Read more...
By: JMertlich,
10/20/2008
A dog named Knightly is no longer sad about losing the only family he’d ever known. His story ended happily ever after.
Knightly’s journey to a new home is told in the season finale of “DogTown,” along with that of Karina, an overly excitable puppy who learned to channel her energy while being fostered by trainer Ann Allums, and Wycheck, a border collie with broken bones, buckshot injuries and heartworm disease.
“DogTown,” the hit series on the National Geographic Channel, portrays the dedicated staff of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and the compassionate care they provide to animals at the largest no-kill animal shelter in the country.
Season two of “DogTown” also told the story of Tashi, a dog who could barely walk. Suffering from severe hip dysplasia, Tashi underwent a series of surgeries that took months of rehabilitation and tender loving care.
Betsy Kidder, a Best Friends caregiver who fostered the Rottweiler, says Tashi is representative of all residents of the Dogtown section of the sanctuary: They are each given a second chance, unconditionally.
Caregivers “try to maximize our time with the dogs and do all we can to enrich their lives,” Betsy says. That includes outings to town and to the Best Friends clinic, where they meet new people and spend time in new environs.
To help them acclimate even more to a home environment, a furnished mobile home – the “real-life room” – is available for dogs, one at a time, to hang out in. “We just took Porter, a chow/Lab mix, who we got from a shelter and I believe was recommended for euthanasia, and the first thing he did was jump up on the bed for snuggling,” Betsy says.
Some of the residents of Dogtown go into foster homes. Caregivers like Betsy take them home and prepare them for the day when they’ll be ready for their forever homes. That’s when, she says, “you are faced with the biggest, toughest part of the job … letting them go.”
It’s a necessary side effect. “It breaks my heart to have a member of the family leave,” Betsy says, “but in the end I know it is best for everyone. If I were to keep my fosters, then I would run out of space at my house, and then there is no more helping dogs like Wiggles [a neurological puppy featured in ‘DogTown’].”
But when it came to Tashi, Betsy didn’t have to say goodbye. In the process of helping Tashi get back on her feet again, the two bonded so much that Betsy adopted her.
Knightly, a senior Weimaraner, got his second chance, too – not because of a physical ailment, but an emotional one.
As Best Friends’ animal behavior consultant Sherry Woodard put it, Knightly’s emotional pain was real. His obvious anxiety – which ranged from pacing, whining and barking to some nipping – was his way of telling everyone he wanted to be in a home again.
And that’s exactly where he went. After being fostered by Sherry to help him regain his confidence, Knightly now lives with a single dad in the Pacific Northwest who dotes on him and takes him on regular hikes.
Knightly, Karina, Wycheck and Tashi’s stories are not unusual. At Dogtown, it’s all about not giving up.
Written by Cathy Scott
Photo of Tashi by Molly Wald
This season may be over, but a “DogTown” marathon – featuring all shows from this season and last – is being planned for Christmas Eve.
Meanwhile, new episodes are being produced for 2009. Best Friends will have details in upcoming news stories.
The work of Best Friends is possible only because of your generous support. Please help us reach our goal of No More Homeless Pets.