Candy is a young, mid sized brown/black street dog (30 lbs.) that had been frequenting the park at Tanque de la Union for a couple of months prior to our catching her. She is most likely a shepherd mix. We estimated her age to be about 7 to 8 months. She had not yet had puppies. We had been feeding her, and she was quite friendly and allowed approach and even touching around the head while she ate. She would not, however allow a collar or lead to be put on her. On October 29, 2010, Linda saw her down by the Bodegona. She fed her, and the dog appeared as normal.
On the morning of October 31 she was walking down the street across from the Puppy Palace. Linda fed her, and noted that both eyes were almost shut, with the nictitating membrane more than halfway across each eye. She seemed very light sensitive, and to be in pain. She would not allow capture. In the evening, she was spotted again in the park with her buddy, a black and brown male (Jake). Linda fed them bits of hot dog, and eventually lured both the the door of the Puppy Palace. With a little more luring, the female entered and found the door closed to exit. After a lot of maneuvering, a noose was slipped around her neck, and she was dragged into the small run in the back of the outdoor space. Unfortunately, this dog was picked up on the weekend of a long weekend, and no veterinary services were available until Tuesday, November 2.
She would not allow much handling, but we managed to get a little opthamalic ointment into her eyes a couple of times.Candy was very hand shy, and would not allow a collar or lead to be placed on her, nor tolerate being held. So she was pushed into a crate, and taken to Superpet on November 2. She bit one of the technicians when he tried to handle her, and had to be sedated to be examined, and Dr. Viau found both tear ducts were severely inflamed. He treated her with injections of a corticosteroid, and spayed her while she was sedated. She stayed overnight.
Candy was picked up from Superpet on November 3, and brought back to the Puppy Palace. She was even more frightened of hands, and snapped and attempted to bite anyone who attempted to touch her. She could not be released to the street for at least 3 days after the spay, and until her eyes improved. Of course, after 3 days, she stayed and was not turned back onto the street.
We finally got a collar around Candy’s neck on November 17th. Terry leashed her and walked her inside the Puppy Palace with treats and rewards for not panicking when she felt pressure around her neck. She taught herself to “sit” when asked by watching the other dogs. By November 21, she was able to walk on the street if she was accompanied by Xiao Chow. On November 22 she entered a coffee shop on leash and was relaxed enough to lie down and wait. She could now be picked up briefly. On November 23, she was calm enough to be leashed, walked on the street, picked up and put in the back of the car with the other dogs, and enjoyed her first trip to the coffee farm to run and play off leash.
Candy is one of the most intelligent dogs we have ever known. She is very sensitive, and was most likely hit by whoever owned her. Physical correction is never necessary with her. A quiet “no” is the most correction she needs. She is very tuned in to her people, and learns very quickly just by watching. She has GREAT potential for obedience work or possibly for search and rescue. She is very athletic and loves to run. An active person would be her ideal match. She is a calm, relaxed and easy going dog at home. She is very affectionate and is wonderful with other dogs.
Candy is clicker trained. She was adopted by a wonderful couple in San Francisco in September, 2011. She was placed in partnership with our friends at Northern California Family Dog.