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In December, we received a story about a rescued JRT that we thought was worth sharing. This is the story of Maisie.
“We originally found her two and a half years ago wandering in a park. My boyfriend was getting into the car and made eye contact with her from across the road. Next minute, she jumped up to look in at us. She was a mess. She was tiny, bony, cold, starving, crawling with fleas, and had pressure sores from laying on concrete. She horrendous thick freshly healed scars to her face from tip of her nose zig zagging up between her eyes. She jumped in the car and we took her straight home to feed her, bathe her, and warm her up.
We then took her to the vet, they said she was about 5 or 6 years old. She had no chip and was sent to kennels for a week. Her owner never claimed her, so we adopted her. On day one we realized that she wasn’t potty trained. She peed on her bed and laid in it. The kennels advised to try a crate as dogs don’t usually pee on their own bed. That was a mistake. We popped out for 30 minutes only to find her trying to escape. She’d squeezed the bars apart with her face in desperation. The neighbors complained that she had been howling, too. That night we made a bed in the utility room, put on a lamp and radio for comfort, and plastic on the floor. In the morning I woke to wee and poo everywhere and so much of it. Up the walls, door, units. Everywhere! In her distress she tried to escape and got in a terrible state. Night two we tried the same hoping she’d settle. We awoke to howling and the same mess. I cried so much and called the kennels telling them that I didn’t think I’d cope. They told me that she must have been kept outside and was a working dog. She was probably locked in a shed or concrete pen alone. I said I’d try again as I was so upset that nobody would want a dog like this. Night three we left the door open but put a baby gate up. She cleared in and we found her on the sofa, so we decided to take her to bed. She snuggled up to us all night with no accidents at all, so this went on. She woke up everyday so excited that we were still there, jumping all over us and licking our faces.
We found that she’d never encountered stairs before, or a lead and harness. It was clear her previous owner had trained her (possibly by a beating) to walk by the left heel. She was a nervous wreck. She cowered and kept her stumpy tail between her legs at all times. She was and still is nervous of other people. She only trusts us. It took a few weeks to potty train her. She now tells us when she needs to go out. House training is ongoing, and probably always will be. Household noises that we take for granted can worry her at times. She used to be terrified of you opening a packet of biscuits next to her. She’s very sensitive to noises but she’s so much better. Within three months we taught her to sit. It took a year and a half for lay down but now she gives her paw, kisses, spins, and begs for a treat. It took about five months for her tail to stick up and to relax. The other massive problem was severe separation anxiety. She just couldn’t cope with us leaving her alone. An expert told us she was the worst case they’d ever seen and probably wouldn’t get over her past, but gradually we did it. Leaving her for 30 seconds at first and building it up. Now she’s left all day with no problems at all.
She comes everywhere with us as a much loved member of our family. We never leave her in the evenings as she struggles to cope with that, and we have decided we will never go away on a vacation unless she comes. We even bought a bigger size bed so we all have lots of room. Our life revolves our little girl from now on and we love her so much. I cannot explain the affection and adoration we have for her. I love her hair in my bed and her doggy smell. And she loves us unconditionally as dogs do. We were told her owner probably dumped her for possibly not being good enough at hunting, and judging by her horrific scars was probably used for badger bait. She was kept tiny to go down holes and had no muscle mass whatsoever. Or… she just escaped her owner and a life of complete misery. She’s terrified of fireworks and we have months of hell after they go off, and she’s the same with a long umbrella. She physically shakes and won’t eat for a day.
She’s still on a journey, and we will have had her three years now in April 2019. I’m so proud of what she’s achieved and we’ve proved that with love, time, and patience that issues can be overcome. I’d do it all again for the rewards of having my little best friend. We would never be without her. She’s our baby. My little Maisie Moo Moo.”
Thank you to Dan for the story.