Karen McCall, German Shepherd Rescue of New England
German Shepherd Rescue of New England learned about Katy from one of our volunteers, Maryanne, who is a trainer with Canine Dimensions. Her credentials as a certified dog trainer have been especially beneficial to our rescue organization. We take in German Shepherds from shelters and from owners and place them in foster care for at least a month to find out their personalities and training needs. Some dogs are in foster care for 5-7 months, depending upon their needs, and we adopt out between 22 and 32 dogs each year.
In this instance, Maryanne had been called by the owner when Katy was just 4 ½ months old and was having frequent housebreaking accidents, chewing on everything, and pulling hard on a leash. The owner was elderly and was keeping Katy crated most of the time.
After much discussion, which included Maryanne’s talking with Katy’s veterinarian, the owner decided to place Katy with our rescue. But before Maryanne could work on housetraining, she suggested that we find out whether Katy had a UTI. The foster Mom took Katy to her vet, and the test showed that Katy did, indeed, have a UTI. We also had an ultrasound done and learned that Katy’s bladder was too far back and she had cysts on her kidneys. The poor pup had been living mostly in a crate, because her owner had not realized there were medical reasons behind her inability to hold her urine for more than an hour at a time. Once her medical issues were addressed, the “accidents” stopped happening.
Katy has recently been adopted by a couple who understand her medical needs and who give her lots of love and play time with their family and with their young male German Shepherd.
If it had not been for Maryanne from Canine Dimensions, Katy would not have received the caring intervention that saved her from being blamed for a medical condition that was beyond her control. Thanks to Maryanne, Katy is no longer locked in a crate all day, is completely housetrained, and has a full and happy life in her new forever home!
