Bingo's Story From 8 months to 8 years

This is Bingo as he came to me.
Yes, he is laying on the end table.

It was a nice sunny day and I was visiting the animal shelter looking for a playmate for my 8 month old golden retreiver puppy, Candy. While visiting with a dog I thought might be good, I just couldn’t help but notice the dog in the next kennel. He was a mess. Wet from drool and stress, hyper and desperately trying to get my attention. And his eyes...big as saucers. I stopped to give him a little attention and when I looked into his eyes there was an instant connection. He was a 8 month border collie. A breed I was pretty sure was too much for my lifestyle.

I left the shelter, but spent the next week constantly thinking about him. I researched the breed and did some heavy thinking. I went back the next week and he was still there. I took him outside and I could see he needed some basic training, I thought it was all stuff I could handle.

I brought Candy for a meeting. They instantly connected and played like they had known each other all their lives. That sealed the deal and he came home with us.

Over the next few months I learned a lot about this little guy. He didn't know how to live in a house or with people. The basic training was easy. He learned at an amazing speed. He was a very affectionate and loving dog. But he had some other serious issues. He had separation anxiety and distroyed the house everytime he was left alone. Then the aggression surfaced. It was a very scary time. I had no experience with aggression and was getting bitten on a daily basis. I had two choices, either return him to certain death or make the commitment to learn how to deal with his issues and help him to improve.

We started working with a trainer and he gave us the building blocks to start this journey. He led us to positive reinforcement training. I threw myself into learning as much as possible about training, animal body language and most of all dog behavior. Which led me back to the shelter. I got a lot of exeperience watching and working with many different dogs.

Bingo has learned to overcome many of his fears and I have learned more than I ever could have imagined. Bingo will never be completely cured, but is a much happier and content dog. We have learned to communicate and to trust each other.

I have always felt every animal that comes into your life has a purpose for being there. Bingo has led me to places I would have never gone and shown me his purpose many times over.

Bingo is now eight years old. In that time I haven’t been able to vacation or go out of town without him. I just can’t trust him with anyone else. There are strict routines and safety rules that must be followed. One day while thinking about this, I wondered how many others out there were in the same situation, either behavioral or medically. That’s where the idea for Tender Paws started.

This is Bingo now!