Lady Diana

26th March 2014

Diana is an older cocker who came from the pound a couple of weeks ago. The vet noticed that she had some lumps so she went straight into foster care to get spayed and the lumps treated. How she was rescued in itself is an extremely sad story (disclaimer)written by the Baps manager (it's long but worth it).

' "Pound rescue week" is pretty much the toughest roller coaster of emotions that Jin and I have to endure because of this adventure we call BAPS...

We start by walking around the pound past the endless double level cages, filled with dogs, their emotions ranging from desperate, to terrified, to cheerful, to hopeless. It is so loud, you can scream into another person's ear and not be able to distinguish the words. Chaos. Hades. There are no words to describe it.

This is a place full of life, but every life is mere days away from ending. And they know it. No one is going to convince me that dogs are dumb animals. They are exquisitely perceptive of their surroundings. Dogs know. They just know.

On the first walkthrough we visually select a number of dogs that interest us. Then we go out, and have a talk about what we saw. We then take pictures of the ones we agree are the top candidates, and then we go home and review.

The next day we return to the pound, and bring a behavior test "kit". We evaluate their friendliness, food guarding, submissiveness, and other areas. These tests help narrow down the field.

When the final evaluation is being made, we ask the pound worker to bring out the dog to be tested, by describing him or her...

So one of the dogs we chose for final selection was a small brown spaniel girl, about 2 or 3 years old. We described her to the pound worker, and he went past the door that leads from the lobby to the pound area. In the pound area there are several rooms where the dogs are kept in their cages.

When he came out and put the little dog on the floor, we looked at her and realized that was not the dog we wanted. This was a similar looking little spaniel, whom we rejected on the first walkthrough because her age was indicated as 11 on the ID card. We know that people rarely adopt elderly dogs, so we always pass on them.

She started walking towards us as soon as he let her down on the floor, about 5 meters away. But when she was halfway to us, something happpened. I swear, she stopped cold, and seemed to feel the negative attitude from both Jin an I. She stopped wagging, looked at us, and silently turned around and went right back through the door. We followed her, thinking she was going to go explore around the pound and cause trouble. But shockingly, she went right to the door to her room, and went into her room. then she went to her open cage, got in, and curled up in a corner. It was as if she'd given up hope and surrendered to the thought "I'm going to die here".

We have never seen anything like that. The raw emotion she communicated was devastating. She simply seemed to accept her fate.

I know I've written way too long, but still, I can't find the words to describe how we felt. the indescribable sadness in that little creature was heartbreak inside a place where heartbreak is the single major emotion. Even the pound workers were touched by it.

Jin didn't stop crying until long after we decided that this little life will be given the one gift she needs. A chance to live.

She is coming to BAPS on Sunday, along with 5 other angels. We don't know if she will ever be adopted, but we can at least put her in a place where she's got a chance.'

Lady Diana is now a Baps dog and we would love to find a family to love her as she deserves.

Update- 26th March

She's been in foster care since and is doing great. This is what her mum has to say about her

"She is simply beautiful. She is a quiet little girl who just loves to shadow you all day. She would suit someone who is home a lot to give her lots of TLC. She sits and shakes hands and is generally very well behaved. She is great on a lead but currently only has the stamina for short walks. She is house trained now that she is used to our house. No use of puppy pads (we just don't use them with our dogs). She is fine with other dogs, if not a bit submissive, so large boisterous dogs might be too much for her.

She does require a little extra in terms of care. She has allergies that affect her skin (it's flaky and she scratches/licks her paws). She has a special diet, spray for her paws and needs more frequent bathing and grooming. She is well behaved for all of this and she LOVES the hair dryer. I will try to get some footage and send it to you"

Diana was found to have a UTI and a cold. Both of which she has recovered from and she will be spayed soon.She is a fantastic little dog who would love to have forever home to live out her senior years.

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FOSTERING AND ADOPTING

If you are interested in adopting this dog, please go to the following link to learn about the BAPS policies and download the adoption form.

http://shindogs.org/archives/50

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Please check out the video of Diana and her foster mum!

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