Boris & Natasha
January 7, 2011 - Boris & Natasha came to the Humane Society as part of an investigation into animal neglect. They were being kept outdoors without proper shelter, food or water. It was the middle of January 2010, and 3 weeks prior, Natasha had a litter of 5 pups, only 2 of which survived before they came to us. Little did we know of the multiple issues that this sad little family brought with them.
As part of our intake process, all adult dogs are tested for heartworm. Both Boris and Natasha tested positive for heartworm. Because of a nationwide shortage of the heartworm treatment drugs by the manufacturer at the time, they would both have to wait for treatment. We also realized immediately that both Boris and Natasha were extremely undersocialized. They were afraid of every little noise or movement, would run to a corner (preferably behind something) cowering and shaking whenever someone entered the room. While we were providing the shelter and care that they had never known before, the noise and activity of the shelter environment was not ideal for either of them. After some brainstorming, we moved them to a small heated room off of our garage which was much quieter, and would allow them to become familiar with us under less stressful circumstances.
Natasha’s puppies, two males we named Bert and Ernie, quickly grew to be healthy, happy little puppies, and were adopted out to their new families.
Over the next couple months, still waiting for backordered heartworm treatment drugs, we worked at helping Natasha and Boris overcome their extreme shyness. Boris slowly started to break out of his shell, wagging his tail for people he had come to recognize, and getting excited to go out on walks with staff and volunteers. Natasha was more reluctant to trust anyone.
In May, the drugs finally came into the vet’s office, and we began the long process of heartworm treatment. While undergoing treatment, a dog must be kept as calm as possible for 45 days. It can also be a painful process, and is quite expensive. 4 months after treatment, we re-test for heartworm.
Since neither Boris nor Natasha could be adopted out until they tested negative for heartworm and are spayed/neutered, we began looking for foster homes that could take them in until their 4-month re-test. Natasha was placed into a foster home shortly after her first treatment. They were very patient with her and coaxed her with yummy treats to learn to trust people. Within weeks, the foster parents were seeing small improvements, made possible largely because of their own 2 dogs. The shyness Natasha shows with people quickly melted away when she was left to play with the other dogs. And after her 45-day cage rest, she was finally allowed to play… and oh, did she play. She ran, jumped and wrestled too! But only when there were no people around. Poor Natasha still had a long way to go on her journey to a forever home.
Boris, in the meantime had several foster possibilities that all fell through for a variety of reasons. He stayed at the shelter for his treatment, taken only on short walks to relieve himself throughout the day.
4 months went by, and we drew blood to re-test. Unfortunately, the results were still positive for both Boris and Natasha, which meant another round of treatment starting in a couple of months, followed by another 45-day cage rest. Natasha’s foster family agreed to keep her through her second treatment. But before her treatment, they also offered to take her to a trainer who offered a “shy dog” class to help them understand her reluctance to trust, and to hopefully get some ideas on how to help her overcome her fears. In class, Natasha was as withdrawn as ever, but her foster parents learned some wonderful techniques, like training targeting (or “touch”) to get Natasha to interact with them.
Boris and Natasha recently started their second round of treatment, and while not thrilled to be confined to a cage, are doing well.
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