November 2019 : Rest in Peace


October 15, 2015

Oscar is not available for adoption.


This little man is Oscar. He was rescued from an abusive situation about 18 months ago, however his rescuer was no longer able to take care of him and he was surrendered to CCRT. This otherwise healthy boy had his teeth removed prior to being surrendered to CCRT and he will require soft food. He is not interested in the resident dogs and will snap and scream if they get too close to him.

The first thing to understand about a victim of dog abuse, be it neglect or physical abuse, is that there’s a range of difficult behaviours you may see, most of which will be fear based. Fear based behaviour is a term used to describe an abused dog’s reaction to unwanted and frightening stimuli. Patience is going to be vital to making any kind of progress with Oscar. If he is untrusting of you, you’re going to have to wait for him to come to you for affection.

Oscar is a very frightened little dog and is displaying a lot of fear aggression.

His foster home is committed to working with him to gain his trust but his progress is very slow:

“Currently Oscar does not seek out attention and prefers to be by himself.  He does not warm up to strangers and will lunge and bark at them. He is very fearful of being touched or petted. We were told that he does not like men or children.”

In the meantime, establishing a routine will be the most comforting thing you can do. Getting Oscar used to feeding times, walking routes, etc., will help him start to trust you. Exercise and outside time in general is a great way to bond with him as well, especially if he’s not ready to play or be petted yet. Set up his bed so he has a safe place of his own to retreat to. Essentially, when adopting an abused dog, you need to resign yourself to the notion that he may never be “a normal dog.” But that doesn’t mean you can’t co-exist happily. Do your best as a caregiver to ease Oscar’s anxiety, but know that he may not ever fully recover from the trauma he has experienced. He is going to need time, patience, and a lot of forgiveness.

A behaviourally robust animal can adapt to a great deal before a situation becomes stressful for them. A behaviourally fragile animal cannot handle much without becoming dysfunctional. The same experience can have vastly different effects on individuals.

Oscar’s functionality reflects his current state. Not what he might be or what he was in the past, but how he is Now. He lives in Now; assess him in Now, support him in Now, train him in Now.

Oscar is not currently available for adoption.

You can purchase a sweater and/or blanket for him, or any of our other fosters dogs.

Please consider becoming a CCRT Sponsorship Angel for any of our fosters, by making a cash donation towards their care.

 

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Vital Stats

Age: 8 yo

Weight: 3.8lbs ( needs to gain a bit of weight–possibly half a pound)

Location: Ottawa

Adoption donation: $350