DOGGIE PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Courage - adopted

• April 2, 2012

  Hello DPS,

  Courage's happy tails saga begins in the summer of 2010 when I saw his sister (Justice) and him on your jailhouse dogs webpage. I sent money to bail them out and Justice was adopted soon after to a family in Northern California. I kept watching to see if Courage would be adopted, so when he wasn't, I said I would take him. My husband picked up Courage on November 2, 2010. Courage was a sweetie from the beginning. He bonded with Ranger immediately. Ranger is on happy tails. We adopted him on Father's Day, 2008 from DPS. They are inseparable.

  Courage was a handful from the beginning. Teresa had warned me that he wasn't trained, but I said I would give him obedience lessons. Courage was more of a challenge than I had bargained for. He jumped on kitchen counters and broke a crystal bowl, ate the mail, ate my leather chair, ate the wood on the stairs, chewed the drywall and paint off the walls and ate the plants in the backyard. He was so difficult to housetrain. I gave him private obedience lessons, agility training, and even had an animal behaviorist come to the house. I finally called the obedience trainer to take him for a week. She had trouble the first couple of days. She finally resorted to the collar and kept him with her at all times. She brought him back to me and I kept him on the leash for another month.

  This last desperate measure did the most good. He has calmed down, but Courage has boundless energy and always will. He is so loving and sweet that he just does not know he is doing anything wrong. He just wants to love everyone and be loved. Giving Courage back was never an option. I knew that he came from the pound and that I had made a forever commitment to always keep him. I just needed to calm him down a bit. He is better, but is still a klutz and runs over our two malteses, 4 and 6 pounds. They have learned to get out of his way. He still has some accidents in the house. His chewing the furniture and stairs have stopped, along with eating the plants. Bitter apple on the furniture and stairs helped his cravings and critter-ridder in the backyard kept him away from the flowers. He is a kick, I must say.

  Courage and Ranger play constantly and keep each other company. They are adorable together and make us laugh with their playful antics. Courage does not have a mean bone in his body. He loves me and is always near me. My husband and I love him immensely. I still have trouble with him jumping on guests and grandchildren when people visit. He calms down, when people sit down. He wants attention and love from everyone who walks in the door. He doesn't understand that he can be annoying. Courage is a work in progress, but nobody is perfect. He is ours forever and we will keep working with him and above all, love him, love him, and love him some more.

  I am attaching pictues of our four-pack, along with a picture of Ranger and Courage, and Courage alone. Keep up the good work, DPS, you have changed and helped so many canines and people. You are wonderful!

  Jerri & Jim Chutuk