After Batgirl had been put back in her run, I asked McKenzie and Kathy about Chowta, the shy Chow mix I hung out with for a bit last time I was at Amra's. They said he had been moved to Rhonda's but that they could bring him up to Amra's for some socialization. That sounded good to me, so Kathy went over to Rhonda's to get him. She told me that they had been wanting to socialize Chow some more, but it was harder to do since he moved to Rhonda's where volunteers aren't allowed in.

Kathy brought Chowta up to Amra's, and put him in the kitchen area which could be closed up. Surprisingly for all of us, Chow got up on the dog bed and lay down. Usually he would try to crawl under it or hide in the corner instead. We took that as a good sign and went in with him. Kathy gave us some treats to feed him, and we sat down next to his dog bed with our backs to him to hopefully convey non-threatening signals.

He sat on the bed and seemed maybe a little wary of us but not scared like he was going to run or panic. We started holding treats out for him which he took easily from our hands, and soon we were able to pet his head. He barely even flinched as we petted him, and in fact he kept his ears up and was looking around for the next treat even as we were running our hands down his head and body.

The magnitude of the improvement from the last time I saw him was truly stunning. Last time, he shied away at noises or movement, and certainly wouldn't let me pet him. He was just too anxious. What we saw on the dog bed was almost an entirely different dog. He was relaxed, he was comfortable, and there were two people right next to him, petting him. He even looked directly at us, keeping his ears up. This was just a phenomenal improvement in the time since I last saw him, which was two months almost to the day.

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Two months, and he was at the point where he actually lay his head down and almost went to sleep while we were petting him. For a shy dog to have come so far in such a short time is a testament to the work Best Friends does to rehabilitate the dogs that live there. If his rehabilitation continues at this rate, he'll be running up to people for affection before too long, and I have no doubt he'll be adopted out to a good home even if he doesn't quite make it to that point. He is a sweet dog, and would make a wonderful companion for a patient person willing to work with him.

After about a half hour, we got up to leave and closed the kitchen door behind us. Chow got up and looked at us through the door, something else he never would have done before. We thanked Kathy for bringing Chowta out for us, and we headed back to Dogtown HQ to turn in our whistles for the day.

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“For a shy dog to have come so far in such a short time is a testament to the work Best Friends does to rehabilitate the dogs that live there.”