Marmalade's Journey

Late September 2007 I received an email from our Intakes Team asking if I would pickup and foster a dog from the Flagler County Shelter, about an hour south of me. So Dad and I packed the crate in the car and took off. Pulling into the newly built facility, I noticed the outside, drop-off cages and was horrified at the thought of "throw-away" pets! Inside, the shelter was open, clean and welcoming. Soon we were introduced to "Lucy" - a 30-lb cairn?? There was no fitting this girl into the crate, so she travelled quietly strapped into the back seat.

I chose her Col. Potter name as Marmalade before I ever saw her, but it described her coloring perfectly. Marmie came to us heartworm positive and she started the protocol as soon as possible, under the fantastic staff at the Mandarin Veterinary Hospital. She breezed through the treament and never complained about her endless days of kennel rest. We described her more as a cairn-chow chow mix, noting the blue-black tongue and close set eyes.

Marmie's strong personality emerged more every day. She started to snarl and show her teeth when Dad tried to feed her or give her simple commands. I took her to my groomer, who is also a professional trainer, for some pampering. She suggested I bring her back to the shop every day so Marmie could watch and learn trust. Patrick, who works at the grooming shop, talked with her and handfed her chicken jerky. Marmie took it with an emotional hunger. I took her to obedience classes where she loved trotting alongside me. However, following the "sit" and "down" commands were NOT to her liking. She eventually complied but more and more I realized that I was not a strong enough Alpha to continue fostering Marmie.

Ruth in the Orlando area offered to take Marmie. So in late December we met in Daytona Beach and loaded the leary Marmalade in Ruth's convertible. Well, truth be told, Ruth was a little leary too. But off they went.

In January, Ruth's update read: Everybody that meets Marmalade remarks what a beautiful dog she is! No exceptions! There is some Chow in her and her tongue looks like she just ate blueberries. She is OK with other dogs, but would prefer to be alpha; since I already have an alpha, Marmalade is content to be by herself inthe living room with the ability to watch household activity. She is generally quiet; when she barks, I pay attention. I do let her out in the back yard with the other dogs and everyone is fine, even with my alpha nipping at her heels. She presents herself as aloof but enjoys attention. Food is a BIG issue. She learned as a stray and as an alpha to growl, show teeth when there is food around. It is as if the Care Bear turned into a fire-breathing dragon! It is scary BUT she has to sit in her crate before she gets her food bowl. She has been starved in the past and we are getting much better; while frightening, she is wagging her tail--what an actress. She knows that her actions are intimidating and it is only around food that her behavior varies from a kind, Care Bear.

A few weeks later, thru no real fault of her own, Marmalde moved to yet another foster home in Virginia. While Ruth and I were concerned for Marmalade, knowing Ann & Wayne as extraordinary people and dog lovers calmed some fears. We just wanted Marmie, or Lady as Ruth called her, safe in an environment where she could blossom.

Well, as they say, the third time's the charm and Wayne reported that: Marmalade is very sweet but does have food aggression and warrants special treatment at the time of feeding. She's very sweet, playful, and ritualistic in her routine. She's smart, learns quickly and knows her boundaries not to mention she has never had an accident in our home. She is a mix with a great deal of Chow Chow...black tongue, large feet, square head, and a lot of loose skin behind the neck and shoulders. Her eyes are also set further back than a cairn....but she's adorable and will make a wonderful companion for the right person. She's healthy, happy, and getting along great with 5 other cairns at this time.

To me, this was incredible progress, especially since I originally thought it was men that Marmie did not like. Later, Wayne described Marmie's hip-butting play, even more evidence of her adjustment to busy households, like those who apply to adopt our kids.

I believe that for every furkid, there is a perfect forever family. And noone finds that family better that the Col. Potter Matchmakers! They don't rush it, but when the right application arrives, their magic starts happening. For Marmie, it finally happened in mid-April. And to my great surprise, it was a guy applying to adopt Marmalade - a chow-chow experieced guy!

Well, Marm has been in her forever home in New Jersey for several weeks now and the updates could not be better! Here is what her Dad says:

Marmalade is doing fine and adjusting well. Her personality is coming out as she gets
more comfortable and her tail wags everytime I talk to her. We take at least two walks
a day of 20 minutes plus, early morning and dinner time. She has gone with me to work twice and just loves riding in the Tahoe. Seems very content to have the back seat to herself and inhales the wind through the moon roof if she isn't just sleeping.

I was at Linda's house this weekend as it was her mother's 87th birthday and she had a
great party for her with many family and friends over. So Marmalade got to meet about
16 new people at at once and she handled the flurry of activity and the new smells etc and
attention very well. She actually barked at people when she wasn't getting attention or if
I was out of sight. For the most part she has been quiet and not barking, which is fine too.

She is a smart girl for sure. Something interesting I noticed at my house is that when I return
to my apartment house with her from a long walk , no matter what direction we return from, she knows what driveway to walk up since my entrance is in the rear of the house! I was anxious to see how she would behave at Linda's house after a walk. So the two of us took her for a long walk and we actually tried to walk past her driveway but Marmalade just turned and walked up towards her front door. Pretty amazing!

I gave her a bath before the birthday party and she is perfectly calm in the shower, nothing
bothers her with the shower spray or having the shampoos applied, etc. Her hair is very hard to get wet though, it must be scotch guarded genetically! Well, got to get back to work but wanted to keep you updated on "our" dog, since I think she is well adjusted from her time well spent with you and Wayne.

So thanks to Col. Potter, Ruth, Ann & Wayne, and some great folks in Jax Fla USA, Marmalade's journey is complete with a very happy ending. If you ever wonder why people foster dogs, just think of Marmalade.