Entered: 05/23/2010
Status: Adopted
Age: 2
Color: Black/White
Weight:
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Goochland, VA
Health: UTD, HW-, good in all areas
Temperament: Good with people as young as 15 (OK with younger ones but he needs to get to know them at his own pace), good with other dogs, cats unknown
Update 10/06/10:
WOW! The last eight weeks have shown what a wonderfully loving and fun boy Tucker is! He has come out of his shell and is ready to be part of a family. Tucker is still a bit shy when first meeting new people, but it does not take long for him to be in their laps begging for attention.
Last weekend his foster family had some new people over. Tucker’s foster mom told everyone that they would not get to touch Tucker because she was sure he would probably hide. A few minutes later, she looked over to see Tucker totally cuddled up with one of the new guests and being petted by another. It was just amazing. It did take him a bit longer to warm up to the seven year old visitor but, within 30 minutes, he was outside playing with the young boy. What a treat to be seeing!!!!
There’s other great progress in this boy too. Tucker is still a bit leery of riding in the car, but that is improving with every trip. His foster mom recently shaved him down with clippers which was another first for him. Most of the time Tucker can be seen prancing around the house with at least one toy in his mouth, showing the world that he just wants to have fun.
Tucker still has a few things to work on, but this boy will be worth every second of the time invested. His foster mom thinks an obedience class would really help his confidence level. If you would like to continue the journey with Tucker, please let MAESSR know. He’s found out how good life can be in the last few months and there’s no turning back now!
Update 08/09/10:
It never fails to amaze Tucker’s foster mom when foster dogs just suddenly make a change and then act like that is the way they have always been. Tucker had arrived at his foster home and had hidden in the woods in the back yard for many weeks. His foster family called him “ghost dog.” Wednesday night there was a thunder storm. While Tucker’s mom was walking through the house, she looked down and thought “that is not one of the dogs that has been here” and then immediately thought “TUCKER!!!.” Tucker had come through the doggy door and was acting like he had always lived there. He curled up on his foster mom’s lap and followed her everywhere. Somehow he changed from a ghost to a shadow!!!! More on this boy in a couple of weeks!
Original:
Tucker came into MAESSR’s care due to a lack of socialization in his first year of life. This left Tucker afraid of everything. A family then came into his life that tried very hard to work with him, to socialize him, but they were in over their heads. The family desperately wanted Tucker to be able to have a normal life, so they asked MAESSR for help.
Tucker is in a foster home with several other foster siblings. He watches them to figure out what things are “safe.” He is making progress but will probably be a long term project for his foster mom. It could easily take months of patience, carefully paced confidence-building steps, more patience, basic obedience work and a little luck for Tucker to make up for lost time. That said, the incredible resilience of a good-tempered Springer in the hands of a very experienced and determined foster family will give Tucker an edge.
Hoping the very best is ahead for him