Wong Chong

About half of the dogs here are feral or strays. Thur loving care training and patience we are able to help these dogs re socialize with humans and one day find them a home. This is the story of one such dog that touched my heart and found a home with me. Wong Chong is a golden cream colored rough haired Chow Chow.With his long shaggy coat,short muzzle and small pointed ears he looks more like a lion and teddy bear cross than your typical dog. Wong Chong was a victim of Hurricane Katrina. Like the waters risen by natures fury his past is dark and murky. Left by his human companions to fend for himself he did turning feral in the process. Living in the now of survival he hunted and scavenged to stay alive. Rescued by animal rescuers he was crated and flown thousands of miles away from the world he had known. Eventually arriving here at the sanctuary by cattle car. Here he was fed, loved ,and cared for and so began his slow journey back into the world of a companion animal. Shy and leery of his handlers, unsure of our intentions at first he would bark at you and hide when you came in the pen. Slowly he came around to being able to be hand fed though he still wouldn't accept physical attention like petting. 10 months passed and the summer monsoons came down in full force here in Dakini Valley . The hot and humid weather provided the perfect breeding ground for stable flies. Wong Chong proved a favorite fest for these insect vampires, soon his ear tips and nose were raw and bloodied. One day the vet and I decided to treat his ears instead of using the dog pole we usually use on the ferals we used a leash to restrain him. To our surprise with very little chasing he allowed us to put a leash on him and even allowed to pet and massage him after we were done . At about the same time I started introducing him to Gwena my companion dog, whose job is to help socialize the dogs. At first she was a little intimated of this fuzzy ball of doggy energy that would ponce at her from the roof of his dog house. For Wong how ever it was a case of love at first sight. He even offered her one of his favorite chew toys to break the ice . After about three visits Gwena warmed to him and they began to play and chase each other until they both collapsed with tails wagging and tongues dripping. Emboldened by this success I started to leash train him. After a small hesitation his part he really got into it. My guess was that it was like riding a bike to him it all came back. Soon he was walking to heel better than some of the dogs we walk everyday. As part of our training program we take dogs into the ranch house with us. This allows the dogs to get used to humans and their ways.Slowly he overcame his shyness and blossomed into a friendly and ever curious dog. One day watching him play with Gwena I realized that not only had this canine Teddy bear won her heart he had won mine and truly had become one of our pack.
WRITTEN BY RAVEN NOV 06