Tails from the Backseat – Honey Trails

Eight year old Honey had produced an unknown number of litters during her life and had apparently reached the end of her reproductive years. She was relinquished by her owner to a rescue in west central Illinois and was then offered to As Good as Gold to rehabilitate and rehome. With the acceptance of that proposal, Honey became the 14^th “Honey” to join our family. A representative of the rescue met Mike Flynn who then transported this retired breeder female to her veterinary intake appointment. Although many breeder dogs come to AGaG very frightened and mentally shut down, it was obvious that Honey had received some human interaction during her tenure in her original residence. This sweet but slightly timid girl responded well to being led by a leash albeit with her tail tightly tucked. During her examination, Dr. Newman discovered that Honey had the most severely rotten teeth she had ever seen. In addition to being spayed, she had twelve teeth extracted, two cysts removed and had her infected ears cleaned and treated. X-rays showed that she also had some spinal arthritis. Honey was prescribed anti-inflammatory medication for her arthritis discomfort and meds to relieve pain from her surgery. When she was discharged, Barry Hohlfelder helped her into his Back Seat and delivered her to Cyndee Such for an afternoon visit until her foster mom, Allison Felgenhauer, could take Honey home to begin her Tale of recovery and renewal.

When Honey arrived at her new abode, she was skittish and would only go to two spots in the house, often facing the wall. Dr. Bennett, an animal behaviorist, observed Honey’s conduct and prescribed some medication to help calm her anxiety and suggested some desensitizing exercises for the Felgenhauers to work on with their foster dog. Every day Allison has noticed an improvement in Honey’s behavior as she gets more comfortable staying close to family members. Honey has also become the world’s preeminent tail wager. She finds comfort and companionship following her canine foster brother, Sundance, with whom she shares meal space. Strangers, however, still cause her some concern.

Honey has never had an accident in the house even when she was left alone for six hours recently. Stairs were foreign to her at first, but she recently followed Sundance to the upper level at bedtime where she spent the night close to her humans. The next day Foster Mom Allison worked with Honey to learn to descend the stairs one foot at a time. She now goes up and down the stairs unbridled. For now, until her mouth is fully healed, Honey’s kibble is softened with warm water and her treats are limited to soft Stella & Chewy meal mixes. Toys are of no interest to Miss Honey, but she does enjoy her two mile walks several times a day and an occasional car ride. Honey likes to keep a close eye on her family, but is not comfortable with cuddling just yet. Time is a great healer and hopefully she will seek some snuggling in the weeks to come.

Only Honey knows what her life was like before she came to stay with the Felgenhauers. Somehow, she has been able to dig deep within herself and maintain her pleasant personality and even smiles when she receives a gentle scratch behind her ears.