As some of you know, I do volunteer work for Rescue Ridge, a no-kill shelter that takes in animals everyone else has given up on. Here is the story of Peaches and her miracle:
Peaches is a beautiful pit bull who had serious aggression issues and separation anxiety due to prior abuse. When she was adopted, she had cigarette burns on her body. Her present owner couldn't take her anywhere without fear of her biting someone. He took her to several vets and even a pet therapist. After endless attempts at medicating Peaches, they saw no results and suggested she be euthanized because there was no hope. The owner requested another opinion so a trainer was brought in. After spending fifteen minutes on the owner's couch while having Peaches growl and bark at him, the trainer stood up and said "I'm sorry but you need to put her down."
I referred her owner to Mike of BullysBehaven.com, who worked with Peaches for thirty minutes, Peaches went from an anxious aggressive dog to......well pictures speak a thousand words.
They walked her through the busy streets and directly through the outdoor cafes in Freehold and she was a rock star. They passed dozens and dozens of walkers and bikers and Peaches was perfect.
At the end of Mike's visit, the owner had a tear in his eye and a million dollar smile because he said "after a year of hell with Peaches, this girl right here is the type of dog I always wanted. "
And here's a recent update from Mike: " I dropped in on Tim tonight to see how Peaches was doing and she is fantastic. All she wanted from me were belly rubs. Peaches walks perfectly on leash but while I was there, I got her used to a Gentle leader. Reason for that is that Tim wants to start riding his bike with her which he was never able to do before because of her aggression and anxiety, so the Gentle leader will give him a little better control while on the bike. He went from almost euthanizing her 10 days ago to wanting to go on bike rides today. An amazing ending and an incredible new beginning."
Dogs showing aggression, separation anxiety and other behavior issues or have failed a temperament test do not need to be euthanized or given up by their owners. The right kind of training can restore dogs with issues to dogs who can live happy and contented lives.
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