Nora, the rescue dog in training leaves Dubuque and finds a new home in Central Illinois

 

Nora left our dog training facility this weekend and went to her new home south of Chicago, Ill. It was one of those difficult good-byes. We had all grown attached to her, but particularly Maddie, my daughter who spent a lot of time playing games and training with Nora.

If you remember from our first post about this rescue dog from the humane shelter, the theory was that she had been used as a bait dog for fighting. She was in bad shape when she was found laying along the side of the road. We didn’t know her past but we made certain not to let speculation and sympathy get in the way of creating her future.

Dog’s exist in the moment, rather than wallowing in their memories and while she was here she played, trained and was loved. That is the important part to remember when adopting a dog. Love them, train them and enjoy rather than letting the sympathy of *what was* bind them to that past and get in the way of rehabilitating to have a full life.

While she was here, we came to find out that she was an escape artist of amazing talent! There was virtually no fence that kept her in. You would no more than close the gate on a six foot chain link and a few minutes later she would be bounding up to you with pure joy on her face. She could easily jump the walls of our runs in the boarding kennel. During feeding time she would often hang over the top of her gated enclosure and peer down the corridor watching for your arrival. 🙂 This dog couldn’t help but make you smile.

So it did make us wonder, was she really used as a bait dog? Or is it possible she had lived neglected in someone’s back yard with too little attention and ended up escaping and injuring herself in the process? We will never know and we wanted to remind all adopters to remain in the present with their dog. Providing consistent boundaries and expectations for a dog to live by is the best gift you can give. Nora’s new owner will be following the guidelines of our DVD to make sure her life remains in balance.

Good luck Nora. You left a mark on our hearts and we will honor you by bringing in our next foster and helping them transition to a great new life as well.