04/26/2024
We have several success stories that warm our hearts – here’s an extra special one from Laura, “dog mom” to Anzo. It’s worth the read! 🥲
“Dear New Horizon Kennel Team,
I’ve been trying to write this letter for quite some time, but I’ve struggled to find words to express what the New Horizon Kennel team has meant to me.
I guess I’ll start at the beginning.
Anzo was five months old when he arrived at my home at 1:30 am on a Saturday morning in February. After a long and seemingly traumatic drive from Kentucky, he ran directly to me and buried his head in my arms. I had been provided a photo of the man that would be delivering him, but neither of the men who showed up at my door that night matched the photo. I will never know what really happened to Anzo during his first five months, nor during his ride from Kentucky to Iowa, but I’m certain he was uncared for at multiple levels. He was a gangly mess of matted fur and mud. Obviously malnourished - his eyes looked three times too large for his little body. He had a severe umbilical hernia and suffered from an intestinal parasite for several months after he arrived.
From the beginning, there were moments when he would become extremely aggressive with me. Friends kept telling me “That’s just how big puppies play,” but I knew it was more than that. His episodes were specific with respect to time of day and what triggered them. But as friends continued to say that it was normal puppy behavior, I began to question my ability to be a puppy parent. I signed up for several online classes which simply confused me further. At just over twenty pounds when he arrived, he quickly began putting on weight. And as Anzo grew, so did the size of the bite marks on my arms, legs, and torso. His aggressive episodes became worse, and I knew I was in a race with time to figure things out.
I met with his vet who suggested a trainer I could call. She came to my home once and I took him to her facility once. She didn’t return my calls after that.
After one particularly violent episode, Anzo’s vet suggested that I had two options – continue down my current path or euthanize Anzo. She clearly leaned toward the latter. The thought of putting him down made me sick to my stomach. But the thought of continuing as we had been felt really scary. As I left that appointment I remember feeling incredibly alone.
As the weather got warmer, I began to shed the winter sweaters and coats that had served to protect me from Anzo’s bites. On one evening, as I was walking Anzo before heading out to a friend’s birthday party, he turned on me, and nothing I could do would stop him. By the time I got him back in the house and into his kennel, my clothing was saturated with blood. The worst of the bites was on my arm where he had torn through both skin and flesh. I remember dragging him into his kennel and yelling at him through tears – “You’re ruining everything!” I was at the end of my rope.
Several friends had told me about New Horizon Kennel, so the next morning, I put Anzo in the car and drove out there to see if they would offer guidance. After showing a photo of my bite the woman at the front desk, they immediately took me to Sarah’s office where I broke down in tears. Sarah and Tim listened intently as I explained that I had wanted a large dog because I was in the process of building a home on eight forested acres in the New York Hudson Valley. I had imagined Anzo as my best friend and companion in this next part of my journey - with both of us living our best lives on that beautiful property.
They told me it was clear that I cared deeply for Anzo, and they said, “Let us take him for a bit.” I needed a break so that I could begin to think clearly, and Tim wanted to work with Anzo to see if he could get to the core of the issue. As Tim walked out to my car to get Anzo, I remember feeling heard, cared for, and a little less alone.
Anzo stayed at New Horizon Kennel for almost two months with several visits from me during that time. At one of my earlier visits, they said they had pushed him pretty hard but had been unsuccessful in getting him to show the same behavior toward anyone there. So, the sad news was that something I was doing, or even just his memory of me being at the end of his trip from Kentucky, may be triggering his episodes. The good news was that they didn’t believe Anzo was an aggressive dog. In fact, Tim said he imagined a day when he would receive a photo in the mail of Anzo and I enjoying life together at our new home in woods. I began to feel hopeful.
As they continued to work with Anzo, they worked with me as well. I learned that training the human that owned him was equally, if not more important, than training Anzo. Tim and his team provided me with tools that I could use in any scenario that might come up. I became more confident with Anzo, and he undoubtedly sensed that. And while I will always maintain a healthy level of respect for his ability to injure me, should he choose to do so, my fear of him decreased and eventually disappeared altogether.
In November, I said goodbye to the New Horizon team, through big tears, as Anzo, my son Nathaniel and I began our journey out east. These dear people had saved my best friend’s life and changed my life forever in doing so. It seems cliché to say, but there are no words to express how it feels to be writing this with my enormous furry friend laying at (on) my feet. He is my constant companion, my fearless guardian, and my best friend. I cannot imagine my life without him. And I feel an immense amount of gratitude for Tim, Sarah, and the entire New Horizon team for the role they have played in our lives.
One last story. A few weeks ago, I experienced my first Nor’easter here in upstate New York. The Airbnb I’m staying in until my new home is complete sits next to a 12-million-gallon reservoir with a stream on one side of the house and wetlands on the other side. The morning of the big storm, Anzo began nudging my hand at around 5am. I thought he wanted to go outside and kept telling him “Not now, lay down” - I didn’t want to take him out in the rain. At around 7am, he began barking at me, relentlessly. I had never seen this behavior before. I got up and looked out the window to find that the reservoir had overflowed, and we were quickly being surrounded by water. I grabbed a few things, and we left. Anzo had to swim to the car – and swim he did! If we had waited 5 more minutes, I don’t think we would have been able to leave by car. When we got to the Residence Inn in Kingston, Anzo sat in the lobby with his front paws crossed, like the gentleman he is, as we waited for a room. So clearly, he is also now my hero.
New Horizon, you did this.
You knew Anzo was this dog.
Thank you for giving him a chance. Thank you for believing in us. Forever, thank you.”
