Fab Five: One Year Later - Tina's Story

From Cris H. Tina's Foster and Forever Mom

Tina on her porch

Where do I start with Tina? Tina was the most difficult case I have ever experienced. In the past, we had what we called the 14 day rule. Within 14 days, the dog will settle into the pack and all will be well! Not true in Tina’s case. She was more emotionally scarred than we knew and sicker than we knew when she came to us.

If you followed this blog, you will remember that Tina’s only goal was to escape my house, escape my yard and return to her kennel in NC. She didn’t pee for over 70 hrs and refused to eat anything. I hand (I mean force) fed her for over a month. When Tina would start to show progress, she would get sick again. No one knew what was wrong. This shepherd was only 63 lbs and wasting away every day. Luckily for her, she bloated right before Christmas 2011. I say lucky, because we got her into surgery in time and found lesions on her intestines while they were doing surgery. It turned out that Tina had an intestinal disease that was stopping her from digesting food properly! A special diet, antibiotics and B-12 shots were all she needed!

Asher taking Tina to the vet

Tina had other issues, she loves me unconditionally and I think she worships the ground I walk on, but she HATED my husband. In October, she bit him so severely he had to have surgery. Tina is not a bad dog or an aggressive dog – She is a dog so scarred by her abusive past that she could not get over her fear of men. With this turn of events, I knew I could not adopt her out to a home with a man and I began to fear for Tina’s future.

I will spare you the long story of my begging and whining and begging some more. On Christmas Eve, 2011 my husband gave me a bow to put on Tina’s head (he gave it to me, instead of putting it on her because he was scared to touch her!). Tina became my dog.

Fast forward 1 year from the time I picked her up. Tina is now a healthy 85 lbs!!! She is on a special diet that she adores. She loves her brothers and sisters and looks forward to ball every night. She doesn’t play ball, she just chases and barks at the other dogs while they play. Tina gives me the BEST hugs every morning and is happy as can be….well… except for one problem – My husband.

The relationship between them did not improve over the year. He could not freely walk in the house because Tina barked and growled. I really did wonder when his patience would finally wear out and he would tell me Tina could not stay. We tried everything and she just would not warm up to him.

My husband is in the Army and was away for a month. While he was gone, Tina was so relaxed and happy in the house. I assumed it was because she finally got rid of him! I decided to try something different. Every night I tied an article of his clothing to her collar. I made her wear this in the house while everyone was calm and happy. I had to tie the clothes to her because she even ran from his clothes!

The night came for my husband to come home, so I took Tina with me to the hangar to pick him up. He wasn’t excited to see her, but I told him this would be a new day (or at least I hoped). Tina took all those soldiers in stride. I kept a short leash on her and told everyone who approached her that she doesn’t like men, so please don’t come close. However, several were not afraid and petted her anyway. She was scared, but she accepted it!

Tina signing out after a long day of play

Miracles happen if you just have patience! Tina brought her Papa home to the other dogs and she was VERY proud of this fact. No more barking, no more growling and no more standoffs in the bathroom at 4 am! No more stress and fear. It took a year, but Tina finally let go of her past and I truly believe she is living in the now and is happy. I love Tina more than I ever thought I could. It is impossible for me to reconcile this love with the fact she has only been with me a year. I cherish the time I have with her and hope that she has many more happy years with me. But, I believe she no longer remembers the “time before” so any time we have now is a glorious gift.