25/06/2025
Every now and again one of our fosterers posts in our foster group and that post just has to be shared . This post perfectly sums up why we say dogs need time. Some need a year. Why we beg fosterers and adoptors to persevere because things do improve. Why we say unless you have had a serious reactive dog you are not an expert even though you have owned dogs for decades. Why fostering is so so rewarding and not only will you be helping dogs in need but it will make you a better dog owner.
Words are from our fosterer Sue King and Lucy was one lucky pup when she found her :)
I just want to take a moment to celebrate FFLucy and our year long journey to get to where we are today. I also want to thank SAUK for giving dogs a second chance at a happy life.
She was my first foster, the first dog I was literally scared of & the dog that taught me that I knew nothing about dogs, even though I'd owned them for years.
I stumbled into SAUK, after my mum very suddenly & unexpectedly passed away last year. There was a massive void & I was looking for something and there was Lucy looking for a quiet female only home with no visitors. I jumped straight in ......
I went to pick her up and was met with this snarling, lunging, vicious dog, just wanting to bite my hand off. Holy hell I thought (actually there were a few more words than that!), she was small, petite & scared the hell out of me. I was asked if I still wanted to take her, but fearing for her future, I said 'of course'!
She was put in my car. So off I went to the loo to give her time to settle & me contemplating life!! I got back to the car looked in & she seemed happy. I stood by the car for 30 mins before I dared get in, wondering if she would go for me, but she just looked at me. It's now or never I thought, so started the engine (with contingency plans if she went for me when driving) & off we set.
That was the start of an amazing journey that has taught me so much about dogs.
After nearly 3 hrs, we got home, I left her in the car to get out when she was ready. I have since learnt that Lucy loves the car and is her 'safe space'. It only took 2hrs for her to get out, but 6hrs to be able to remove her lead, with fingers at risk. I knew straight away that I didn't even remotely have the knowledge needed to help her, so immediately started to look for help.
For the next 24hrs I left her to do what she wanted, whilst i watched her body language and reactions. My 2 resident boys were really good & gave her all the room she needed and left her alone, they know.
On the 2nd night, we went to bed, she sat on the floor looking up at me, there was something, so I said come on then. She jumped straight up and went to sleep on the pillow next to my head. At this point I hadn't even attempted to touch her. I was in shock, so much so that I didn't dare move. In the morning she was still there & that was the first time I gently touched her. That was also the moment that I realised there was hope. The moment I saw a beautiful girl trying to get out & escape the fear.
Slowly over the months, engaging the help of a behaviouralist, a groomer & a vet, we did weekly training and familiarisation visits to try and help her desensitise. Every time with the behaviouralist, I was a sponge soaking up as much information as I could and learnt so much. We quickly learned her triggers; she couldn't be touched (I was the only person who could touch & handle), couldn't approach from the front & you couldn't look her in the eye (she had black black devil eyes) she saw those as threats and reacted accordingly. She was also in pain, her x-rays showed arthritis in one leg and a spondylosis on her spine, but pain meds have helped with that. I applaud everyone involved, as everyone was prepared to be bitten and yes they were.
She is highly intelligent, which didn't help with training as she would think for herself and react and she was very noise sensitive. She has now found her voice, which I'm sure the neighbours are thanking me for.
So today ...... she has just started going off on her own with the behaviouralist and doing really well, he is still working on her being touched. But as he says there are only 4 people that need to touch her, everyone else it doesn't matter; me, the vet, the groomer & the behaviouralist. On her last visit to the groomer, I left and she was bathed & dried with no problems. I still need to help with the grooming as that is just too much for her. But as I have said, if she leaves with just 1 foot done or 4 (we haven't got to 4 yet) then that is a bonus. Even with me, she is still very sensitive to being touched on her chest & front legs. Her eyes are no longer a cold hard black, but when she is starting to feel stressed they start to go black, but everyone now knows this warning sign. The first hands-on visit to the vet she attacked him, she was then sedated for her health check. On her recent visit for her vaccination, with the vet behind me & me doing distraction tactics at the front end, he was able to jab her with no problems & give her a quick examination.
Surprisingly she is fantastic off lead & has good recall. She copes much better off lead, as it allows her to find her own safe zones around people and other dogs. On the lead, she is more reactive as the lead holds her in position. She does great on the SAUK walks with everyone looking out for her, especially if someone tries to touch her.
Today I have the most amazing happy dog, who loves jam donuts, gets really excited to see me, she still has some issues but knowing how to deal with them, means they are not impactful. We have both been on a journey and come out the other side better for it.
