[noreptiles_]

Baltic Winters Sled Dog Association: Rescue Round Up

This gal was found half burned near an abandoned house. We took her in, but the burns have not fully healed yet, due to this she's afraid of fire and hates the heat.

owner;; imakilljoywannabe
full name;; A Cloud of White Against a Stormy Grey Sky
call name;; Cloud
age;; 3 years old
gender;; Female
colour;; Cream White
genotype;; kk/aa/bbdd/ee/gg/ii/Pp/sx/tt
Stats;

speed- 23
stamina- 36
strength- 25

have all the tasks been completed?;; yes

No posting until imakilljoywannabe has posted their claim! You have until April 8th, 2016.

[imakilljoywannabe]

I am claiming my Baltic Husky!
full name;; A Cloud of White Against a Stormy Grey Sky
call name;; Cloud
tasks;;

Task 1 - Welcoming your new dog home - Incomplete/Complete



Artwork ©Me
The other BWSD in the picture is Doubt, who I own.

Task 2 - Bonding - Incomplete/Complete

Cloud had been living with me for a few days, and I knew it was time for me to start to earn her trust. Running my hand through my hair, I thought of the best way to go about it. Focus on treats? No, that will only make her like me for food. Focus on toys? No, that will make me a constant playmate. I don't have the energy for that. Have Doubt help me? No... I had to do this on my own. Several ideas ran through my head, but at the end I still came up blank. How could I convince Cloud to trust me? I guess I was sitting rather still since I was so focused, because when I returned to my normal senses I realized I could feel the brush of fur against my palm. I turned my head, expecting to see Doubt saying hello, but I was greeted by the one sight I did not expect. Cloud. Her cold, wet nose was pressed up against my hand, nosing at it ever so slightly. She appeared to be examining it, but for what I couldn't tell you. I tried to remain still, but it wasn't long before I got that weird urge to move that only happens when you know you need to sit still. I couldn't help it- I ended up fidgeting, and Cloud jumped away as though she had been struck by a bolt of lightning. Her teeth were bared and her hackles up, although her eyes showed more fear than aggression. Recognizing that I had startled her, I cautiously moved from the chair to the floor, until I was level with her height. Tentatively my fingers stretched out, my palm flat and facing upwards, a silent gesture to demonstrate my trust in her. If I didn't completely believe she wouldn't bite, I would never have put myself so close to her. But, I made sure to keep some distance. If this was going to work, she had to come to me. I didn't want to seem like I was challenging her, so I averted my eyes and turned my head. I took deep breaths, uncomfortably aware that she could lash out at any second if she got spooked, and I would have no way to see it coming. Still, I had to trust her. I had to give her the faith that I was asking in return. For what seemed like an eternity, nothing happened. For a minute, I even thought she might have just walked away. But then, I felt it. The cool comfort of her nose against one of my fingers. Slowly it trailed around my hand, moving from finger to finger before eventually finding my palm. I felt the damp track her nose left, a near straight line that followed the length of my arm, all the way up to my shoulder. She seemed to pause by my face, eventually warily sniffing at my cheek too. Such a simple gesture, yet it meant so much. She retreated a bit and I moved my hand back. Her ears pricked and showed she was alert, but at least this time she didn't jump back as though she'd been stung by a wasp. She sat there, staring at me, studying me. When my hand reached out again she still didn't move, just watched the object coming closer and closer. I paused again just before reaching her. She gave my hand a terse sniff, her body rigid with tension. After another moment, I made my final move. I touched her. She flinched at first, but when I didn't hit her or otherwise cause her harm she seemed to loosen ever so slightly. I slowly moved my hand over her head, petting her with all the patience and gentleness I could muster. Eventually, she started to relax, and even wagged her tail just a tiny bit. At long last, I was finally getting through to her. She was letting me in.

{666 words}

Task 3 - Gaining Confidence - Incomplete/Complete

Obviously after the incident with the old house, Cloud was extremely fearful of anything remotely related to fire. This was a problem, because in the winter months I liked to have a fire in the fireplace as a sort of cozy and warm home aesthetic, as well as a source of heat. This presented a need to rehabilitate her to the point where she could be around a fire enclosed by a grate without freaking out or anything similar. Deciding the best way to do this was to start small, I printed off a few pictures of fires. Settling beside Cloud with a stash of treats hidden in my pocket, I began the training. The first picture I showed her was close to clip-art. It was so cartoonish that I'm not sure she even recognized it as fire, given the quizzical look she shot me when I showed it to her. Nevertheless, I gave her the treat, and we moved on. The second image was a drawing of fire that wasn't cartoon-like, but also wasn't superbly realistic. She seemed to get a little nervous when she saw that image, although her uncertainty didn't cause her to do anything other than shift in slight discomfort. Another treat was presented, and we moved on. This image I was a little worried about. It was an actual photograph of a real fire, and I was not at all certain that Cloud wouldn't act out. Still, despite stepping back a bit when she first saw the image, Cloud didn't bolt or howl or cause a fuss. She was much more reluctant to take the treat this time. I decided that was enough for one day, and allowed her to go back to her own activities. I repeated the same process every day for the next week, until she didn't even bat an eye when she was shown the images. It was time for something bigger. I took a box of matches and led Cloud outside, just in case she might have destroyed the house if she got upset. I allowed her to sniff the box, watching her nose crinkle at the smell. She stared up, wide-eyed and curious, until finally I struck the match. A fear more intense than anything I'd ever seen lit up in Cloud's eyes. She started barking and howling, scrabbling across the deck and trying to get away from the tiny flame. I kept the flame lit, tossing treats to her in an attempt to coax her back. No dice. I knew that this was not going to heal in a day, and I quickly stamped out the flame, heading inside for the day with Cloud (after proving to her that the flame was indeed gone). With determination I persevered, repeating the process over and over again. After a little over a week, Cloud finally stopped barking. After another, she stayed put when I lit the match. I had fed her treats every time she did something right, and now we were at last ready for the final step: big fires. I set up a large grate in front of the fireplace, one that would prevent any flames from coming at all close to Cloud; her safety was always the number one priority. I lit the fire, and the fear seemed to return to Cloud's eyes. She barked a few times, but after a little while her howls died down until she was simply staring transfixed at the fire. I gave her more treats, and even a bone to try to help change her associations with fire away from terrifying and into alright. Repetition was key, and after another two weeks Cloud finally seemed to have accepted fire as a part of living with Doubt and I. To this day she refuses to go within four feet of any flames, covered or not. Which, considering the circumstances, I think is fair. The most important part of this was to help rehabilitate her, and that we managed to do.

{668 words}

Task 4 - Training - Incomplete/Complete



Artwork ©Me

Task 5 - Tending to Injuries - Incomplete/Complete

After Cloud came home with me, I knew she would need to pay a visit to the vet for her injuries. She had been patched up as much as the shelter could manage, but that wouldn’t be enough to heal the burns she had received. Deciding that I needed to renew her current bandages, I went looking for some gauze I could use. I avoided retrieving any ointments for fear that it might further irritate or even infect her wound. Upon collecting everything I needed, I ran some cool water inside the bathtub- enough to submerge the entirety of her wound. To convince her to come inside I laid out a line of what seemed to be her favourite treats. She followed the trail, albeit a bit warily, and once she was inside the bathroom I closed the door. Removing the old bandages didn’t take very long, and after only a few minutes I carefully helped her into the bathtub. This allowed her burns to be soothed by the chilly water, therefore keeping her as comfortable as I could while I prepared her new gauze. I picked up a sterile cool water compress, and laid out enough of the gauze roll to cover her knee injury several times. Cloud seemed glad to be leaving the tub, and as soon as she was out I held her still, telling her to stay put. Pressing the compress to her leg, I began to wrap the burn in thick gauze. The gauze would hold the compress in place, and the water from the bath would keep the injury damp. A few wrap arounds later, the redressing was complete. She was ready for the vet. Cloud was clearly uncomfortable, whining and trying to pace around the floor. When the vet called her name, the white sled dog’s head shot upwards, fear evident in her eyes. I knew I wasn’t her best friend yet, but I had to at least try to calm her down. I whispered some sweet words to her, gently stroking her fur and giving her ears a light scratching. Some of the tension left her limbs, and although she was still wary, she willingly followed the vet and myself. An examination was performed, including the vet drawing blood from Cloud to ensure there was no electrolyte imbalance or blood cell count anomaly in Cloud’s blood. We were lucky, and other than the injury itself, Cloud was fine. The vet prescribed some antibiotics and an antimicrobial ointment to make sure that she stayed healthy. I was told to also give Cloud some pain medicine the doctor prescribed until the wound had healed. We scheduled another appointment for the next week, and every day we have been following the vet’s orders with medication and redressings. The vet says that Cloud will be in top condition again very soon!

{475 words}

((I did do research on this to see how a burn wound on a dog would likely be treated, both at home and at the vet.))

She's so cute, thank you so much! ^w^

[imakilljoywannabe]

All my tasks are completed!
Could she please have a red harness like the one in the "training" picture? Thank you so much! ^u^ <3

Also, here is my boy Doubt, who appears in the first task!

[imakilljoywannabe]

She looks amazing in red, thank you so much! <3

[imakilljoywannabe]

Could I have her genetics and stats when you have time, please? :3

[Venatici]

hello there! I am just hopping in very quickly to say there was a big numbering issue. this dog is now #67 instead of #77! thank you <3