About Sally

Shy Sally is a timid girl who hides from strangers, mistrusts hands reaching toward her, and panics a bit when she is connected to a leash. Her phobias come from spending the first part of her life confined to a cage with little human interaction and no positive exposures to new experiences. Now in foster care, this 4-year-old Rat Terrier is working to overcome her anxieties. After several weeks, she has learned to relax with her foster parents, following them all around the house, coming up to them for pats and treats, and even initiating play and snuggles. When you need to pick her up, she doesn't object, but if she senses that you are 'coming for her' and she has the opportunity, she will most likely try to slink away. Sally is very comfortable around other dogs and acts significantly braver when there is a confident dog or two to follow around. She has even learned to play with the others, tentatively at first but with increasing confidence, and she particularly loves to run and play chase. Sally does not yet walk on leash; she has gotten comfortable trailing one around the house, but as soon as you pick up the other end, even if the leash is slack, she tries to retreat. Sally is working on a leash desensitization program but hasn't yet made enough progress to go to a home without a fenced yard. House-training is still a work in progress, too; she does pretty well with frequent access to the yard (she does know how to use a dog door), but if there are strange people within sight or other scary things like rain or garbage trucks, she has a hard time relaxing enough to get down to business. Normally this beautiful 18-lb. gal is very quiet, but when she gets excited--usually when it's mealtime--she will often share her enthusiasm vocally. Sally has a long way to go before she completely conquers the fears of her puppyhood, especially since she has extropia (a condition where one eye turns outward), which impacts her vision and surely makes things even more confusing. But she has been making steady progress and even when she is alarmed and panicky, she is never ever the least bit aggressive. If you have a calm home with a consistent routine and the patience to expose her carefully to the good things in life, you will surely experience the heart-warming gratification of helping this cautious caterpillar turn into a confident butterfly. Please check out more photos and videos of Sally in her photo album at http://imageevent.com/beales/fosters/sally .------------------------------------------------------ IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ADOPTING SALLY, please go to new Rattitude's website at http://www.NewRattitude.org/adopt.htm, where there is detailed information and a link to our adoption application.

Chamblee, Georgia 30341