Early Wednesday morning I sat in traffic with tears streaming down my face. The day that I feared may never come was here. I was heading out to Mississippi to take Ezra to her new home, a "long term" foster home!
I worked hard to make this happen and I didn't even want to write this post until I knew that it was really going to stick. Although I felt in my heart that she was ready for this step, I didn't want to get my hopes up. I have now been given confirmation that things are going very well. Ezra is learning to be a house dog!
Ezra still has plenty of issues, but the progress she has made is incredible. That is what I was thinking about as I sat in my car crying as the sun came up. I looked back at her curled up on the back seat, perfectly content, and remembered that it took three of us to force her into my car when I first got her this summer. She flailed back and forth smashing her body and head against the windows. It was like I had captured a feral animal. This dog that ferociously guarded her food, now allowed me to take even a yummy bone out of her mouth. (I'm not claiming that she would let anyone else do that yet, but she will get there.) This dog with absolutely no bowel or bladder control now potties each time she is walked. No accidents in the office for over a month. It's hard to believe that I ever worried that she might be beyond help.
When I first acquired Ezzy, she wasn't ready for a home environment. It was just too big of a change for a dog like her. She needed a middle step. A place that she could start to trust and interact with people, yet not be over stimulated with the constant activity of a household. She could come with me on day trips to spend time in real life situations and have an isolated, quiet, stable, place to go back to. I owe much of Ezra's success to the management and staff at the Pet Resort who helped me with her this whole time. They helped give her the structure that she needed to make the transition. They helped her to trust that most humans and other dogs were good. They spoiled her. I am forever grateful to them.
She will never be a "pretty" dog. She has a face that only a mother could love, so to speak. She is covered in scars. Being so high strung makes it hard for her to keep weight on, so she is boney. To top it off, she is also quite bow-legged. But I don't see any of that anymore. Her beauty, (cliche, I know) is on the inside. To know Ezzy is to love her. She has won the hearts of all who have cared for her. Despite her issues, she is one of the sweetest dogs I've ever met. She greets everyone she meets so enthusiastically, as though they were her very best friend. She loves to be held tight and hugged. She has surrendered completely to human love and affection.
I was tempted to take Ezra back into our home. Jonathon and I discussed that possibility. We know and trust her now and she does us. We didn't feel that she would be a threat to the other dogs anymore. The advantage that she will have in this other home is that someone will always be there with her. She can't get that luxury here. Her separation and crate anxiety is the one thing that she still really struggles with. It won't be an issue for her in the new home. It really is an ideal situation.
I will really miss Ezra, and I will still be keeping up with her closely. I wish I could have completed her rehabilitation myself, but I know that she has graduated on to her next step in life. Her new foster mom is committed to her 100 percent. Here, she will hopefully achieve her highest potential. And who knows. Often times, long term fosters even turn into forevers!
