowed Sadie to make the first move and they got on very well. Sadie made no attempt to back off or hide behind me and she walked on a leash alongside my friend very contentedly. Sadie celebrated her new-found courage by chasing and retrieving a tennis ball - another first for her.

September 17 2002 Sadie has survived a summer of visiting friends and relations and come through the experience unscathed. Even four young children running around didn't faze her, although she didn't want to be grabbed she also didn't want to miss out on the action and made firm friends with the eldest, joining him under the table for a little "down time" every day.

October 17 2002 Sadie is now two weeks into her obedience training and can sit, stay and come on command. Down is a little more challenging, but we are working on it. Today she saw five of her favourite friends at the dog park. She seems enchanted by this King Charles Cavalier family: following them around, tail wagging and sniffing vigorously. Just as we were leaving their owner snapped this adorable photo. Thanks Setsuko.

Thanksgiving, November 2002 A year has passed since we got Sadie and I am looking back at the progress she has made over this time. When I first walked her she leaned on me all the way and shook with fear all the time she was away from the house. Now she walks beside me and only occasional things still freak her out: trucks and people who jump out at her yelling "what a cute dog" to name but two. When she arrived Polly tried to get her to play but she didn't really understand and was worried about the things that could happen to her while she was distracted. Now she initiates play, chasing Polly all over the yard, retrieving balls and sticks. At the park she trots up to the regular "treat givers" and takes her biscuits, walking round the other dogs to get closer to the food source. Best of all, she greets Steve when he comes in and goes to him when he calls her and he loves her too.

February 18 2003 Today there was another momentus step forward for Sadie. At the dog park she met a 5 year old who wanted to pet her. I explained that she was scared of people who walked towards her and tried to stroke her and she would run away, but if she wanted to pet her she would have to sit quietly beside her and let Sadie make the first move. Usually Sadie keeps her distance to about 4' from humans but she hopped onto the bench next to the little girl and allowed herself to be petted and hugged. Even better she made the rounds of the owners in the park, nudging them and allowing herself to be stroked by all.

March 4 2003 Sadie is now in advanced obedience training and these sessions with a dozen other dogs and their owners have made a tremendous difference to her self-confidence. She will stay while I walk away and wait until I call her to "come". She walks to heel and allows other people to walk around her without flinching or backing off. Most importantly, she does this with a wag of her tail and, I swear, a look of pride.

Let me know if you have any comments about this diary.

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