Rufo's Legacy For Shelter Dogs
February 16th, 2012 by Kelly Gorman Dunbar
Today I saw a lovely video that brought tears of joy to my eyes. It was about the story of Rufo, a shelter dog that spent six years waiting for a new home. The video is sweet and full of hope, however, even though Rufo has a happy ending, his story is both quite sad and unusual. While I understand why the shelter and all of Rufo’s friends and supporters really wanted to celebrate his triumph, I also fear that Rufo’s story may send the wrong message. I fear more shelters will try to keep dogs languishing or suffering for too long because “they might be the next Rufo”. I fear that people may be comforted by Rufo’s story and feel that it’s okay to surrender their dog at a shelter because “they all find good homes”. Six years is a very long time to spend in a shelter, even a very good one. The video mentions that while Rufo got out for exercise every day, he generally spent 22 hours of each 24 in his kennel. That’s no way for a dog to live. It’s a true testament to Rufo’s personality that he was able to withstand shelter life for so many years. It is not the norm. Most dogs show signs of mental deterioration within just a few weeks of constant kenneling and very few are still mentally healthy after over a year at a shelter. Many dogs learn bad habits in shelters and become reactive, de-house-trained, or fearful if left kenneled for too long. Shelters are extremely stressful, they are smelly (even if they are very clean the chemicals used to keep things sanitary have strong odors), often noisy, and full of anxious and confused animals. The frustration that comes from being helplessly confined behind fences and in confined spaces can often lead dogs to become agitated and barrier aggressive or the overstimulation causes them to emotionally shut down. The video also mentions that Rufo received regular one-on-one time playing ball with his favorite people and that he had been trained during his shelter stay as well. I’m sure this regular physical and mental stimulation helped to keep Rufo healthy over the years. Kennel enrichment and training programs are essential for every shelter, because every animal has the right to live and learn with dignity, but programs such as Open Paw are particularly important for shelters that keep animals for long periods of time to keep them from deteriorating mentally and behaviorally. A good shelter instills the necessary skills in it’s residence to help them get and keep a new and permanent home. So while Rufo’s story is inspiring and I’m very happy for him, the reality for most shelter dogs is not as sweet. Please help Rufo's legacy be a good one for all shelter animals. Please consider volunteering at your local shelter and help make the lives of all shelter animals a bit brighter and more bearable. For more information on how to do so, visit OpenPaw.org Dog Star Daily® Recomended Products:
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This is my dog Pepper story as well.
Thanks for this. My pitbull/lab mix Pepper had a simular story. He was brought in to the shelter at two weeks old, and remained in the shelter until he was three. When I went to the shelter and saw him, I fell in love with him. However the shelter was not about to give him up easily because many who worked there absolutely loved him. He had one on one play everyday with the shelter volunteers, and plenty of excersize as well. He was probably the least caged dog in the shelter because of his excellent manners with other dogs and people.
I had to jump through hoops to get him even though the shelter knew I was a certified dog trainer. However they relented when I showed them my freshly built custom dog kennel that was once my garage. When they saw the toys, the carpet, the air conditioner, and the automatic water filling bowls, they finally let me have him.
Out of my three pit/lab mixes, he is the best mannered and most "free" dog. I take him everywhere because he is loved by so many people.
be a dog foster
I would encourage people to foster pets instead of volunteering at a shelter.
I have fostered many dogs and they are all happy, social, and housetrained quickly.
Properly done, I think foster home programs are less expensive and have better outcomes.
My stray pit puppy looks a bit lie rufo.
I found a lab-pit puppy when he was about 3 months old. He weighed about 20 pounds. He now weighs about 45 pounds, and I know will weigh more as an adult. I always had female house dogs, but this little boy is the sweetest I have ever had the priviledge of finding. He has all his shots now, and I expect to microchip and neuter in the very near future. I couldn't find a more wonderful lap dog, as he thinks he is, and we couldn't be happier. J. Newfeld
typo sorry
J. Newfeld meant to say 'like' Rufo, not lie rufo. Broke wrist, so typing is not so hot right now.
Rufo
I know Rufo and came in to evaluate him when this person was interested in him. He was one of the few lucky ones who had not gone kennel crazy over the years. Unfortunately, he is not the only dog that has been at that shelter for many years. They often have close to 100 dogs with no kennel enrichment. The volunteers do their best to get these dogs out of there but there are just so many.
Ann King - CPDT
While fostering is
While fostering is wonderful, not everyone can do that. Please don't discourage anyone from volunteering at their local shelter because shelters need all the help they can get and not just walking dogs or socializing cats. Many people have many wonderful talents that can benefit the shelter in so many ways, whether it is answering phones, pr, or just helping out with laundy etc.
Ann King - CPDT
i will keep my opinion
Ann, I will definitely keep my opinion as to the best way people can help pets.
No enrichment?
Ann - 100 dogs and no enrichment? I am so very sorry to hear that news. Why ever not? With so many dogs in residence it's even more important that they have kennel enrichment for all the down time they have when they aren't getting personal attention.
I do hope this shelter adds the Open Paw MMHRs to their program.
Kelly Gorman Dunbar Editor, Dog Star Daily
open paw
Kelly - It is a city shelter. About 25% of the dogs are in cages that are sometimes too small for them to even stand up comfortably. They are let out into outside pens for a few hours a day. They don't have beds and are not allowed kongs. One of the dogs who is lucky enough to have a kennel has arousal issues when the kennel staff come in to hose or do anything and she will try to grab the hose or broom. I suggested that the kennel staff could just toss her a ball rather than allow her to practice the behavior because she will hold on to the ball. I was basically told the staff have no interest in that and it wont happen:( Trying to even suggest anything in Open Paw gets me crazy looks. Getting volunteers interested is just as hard. There are some though that are interested and Doug (who posted here) is one of them. He is slowly getting others to see the benefit of training simple behaviors just by practicing those techniques with the dogs as the volunteers go by.
Ann King - CPDT
His dedication for the dogs
His dedication for the dogs is really a remarkable one. People can also do the same and volunteer to help there. With an extremely tight job industry, many university graduates are thinking about volunteering as a choice for post-graduate employment. The monetary side of volunteering can work out for additional than just university graduates.