Jagger’s Story: Learning to Love
We love sharing the happily ever after tales with you, but we also want to share the work that goes into making the magic happen.
By: Nancie (Jagger’s foster mom)
Well, here's the new boy.
His name is Jagger and I'm fostering him for Underdogs Rock! Rescue.
He's actually been here for almost a month, but he's super shy. Well, he's more than shy, he's a terrified boy who doesn't know or like much about humans. I still haven't been allowed to touch him. He hides under the bed most of the time. It breaks my heart but I think this is the right place for him. It’s quiet here, I’m patient and I live with my two 16-year-old small dogs.
He is from a hoarding situation and being with Molly and Frida is soothing to him. He especially likes Molly which is kind of funny because she is kind of a spoiled and selfish girl. Sweet, but she doesn’t go out of her way to soothe anyone. Frida is also a rescue, a foster-fail from a hoarding situation. She is willing and also sweet, but she’s blind and she makes her boundaries clear. She approaches the new kids and very plainly tells them: “This is Frida’s crib. Dig? You can stay but don't ever get the idea you can eat my food or steal my mama time. Now go lie down."
The very first night, Jagger snuck out from under my bed to crawl in bed with Molly. When I get up, he dives under my bed. He isn’t sure what I’m going to do and he expects the worst. It breaks my heart. He cowers when I walk by, even though I am always careful to walk softly and calmly. Sometimes he will make brief eye contact and I am encouraged. He comes to me for treats, very cautiously.
I don’t push him.
I wander around the house doing my life and keep talking to him. Just chatting about nothing in particular. Saying he’s a good boy and what a nice life he’s going to have. I pet the other dogs and pick them up and he watches carefully. I hope he notices that they never flinch. They are always happy. I think he does. But, he’s nowhere near ready to find out for himself. He’s made it known he’ll bite me if he has to. He doesn’t want to, but he will if he feels threatened.
He's making a little progress. He's a funny little guy with some neurotic stuff living in abject terror. Just now I'm starting to see a hint of his personality. A peek. He’s a clown. And he's super smart.
He has learned the most important words around here: “Wait.” He's learned his place in line for treats. Molly, Frida, then Jagger. He knows “Who wants a treat?” and he can already tell time, expecting something good to happen when it’s time for the old girls’ medicine. If he doesn’t come out, I say “Jagger, do you want a bite?” And he does.
He is scared to death of toys, but we're working on it. He’s also afraid of food dishes and will only eat if I hand feed him every bite. I tried every receptacle in the house till I found one he will drink from. It’s strange that he is so afraid of me, but will only eat his dinner from my hand.
It's killing me that I can't pet him. I want to snuggle with him and let him sleep in my bed. I want him to know what it feels like to be loved, because I really don’t think he has ever known anything remotely like that.
I’ve gained a lot of experience with the super scared dogs. It takes a lot of patience, and he is the most feral of any dog I’ve had or fostered. It’s going to take a long time. Maybe a very, very long time. I sort of know what to watch for and find hope in it. I know about him and what he might be feeling, but he’s never seen anything like me before. He has a lot to think about.
We had a big breakthrough this afternoon. When he took a bite of gooey canned food from my hand he stood there the whole time, without going to his bed to chew each bite. And he scurried up to me when I didn't even have food and gave me a quick but meaningful kiss on my ankle and my leg. Then he went across the room to see how I reacted.
It's been my experience that the unprompted kiss is a turning point.
I told him I liked it a lot and he's the best kisser in the land. I think he might believe me.
I hope he will believe me a little more each day.
Thank you for reading. Please consider donating to help Underdogs Rock! Rescue.
You can donate on this website or via this facebook post
URR would like to thank Nancie (Jagger’s foster mom) for taking the time to write Jagger’s Rescue Story and, of course, for fostering Jagger with such love.
Thank you.