Rescuing Ralph

“It’s gonna be okay buddy; I have to go now.”

His frail frame hard pressed against me, his paws clutched around my waist and his head buried in the confluence of my hip and my armpit as we sat on the kennel floor. It was late and I needed to go.

It had been a traumatic day for young Ralph. At 15 months this beautiful tri colored Border Collie was surrendered, because of his lack of “drive and instinct” to work. We met his owner in Denver after a dong day of doctors appointments and did the transfer. Ralph’s demeanor was fearful and timid, he smelled of urine and feces, was matted and full of fleas, and he was drastically underweight — I’m guessing 25% under weight. (We weighed him a few days later and he was 30 pounds, and 7 weeks later he was 40 pounds and still slight in stature.)

We stopped on the west side of Denver before ascending the passes to let Ralph out. As I walked through the grassy lot he nervously looked up at me every few steps then wrapped himself behind my legs to get as small as he could, freezing in place. Before leaving I picked up a Slim Jim beef stick, which proved to be a good decision as it the first step to making friends with this fearful boy. In the 4 hours that followed I slowly broke off tiny pieces of the beef stick and put them through the slats of his crate. He softly took each piece from my fingers and within moments I could hear the “thump, thump, thump” of his wagging tail against the side of his crate.

It was late by the time we made it to Meeker, as I attempted to get Ralph settled in this kennel. He had no interest in eating, and just buried himself in my arms. I slowly stroked and talked to this stinky boy as we sat on the floor in hopes of feeling him relax. That didn’t happen, so I had to leave him to try again in the morning.

The 47 days that followed we witnessed a transformation in Ralph. The fundamental personality key was that he wanted to comply, he was just fearful and we had to slowly show him the behavior we wanted. The first order of business was a bath, flea and tick treatment and a brushing, and though rigid and frozen in place he took it without so much as a whimper. I must have gotten 3 buckets of matted hair out of him as his color changed from a bleached out mats to a deep dark brown. Brushing proved to be soothing and pleasant to Ralph so that became part of our daily routine.

Next were a few lessons in personal hygiene. It turns out Ralph had no idea where to do his business, and no matter the place he felt ashamed and in trouble for the location of the deed. The first few days he had terrible tummy problems, and I soon realized it was because he wouldn’t relieve himself in the presence of other dogs or humans. Day three we all cheered when he did his business in the large dog yard. That moment he got it and not a walk went by when he lost his vanity and did his business in the appropriate place. “Yeah Buddy!”

Training required something other than voice commands because he cowered when I asked even for the simplest sit. I shifted gears and did conceptual training on boundaries and his world started to open up. He trusted me more each day.

Each morning I went to the kennel to find more of a wag in his body, and a smile on his face. He actually perfected the Steve Martin, “Wald and Crazy Guy” move and was equally happy to see humans or dogs.

Our walks were hard for Ralph at first. I’ll never forget the first morning there was rain on the sidewalk. He quickly lifted up his feet and skittered back across. Yes, he was even fearful of water — even the slightest bog or small ditch I had to carry him across which made walking in the irrigated hayfields problematic. The fear and panic in his eyes told me not to push it. He’d watch the rest of the dogs barrel through the water and he just couldn’t muster the courage. About week 5, out of the blue he lept off the bank into the creek with the other dogs. He was so proud of himself and I have to admit tears filled my eyes. What a brave boy.

His training was coming along and I was starting to see animation with the other dogs. He wanted to join in the fun, but just didn’t know how to play. Then his world changed when we brought our 8 week old Border Collie mix puppy Charlotte home. Ralph immediately took to her and his world opened up. They became the best of friends, and really good at playing.

Time ticked by and we recently had 4 puppies (rescue and training) in house and he became the self appointed preschool teacher. So patient and nurturing, and in overseeing all these puppies his confidence and personality became brighter and his training progressed by leaps and bounds. This beautiful boy was becoming the sweetest, most athletic and playful dog on the place. The kennel was over full so 2 weeks ago we moved Ralph into the house with our own dogs, again another monumental change. He was blossoming.

We received an adoption application from the perfect couple, and Ralph was ready, so today was the day. Though I dreaded the transfer, I knew it was time. After a long walk and romp with the pack I loaded Ralph up for the three hour trip to meet his new family. He calmly sat in the seat next to me, completely trusting whatever I had planned. I got a lump in my throat as we approached the transfer point, and tears rolled off my cheeks. I was surprised at my inability to control my emotions. Ralph calmly laid his head in the console and gave me multiple soft licks and kisses.

I helped harness him in this new family’s truck. He didn’t waiver. I leaned in the window to say goodbye, just hoping I could hold it together until they left. He gave me a squinted smile and slowly and softly licked my cheek, as if to say, “It’s gonna be okay buddy; I have to go.”

I sobbed uncontrollably for the first hour on my trip home, wondering why this one was so hard, and then it came to me….... Ralph had taught me the true meaning of courage and trust after pain. You have to love unconditionally while you can no matter how scary and it will come back to you ten-fold. I have done my work with Ralph; he knew so.

“It is so very true my friend Ralph. Everything is going to be okay buddy, I know you must go.”

The question still remains….”Who rescued who?”