AGNEW — Two of the more than two dozen Australian shepherd-border collie dogs rescued from a home in Agnew have been adopted.
In mid-May, 29 dogs were rescued from conditions that at the time members of the Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG) called “the worst conditions they’ve seen.”
Eleven of the dogs were taken in by the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society (OPHS), while others went to WAG and to the Center Valley Animal Rescue in Quilcene.
Of those at OPHS, two have been adopted.
Luanne Hinkle, OPHS executive director, said that other nine need “a lot of work” before they will be ready for new homes — if they’re ever even going to be adoptable.
“The dogs we brought in I would consider special needs dogs,” Hinkle said. “Most of them are still very scared. They’re not aggressive in any way, which is good. But they’re still very scared and will tend to shy away from you.”
Stacy and Dale Halverson adopted the two dogs, and Stacy said that Philly and Colton are taking to their new life well.
“They’re both super, super sweet dogs,” she said.
“Philly caught my eye because I was looking for a dog like her, and I knew all about her situation going into meeting her the first time,” she continued, adding that the adoption process was much longer than a more traditional dog adoption, requiring several visitations before it was finalized.
Friendly duo
Colton was in the visitation room the first time the Halversons met Philly, and after learning that the dogs had run into their kennel together on their own upon arriving at OPHS and had stayed together since, the couple knew they had to adopt them both.
Philly and Colton came home on July 5, Stacey said, and she has been pleasantly surprised by how they’ve adapted to their new home since then.
“There’s definitely some things we’re still working on,” she said. “They get into the garbage when we’re gone, there’s potty training and even toy-related things they just didn’t know about before.”
The Halversons’ cat also doesn’t appreciate being barked at and occasionally chased around the house, Stacy said laughing.
But everything else is going very well.
“They can be a little leery of things, but they’re so smart and learning very quickly,” she said, adding that both dogs are already turning into “real people pleasers.”
Even leash training has gone smoothly, especially considering that OPHS had only just started working on that with Philly and Colton shortly before the adoption.
“Colton had issues with having a collar around his neck,” Stacey said, “but we got them harnesses and that’s worked really well. They’ve responded wonderfully to going on walks.”
Socialization with other people is still a work in progress, but Stacy is pleased with what she’s seen so far. She said that both dogs did well in managing themselves at a recent gathering of friends at their house, withdrawing to safe spaces like their kennel when they got overwhelmed without making a scene and coming out again when they were ready to without prompting.
“They’re absolutely wonderful dogs.”
While Philly and Colton are doing well, their compatriots are still a long way from being ready for adoption.
According to Hinkle, OPHS staff spend as much time as they can just being around the dogs who are still there, often just sitting in their kennels and occasionally giving them food so they can begin to build positive associations with people.
“These dogs were never socialized and hardly even saw a human before we rescued them,” Hinkle said. “They’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”
OPHS is looking for a behavioral specialist to work with the dogs, she said.
OPHS has raised several thousand dollars specifically for the Agnew dogs, and is still taking donations. Care costs about $1,000 per dog per year, Hinkle said.
“Medically, these dogs are in great shape now,” Hinkle said. “But there’s so much more left to do beyond that.”
During a visit to OPHS in Agnew, a young female named Leidi was brought into a visitation room and immediately ran under a metal chair and hid. She came out only coming out when offered some wet food by Brad Evans, the shelter manager at OPHS.
Leidi did eventually start moving around a little more after eating, but even then she was moving very low with her tail flat down against her hindquarters, a sign of a scared dog.
That was further reinforced by her visibly shaking almost every time she stopped moving.
Eventually Leidi was willing to accept some gentle petting, but even then she was constantly fidgeting and turning around to smell the person petting her again, as though to make sure she still knew who it was. The instant anyone stood up or moved, Leidi was back under the chair.
“And she’s probably the dog doing the best socially of those we still have,” Hinkle said.
For more about the Olympic Peninsula Humane Society, see www.ophumane society.org or call 360-457-8206.
For more about Welfare for Animals Guild, see www.wagsequimwa.com.
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Conor Dowley is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach him at cdowley@sequimgazette.com.
