Last month we told you about 13 American Eskimo Dogs that were living in a barn in central PA. There were 11 adult dogs and 2 puppies, and five of the female dogs turned out to be pregnant. A lot has happened in the last month so we wanted to proved an update for the dogs.

First the good news.  Buster and Paige, the puppies, were recently adopted to a family in Maryland. Teddy and Tiffany were adopted to a family in Massachusetts.  Charlie entered the prison program (Hounds of Prison Education) and has been receiving training and socialization. When he entered he was a very fearful dog, but the past month has helped him to become more trusting.  Charlie has a pending adoption once he is finished with the prison program.  Harley and Sadie will be the next dogs to enter the prison program.

Sadie, Sasha and Mitzie gave birth to their puppies.  Sadly none of their puppies survived, and some did not even survive their birth.  Some of the other mothers were too stressed from the move from the barn and kill their puppies.  Other puppies died for various unknown reasons over the next few weeks.  The result was that only 3 puppies from Jenna and 3 puppies from Maggie survived.   Gus has a pending adoption and Jenna has an adopter waiting for her once she is finished with her puppies.  All of Jenna's puppies have pending adoptions.

The adoptions for Maggie and her puppies are being handled by the Francisvale Home for Smaller Animals http://www.francisvalehome.org in Radnor, PA.  The dogs still available for adoption through ERU are Momma, Maggie, Sadie and Harley, and you can view their online profiles on the ERU website.

Sadly there are two dogs whose future is uncertain.  Both Sasha and Mitzie are unsocialized and are terrified of humans.  They do not let anyone get near them, and if you do manage to catch them, they struggle in a panic.  Most likely it will take someone with a lot of patience and many years before they will be able to trust a person.  It is really unfortunate this has happened, since it would have been so much easier for someone to spend time with these two when they were young puppies.  Just holding Jenna's puppies for a few minutes every few days has taught the puppies trust people.  As a matter of fact they come running when someone comes out to greet them!

Socialization is very important for American Eskimo dogs.  Poor socialization is one of the primary reasons why people end up wanting to give up their dogs.  Many of these dogs do not handle strangers or visitors acceptably, and will nip at people or are they become aggressive.  American Eskimo dogs that are left to grow up on their own will rapidly become feral.  This is a sharp contrast to the loving companion dog that most of us picture when thinking of an Eskie!  If you have the opportunity to raise Eskie puppies, please be sure to do your homework and learn to socialize your puppies.  A little work now will save years of problems down the road, and will provide you with a loving family member for a lifetime!

 

This is a picture of Mango, one of Jenna's pups.  The males of the group typically turned out to be a mix of golden and white.  The females were typically all white. 

 Max came into my life in April 2006 as "Saxby", just after celebrating his 10th birthday.  Quickly, we realized from some old paperwork that his name was actually "Max", and the first time he heard us call him by that name his entire face lit up like a Christmas Tree.

Max was a true Eskie.  I didn't believe that a dog could literally become my shadow, but he certainly did just that.  He followed me from the moment I got up in the morning and knew my routine better than I did! He would sleep right next to the tub as I showered, and would get up and run to the kitchen door when I shut off my hair dryer, signaling his morning potty-walk.  He knew that bed-time meant he could run into our room, onto his bed, where he would twist and turn like a crazy dog to rub his back. He did the same thing in the snow - made little doggie angels all over the yards we passed on our walks.

Reading his bio again made me laugh.  It reminded me of how he would jump for joy when he heard his leash, and how he was so smart that when I told him we were going for a car ride he would march right over to the car and wait for us to open the door.  He loved to just lay in the grass and feel the breeze run over his face (photo above), but loved food much more! Peanut butter treats and secret scraps from grandpa were his favorite!  He would sit in the kitchen, just watching us prepare food, never begging, just staring at us intently, hoping something would drop. (Photo below. What a face!).

I brought Max to the vet on May 1st this year when out of the blue he wasn't feeling well.  When the doctors told me he had abdominal cancer, internal bleeding, and only about a week to live, I didn't believe them. How could my little boy who was just running around like a crazy person yesterday die next week?  The vet prepared me for what would happen, and Max enjoyed a weekend full of treats and love.  He passed on Wednesday, May 7th, at 8:47pm in my arms due to hemorrhaging complications.

 

Max was a gem to have in my life.  He displayed so many human characteristics and made so many funny faces that I will never forget. A friend said it best: "Most people don't realize that you like your pet better than you do most people."  How fitting for me and Max, who would hang out with me on the couch to watch movies on Friday nights.

I wanted to say Thank You to you all.  Thank you for giving me the best friend I have ever known, the best dog that I have ever had.  While my boyfriend and I may have only had him 2 years, he was an integral part of our family, was well loved the last years of his life, and is dearly missed.  I will certainly welcome another Eskie into my home at some point in the future, but for now I am still mourning the absence of the "clickity-click" sounds across my floor.

Sincerely,

Jessica Vassak