Ben, 18 Weeks

  As of this post, Ben has been with me for 18 weeks, learning how to be a dog, working hard to overcome a lot of challenges, and working even harder to move forward into a calmer, more balanced state of being. Controlling his excitement and his impulses is really the biggest task I have with him now; those two things go hand in hand with each other, and under certain conditions, they can be quite challenging to deal with. But, Ben is working very hard to learn how to control himself, and so far, he’s doing a much better job of it than he was when he first came to me.

A few weeks ago, Ben met a couple who have been following his story and who want to adopt him. Unfortunately, due to the cold weather, they weren’t able to spend as much time with him as they would have liked. I’m happy to say that, thanks to Janet Navarra – the owner of DogCity Day Care and Dog Wash – Ben will be meeting and working with the couple indoors this weekend. We’ll be meeting on Saturday, and again on Sunday, so Ben and the couple can get to know each other better and start learning how to work with each other.

It’s been a very long, hard, often scary road for Ben. He came to me a dangerous, red-zone dog, and now 18 weeks later, he’s ready for a permanent, loving forever home. Yes, he still has some issues, but the fact that he’s able to be around humans at all – especially men – and that he’s become a much more social dog who actually enjoys meeting new people, is a testament to how incredibly hard he has been working to overcome his previous conditioning. He really is a good boy; he just needs the right people to help him keep pulling himself out of the shell of his past. And the right people just might be the couple he’ll be working and spending time with this weekend.

Have a great day, everyone, and remember to stay calm and lead on…