#378 Abby, born 4/29/05

Abby on the day of her rescue.

On July 27, Cathy Tonelli wrote:

Our little girl, Abby, is home safe and sound after an extended travel adventure which included a 3 hour delayed flight arrival, expressway construction delays in Chicago, and a 3 1/2 hour road trip to Wisconsin. 

 
The first time we lifted her out of her travel crate to give her water, she stood perfectly still - almost stunned, with her tail down and hind legs quivering.  She managed a few sips.  My husband put her on his lap for the continuing journey,  where she seemed content. We stopped again in 30 minutes in an attempt to give her more water.  This time she eagerly drank and then noticed a bush next to the water bowl which she began to nudge and sniff.  Well, with that I knew she had the Kerry curious, ready to explore spirit!  In spite of all of her ordeals she was going to be just fine!
 
She arrived home a 10pm.  What a day for her!  Abby  is a peanut of a girl, weighing 20 lbs, with a very pretty face, is quite timid, but allows anyone to pick her up, loves to be held, and is very interested in exploring her surroundings.  
  
Her crate was dry when we picked her up, so we assumed that someone had changed the paper.  I later realized why it was dry.  It appears that she had held her urine for the entire time she was in her crate, plus the long ride home.  What a flood of concentrated urine! I couldn't believe it!!  She must have been so uncomfortable.
 
She readily drinks water, but we have so far been unable to entice her to eat.  She slept soundly in her crate next to our bed.  Loud sounds startle her, as well as any quick movements toward her.  She goes in and out of her crate at will.  This morning she explored every inch of the house.  If she thinks someone is going to come toward her to touch her, her first instinct is to run away.   However, if I am working at the sink, she will come behind me and I'll feel a cold little nose against my legs. She does the same thing when my husband is working on something. She does not like having a lead on and if I coax her to walk, she promptly flops down on the floor and sticks to it like a suction cup!  This morning I took her outside on a retractable 26 ft.leash and as soon as she knew I was far enough not to sneak up on her, she went potty.
 
She did really well for her bath and seemed interested in the dog she saw in the mirror!  She's quite matted and I'll work on her slowly. 
 
She looooves to ride in the car on someone's lap -- looking around at everything.
 
She has not so far made a sound, other than to sigh on the way home.  She follows us everywhere, but if we turn toward her, she runs away.  We've learned that to potty outside, she needs to be far away enough to feel safe.  Reminds me of my brother who was in Viet Nam, and suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome, who will never sit at a table where someone can come up behind him.  She must have been very traumatized by her previous human contacts.

 
All-in-all, she is doing tremendously!  We are so grateful to all involved in her rescue. What a tremendous amount of “work” (but in truth is dedication and love of the breed) to facilitate all of the details – finding the mill, arranging for purchase, finding suitable foster homes, finding approved travel crates, the veterinarians, the proper medications, the personality assessments, the bathing and grooming, the transportation from the mill, the wonderful pet motel who gave them the most wonderful night of their lives, the transportation to the airport – all of the loving details involved without which, not of this would be possible.

From: Catherine Tonelli <cathannt@HOTMAIL.COM>
Date: Wed Aug 9, 2006 1:10:28 PM US/Pacific

[...]Well, today is Abby's 2 week anniversary of being with her new family. Abby's personality was tested as "3" on a scale of "10" and is the most timid of the 7 Rocky Comfort Rescues. She was so sensory deprived that she does not play with toys, does not show interest in treats of any type, and runs away to any corner she can get to if she senses that you are going to pick her up. Her eyes follow everything you are doing and she is starting to look into our eyes a bit. At first, we had to look away if we put her food bowl in front of her or she would bolt. She will lick peanut butter from a finger or lick cottage cheese from an open hand but will not accept a dog treat. She will not eat or drink unless she is in her crate with the gate shut. I was shocked to find that Abby does not know how to chew her food. She swallows everything whole. The mill must have been feeding her "slop". She has been eating kibble with chicken and yogurt. It took her several days before she would eat anything at all!

Once Abby is in a corner, she does not resist being picked up and seems to love to be cuddled. She seems to enjoy her baths and brushing. In the last couple of days, she comes out of her crate on her own, runs to whatever room we are in, peeks at us, and runs back to her crate. We are so happy to see her moving around. Also, she is starting to squirm when she is brushed, so she is definitely getting more active. Several times a day we put her on a leash and take her from room-to-room with us so that she will learn to walk on a lead and be comfortable being with us. If we don't do this, she would run to another room or to her crate. Abby's tail is always down. She raised it and wiggled it only once - when my sister's Golden Retriever came over. She seemed so happy to see another dog! Now I know that she CAN raise her tail. I thought something was wrong with it. The day that she becomes confident enough to run around with tail raised high will be a happy one.

Medically, according to our veterinarian, she is in excellent condition considering what she has been through. She was treated for an ear infection which I discovered when I noticed that her ear canals were packed with hair. She was so good when I used ear powder and forceps to remove the hair and "gunk". Her back teeth have heavy tartar. Her official weight is 20 lb, 8 oz. I can feel all of her vertebrae and hope she will put on some weight.
Abby was starting to feel good and was doing well until 2 days ago when I had to give her the Dontral Plus which came with her. The vet told me I would need to shove it into the back of her throat to get her to swallow it as it is very bitter. Since that time, she seems to have lost trust in me and runs as fast as she can when she sees me. Also, she did not eat anything at all yesterday in spite of my putting fresh food down for her 4 times. Today she finally ate something but seems listless compared to prior to the Dontral Plus.

In the last 4 days, I have been able to get her to walk on a leash out doors, as long as we are going in one direction. If I make a turn, she lies down and won't budge.

We have one serious issue ---------- potty. Abby absolutely will not do this outside. We can sit there hours and nothing happens. Guess she doesn't know what grass if for. She seems to have been paper trained because she will go on newspaper. We are presently using "pee pads". Within 1 minute of putting her in a gated area with a pad, she will use it. Now to the BIG issue: Because her tail is always down, her tail drags in the urine and the urine gets flung all over the floor in the gated area of the kitchen. She is so scared when we approach to remove the gate, she runs, and gets it on her paws as she frantically tries to flee. Unfortunately, the urine then gets spread to the carpet. Her tail and hind quarter reek of urine most of the time. I am using wet wipes/ and or a wet washcloth to wipe her tail and hind quarters but she still smells. Ideally, we would need to bathe her every other day. I'm afraid this would be too drying for her skin. If anyone has any suggestions as to what we need to do to potty train her, I would be most appreciative. At the present time, we do not have a fenced-in-yard because we are renting (we are building a home and should move in next month).
All in all, this little girl has made so much progress. What a difference from 2 weeks ago! Yesterday she saw her reflection in a mirror and made a little bark. It was the first time we heard her make a sound. She is running around the house, looking like a Kerry should look (except for the tail that is always down). She is getting interested in her surroundings and moved a few toys around her crate.

We are so grateful to the wonderful, caring people who rescued her. If you could see her now, you would "bust your buttons"!

From: cathannt@HOTMAIL.COM
Subject: [KBL] Abby's (Rocky Comfort) "Not So Excellent Adventure" and the miraculous outcome
Date: September 18, 2006 7:20:01 PM PDT

Abby has brought us so much joy as we've seen her change from an extremely shy, fearful dog, with tail between her legs, never making a sound, to one who gives us kisses, wags her tail, and barks to let us know a stranger is near.

We have been in a rental duplex while our new house was under construction and wondered how she would adapt, given all the trauma in her life and once again having to adjust to something new. During the construction process, we would take her with us and let her explore the rooms so that they would be familiar. In fact, that's now she learned to walk on a leash. She wanted to check them out so badly that she allowed me to take her to them.

Abby knew that all was not OK last week. We were packing to move and she saw her surroundings change. We could see her anxiety because although we took her out every 3 hours to urinate, she was having "accidents".
Moving day was Saturday, September 16 and went well. We set her crate up in the kitchen so that she could be part of the action, watching everything that was going on. I took her on walks around the new neighborhood which recently had streets, curbs and sidewalks poured and has no grassy parkways. She seemed to take it in stride.

Her favorite place in all the world is our bed, and from the beginning, she would watch TV with us while we gave her lots of pets and whispered wonderful words to her.

Last night, about 10 pm we were lying on the bed when suddenly there was a terrible sound outside. In fact, it was so sudden and loud that it scared me and I called out for my husband. The metal mini blinds all started moving, rhythmically making sounds as a sudden wind blew through the slats. With that, Abby jumped off the bed (something she has never done -- only knew how to jump up) and took off through the kitchen. straight though the door leading to the garage which somehow has blown open. To my horror, I saw that my husband was working in the garage and the overhead door was open. I frantically yelled to him to grab Abby, but after making one fast circle inside the garage, she ran out into the dark of night. Tony ran after her and lost sight of her after about 1/2 mile. We called my brother and his wife and they drove all over, looking any place they thought she might be. There are so many open fields near her that we new we would not find her. I notified the police and the county sheriff. Abby was wearing a tag with our cell phone #.

Last night was one of the saddest of our lives. Neither of us slept . Because she is so timid and in new surroundings, I feared we'd never see her again.

This morning, around 8 am, Tony was on ladder in the living room when he looked out and saw a dog. He suddenly yelled "Quick, get the leash, I think it's Abby!" I ran out of the house, leaving it open. Tony was in the next block but there was no sign of Abby. He saw a man who pointed that she ran in the opposite direction. Tony said "Check, the garage, maybe she ran in". No, she wasn't there. My heart sank. I went inside to our bedroom annnnnnddddd there, sitting on the bed, was Abby! It was almost as if none of this had happened --- except she was caked with mud and covered with burrs. She was exhausted! She drank water but wasn't interested in food. I went to work pulling out the burrs which were sticking like velcro to her muzzle, feet, legs, and under belly. She let me pull all of them out, letting me turn her into any position I needed to reach. It took me 5 hours. There may be a few more, but she has so much dried mud on her feet and legs, it's hard to tell. We're not going to bathe her until tomorrow. After a good rest tonight she'll feel better. She ate 2 bowls of food and is drinking well.

I can't believe this happened! Was a bizarre set of circumstances. For one thing, we are so careful and have 2 collars on her at all times. She never goes out unless she is on a leash which has a hook for each collar. This strong wind came up so suddenly which made the blinds make a terrible noise. The back door blew open and the garage was open. How many things could possibly go wrong?

Everyone was praying that we would find her or that she would find us. How she found her new house, after being here only one night is amazing. My sister-in-law says that she must feel happy and secure here or she would never have come back. Do we know that we were lucky??? YOU BET!

Cathy and Tony Tonelli
Kaukauna, WI

From: Catherine Tonelli <cathannt@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Abby Post Groom
Date: October 18, 2006 8:20:01 PM PDT

I'm attaching a couple of pictures of Abby the day after she was groomed. She wouldn't sit still long enough for me to really do her justice!

You would not believe the amount of hair that covered the floor, and my surprise to find that she has a stunning silver/black coat which was hidden under the brown hair that was cut away.

I would have had her groomed long ago, but feared the experience would be too traumatic for her. Once we got her diarrhea under control and her tummy settled, I thought she would be up to it. I bathed and brushed her out so that Abby would not have to go through a prolonged first time session. She handled it well. The groomer had never groomed a Kerry before and tried to do it from a book. Not perfect but it will do for the time being. Since then, I have found a place which specializes in terriers.

Every day she gets a little more confident. If we are in another room, she will leave wherever she is to find us. Her first inclination is to run away if we reach toward her, but it's obvious she wants to be near us. She whimpers if she's crated and we're in another room. She is becoming very affectionate, starting to pose in playing positions, wags her tail furiously and selects different chew toys to play with. Sometime the progress seems slow, but to compare what she came from to where she is now shows was an amazing Kerry she is.

We love her to pieces! Thanks for letting us adopt her!!

From: Catherine Tonelli <cathannt@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Abby Update
Date: February 17, 2007 8:20:01 PM PDT

Being a proud mom, I wanted the ultimate photo to accompany an Abby update. One of her standing, in profile showing her lovely lines, and tail held high. Abby had other ideas. Each time I would crouch down, camera in hand, she took one look at that object and said “I don’t think I like that thing pointing at me. It’s something I don’t see every day so I’d better take off”. Zip – out of the room – end of photo shoot. Enough of the procrastination --- I realize this scenario will not occur in the near future! So, attached is a picture of Abby lying down.

Abby seems to be completely happy and confident in her routine surroundings. The day starts with a big stretch, followed by a kiss – just to make sure we know she is up. She shadows us through our daily activities.

New experiences are a challenge, and her response varies from wariness to outright trembling. It takes a long time to assimilate an experience into her definition of “routine”. As an example, for weeks she was afraid to go down the steps to the lower level. She would reluctantly go on a leash, but visibly drew back. It took her golden retriever friend to show her it’s a safe place to be. Now she runs up and down at will.

It was frightening and heartbreaking to see and feel her tremble (actually shake!) as she experienced something out of her realm of comfort, which, at the beginning was pretty much everything. Abby was on amitriptyline for several months which seemed to lessen anxiety related to new events. Once she was spayed, we hoped to wean her off. I am happy to report that Abby has been off meds for 3 weeks. She was groomed this week (picture of Abby with Valentine scarf from the groomer) and did very well – nice and calm, no shaking according to the groomer.

Speaking of spaying, our vet said that she had a very small uterus and most likely had not been bred. Also, she has an underdeveloped nipple and is missing 2 nipples on one side of her body. Her teeth were cleaned at that time and were in better condition than originally thought.

Abby sleeps in bed with us and seems to know how to find the perfect spot where she is not in our way. Sometimes, in her sleep, she cries and shakes and I have to awaken her to tell her everything is all right. That is happening infrequently now. I don’t want to even begin to think what she must have experienced in the mill.

She is almost completely over her potty problems. We still have to use pee pads at times because of severe winter weather. All we have to say is “time to go potty” and she follows us to that area and goes on command. She also is good about going outside.

About a month ago Abby had one “accident?” out of the blue for which there was no explanation. She urinated, during the day, in the middle of our bed. She had just gone and hour earlier. Fortunately, the urine did not get all the way down to the mattress. I was really angry and Abby could tell that I was. I said to Tony “That’s it! From now on she has to sleep in her crate!” That night Abby was put in her crate where she cried and cried. After about an hour, we let her get back in bed. Now if we say “crate” her tail goes down and she slinks away. No more “accidents”.

Abby sits and lies down on command. She know the word “treat” and runs to the pantry when she hears the word, so now we have to spell it if we’re discussing whether or not she should have one. She gets so excited when she hears the word that she trips all over herself racing to the pantry!

Abby is a cuddler and likes to watch TV with her head draped over our legs.

When we have visitors, she hides. But, after a short time, she comes out and warily approaches the room we’re in. Two weeks ago, she hopped up onto the couch next to my sister and gave her an unsolicited kiss. That really touched me because it was a HUGE step for her. Of course, my sister Mary is the human mom of her best golden retriever friend, True, so it was probably an acknowledgment of her position. To see True and Abby running together through the snow is so much fun to watch. True retrieves balls while Abby tries to keep up with her. She does better with the Frisbee which she tries to take away from True to play tug.

It’s a real joy to be part of Abby’s journey!

From: Catherine Tonelli <cathannt@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Abby Update
Date: November 6, 2007 7:38:01 PM PDT

On July 27, 2007, Abby celebrated her 1 year anniversary with us. I intended to share pictures on that special day, but Abby would hear the camera make a noise and immediately drop her tail. But finally, success! It’s taken a year to get pictures of Abby, tail up.

Abby had an interesting summer. She was boarded, for the first time, when we went out of town for 2 days. We were very apprehensive about the effect it would have, but Janet assured me that all would be well. And grateful for her reassurance, we dropped Abby off at the veterinarian/boarder with the instructions that in order to go potty it was necessary to say “potty outside”. When we picked her up, the staff was laughing about getting Abby to potty. After taking her outside several times, she still didn’t seem to have a clue as to what she was supposed to do. Finally someone remembered to read the arrival notes and saw that there was a “magic formula”. From then on, as soon as they said “potty outside”, she went. Each of the staff wanted to try it, and sure enough, it worked! Abby goes potty on command, and will try her best to please, even if she has to go very little. At home outside, she will go only in the area she has been trained to go, but looks back to be sure you are going to wait for her.

As happy as she appeared to be, Abby responded with such enthusiasm and joy when given the opportunity to be with another dog, that we realized we were not able to fill all her needs. We wanted a Kerry friend for her, but before we could apply, fate stepped in. We changed groomers and learned the fox terrier rescues in this area are groomed by her, and that the treasurer for the American Fox Terrier Rescue lives in the next town 5 miles away. One day, the groomer called to say that we had to see the 11 month old female wire fox on the table because she was such a sweet dog. We brought Abby along, and she and the wire fox named Bailey got along famously, running around the shop together. We made arrangements with the treasurer to have Bailey stay for a week and watched as Bailey taught Abby to wrestle, play tug, actively play with toys she had never tried before, and play “chase” in the yard. This is Bailey’s history: Bred by a sub-standard breeder, sold to a pet store, purchased at age 5 months by someone who could no longer stand seeing her month after month in a cage, went to an 80 year old couple familiar with the breed who learned a puppy was too much for them, adopted by a woman who changed her mind after Bailey ate her antique plant stand and returned to the rescue group. Abby seemed to bond with Bailey and they appeared to need each other. So for both their sakes, we adopted Bailey, who has never attempted to chew anything in our home.

There has been a dramatic change in Abby since Bailey arrived. Abby is much more active. In the past, Abby would run in the yard only if another dog was visiting. If alone, she made no attempt to run, or even to chase me if I ran. It’s pretty hard to keep up with a 14 month old wire fox, but Abby does a good job. Sometimes Abby initiates the chase or initiates play, something she never did before. In the house, they usually can be found together in the same room side-by-side or cuddled up.

Abby is very good around children visiting our home and seeks them out. On walks, it’s another matter. As soon as she hears or sees children, she cowers because more often than not, they come running over. This frightens her. When Abby starts out on her walks, her tail is up. As soon as we get to a point on the walk where children often are present her tail drops, even though no children are around. It’s like she’s expecting the worst. Abby takes a long time to adapt to new people coming to the house. Her tail goes down and she runs away to hide. It takes about 6 or 7 meetings for Abby to add the person to her approved human list.

Abby is not overly affectionate but shows she is happy by wanting to be with us. She follows us from room-to-room and her tail is up and wagging. Every so often in the evening when we are watching TV, she decides I am not properly groomed and very persistently attempts to clean my ears. This makes Tony laugh because it appears she is on a mission and won’t take “no” for an answer.

Tony and I often remark that she is the best dog we have ever had. Abby listens so well, tries to please, and is very smart. I love to read the Kerry stories people send. Sharing a bond with a special Kerry and appreciating the bond others have with their special Kerry integrates us into a wonderful family. Thank you for the opportunity to share!