In the saga of Sasha the stray, more trouble

Today, Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch continues his chronicle of Sasha, a husky he encountered on a street in downtown Los Angeles. Hirsch brought Sasha home, only to discover she liked to wander... and that healthcare for animals who like to roam is expensive. Look for periodic updates on Sasha in the weeks to come on L.A. Unleashed.

Sasha the stray is finally starting to settle into our house. She escaped from crates and through fences but after fits and starts we’ve been able to round her up and keep her safe. She’s now pretty much recovered from fleas, parasites and a mashed paw.

She has a gorgeous snow white coat and piercing blue eyes.

But is Sasha is healthy enough and calm enough for Jennifer to leave the animal alone in the house while she takes our 14-year-old daughter and yellow Labrador retriever shopping to Fashion Island in Newport Beach?

Big mistake. Really big mistake! I am just getting off my bicycle, having ridden 101 miles to San Diego. I’m bushed and waiting around for the train to bring me back to Irvine, where a friend has a car waiting.

The phone rings. Jennifer explains how Sasha trashed the house. 

We are already $1,000 into this dog’s rescue and the cash register keeps ringing. Even worse, no one will adopt this puppy now. You just can’t keep this behavior a secret.

When Jennifer left, Sasha tried to go too. A mere wooden door, wood windows, a couch — those are only obstacles in this dog’s mind. This dog has serious separation issues.

Sasha has chewed apart the molding around the front door, gouged claw marks into the door’s wood panels, and eaten away at three wood windows, crushing the wood and cracking multiple panes. And in her fury to get out, gouged a hole in a $1,000 couch.

I am guessing that in total this is $3,000 to $4,000 in house damage. I can’t really be mad at Jennifer — I am the stupid one for bringing the stray home. Still, I am angry and only Jennifer’s pleading keeps me from taking the dog to the pound with the shortest route to the doggie gas chamber.

She has 24 hours to find Sasha a home.

Comments

[Cat guy]

Disclaimer - I had dogs when I was a kid, loved them, but I don't now because they are more responsibility than I am willing to commit for a pet. Our cats live permanently inside because no pet should be allowed to roam by a caring owner. My favorite ever dog when I was a kid was named Raisins, a beagle-ish mutt. He was run over by a truck. The experience was very sad and I really felt bad for the truck driver who cried when it happened. It wasn't the truck driver's fault, it wasn't the dog's fault, it was our fault for not having the dog under control. Another dog, Daisy, was a fowl-killer and she killed several chickens and ducks and barely escaped the ultimate penalty by graduating from Dad's old-school behavioral modification punishment for those crimes which involved staking her next to some of the remains and I'm not sure what else because we kids were shielded from exactly what all that entailed. I had an outside cat named Nicki and she was mauled into a mangled pile of bloody fur by who-knows-what, maybe a dog, a sick person, we never found out. Etc. There's more I could go on about, but the point is, my own direct experience has taught me that no pet should be outside if you care about it. And if it's outside with you, it needs to be on a leash. I have had too many near-collisions with dogs and cats running into the street in front of my car. I have hit and killed two cats over the years and the memories of that sicken me still even as decades of time pass.

But the real reason I'm goofing off and not working right now is to say that this guy's experience reminded me of the worst animal adoption experience I've ever heard about in terms of the new owner's cluelessness which resulted predictably in a sad outcome, like this one where Sasha has 24 hours to get a new home or get sent to the pound for euthanization.

Long story short, a co-worker adopted one of those retired greyhounds. Locked it in her one-bedroom apartment and went to work. Came home to a complete disaster. DUUUUHHHH!

You can't just take a dog and throw it in a new place, leave it alone, and expect good things to happen. Especially a dog of any size. Sasha is no little poodle lap-dog. She's pretty big and you can tell by her long legs she needs to run around.

Probably the best thing they could do at this point is have her professionally trained. There are people who do miracles with dogs' behavioral problems and I bet that would be cheaper than repairing the damage caused so far. Maybe it's not cheaper being that we're talking L.A. prices, not Texas prices, but there's nothing wrong with that beautiful dog that a good trainer can't handle.

I know that the blog writer meant well by trying to do a good thing for a stray animal. However, his cluelessness has resulted in problems and damage and now the dog needs a new home.

I liken this to adopting a non-infant child with a known history of problems and then bailing out when the going gets tough.

Good luck to Sasha - I hope she ends up with people who can devote the time, patience and energy that is needed. And money, apparently.

Note to blogger: consider an electronic or virtual pet. If you want to help strays, maybe throw some money into an appropriate charity. You meant well but you may not be cut out for fostering and rehabilitating stray dogs with energy.

[h]

You need to get on that bike and have Sasha trot along with you for a couple of hours a day.

Exercise her and she'll be too tired to trash your house. She'll be happy and content to lay quietly until the next bike ride.

She's not trashing your house to trash your house. She's got a lot of energy that needs to be burned off.

[Rochelle]

How disappointing.

Heard of Behaviour modification therapy?

[LK]

Wow ... Sasha is gorgeous. She looks very intelligent and like she might have a bit of wolf in her ... which would make her even more of a challenge. I live in NJ with a couple of huskies ... sounds like you had no idea what you were getting into ... if you've had no experience with a husky before, you should find a good home for this dog with people who are experienced with the breed. It might take more than 24 hours, and I hope you will take the time to find her a good home. She is a beautiful being.

[DogTrainer]

Jerry, you can't foist these problems off on another owner; separation anxiety only gets worse with each new uprooting, and that's unfair to Sasha and her prospective adopters.

Please, please talk to your vet about Clomicalm or amitryptaline. The latter, in conjunction with time and training, unquestionably saved the life of one of my dogs, who also had serious, damaging separation anxiety.

It upsets me that you'd apparently rather post nasty jokes about "doggie gas chambers" than address the problem in a constructive way. Shelters are overburdened with dogs whose owners didn't deal with their behavior problems; if you must contribute to the problem, at least don't be flip about it, okay?

[Soosie]

If you take the animal to the shelter, it may be adopted, returned, then killed. The only way to save her is to get a dog trainer or read a book on training.

I adopted a dog from the east valley shelter and had similar issues. The dog jumped through a window to join me when I went for a walk. He also wasn't house broken, loved to dig, jump on people, chew things and would drag me down the street going for a walk. I instantly went and bought the book "dog training for dummies." I read it and followed all the advice. Within two days he stopped the worst of the bad behavior. Turns out I was the one that needed the training, not the dog. It took me a week to get him house trained. Then I had to deal with him barking every time someone walked by at night. I had to make a place in the house where he couldn't see out. Problems solved.

It was a lot of work but well worth it. Please, don't give up on Sasha. She ended up on the street because someone else gave up on her. Don't repeat the same bad behavior.

[dogfan]

You need a dog crate. Seriously. Anxious dogs can't have the run of the house. Look into it.

[LK2008]

This dog is beautiful ! Find her a good home with someone who has experience with challenging huskies ... it might take more than 24 hours, but she's worth it.

[dogfan]

You need a dog crate for Sasha when you're gone. Anxious dogs can't be given the run of the house. And it's not mean to lock her up. It will make her (and you) feel secure.

[Anne]

Please don't give up on this dog. She will certainly be killed if you take her to the pound. Please get some training for her, and please contact a dog rescue group, who can give you help and information about how to keep her contained while you work with her. Animal rescue groups are incredible resources - they can really help you. There's also a free training for power breed dogs at the LA Coliseum on Sunday mornings - the people who run that might be able to direct you to a good trainer. Much of this help is free! Please don't give up, and yes, rescuing an animal is expensive, but with the proper help, you can minimize the costs drastically.

[Anne]

Please don't give up on this dog. She will certainly be killed if you take her to the pound. Please get some training for her, and please contact a dog rescue group, who can give you help and information about how to keep her contained while you work with her. Animal rescue groups are incredible resources - they can really help you. There's also a free training for power breed dogs at the LA Coliseum on Sunday mornings - the people who run that might be able to direct you to a good trainer. Much of this help is free! Please don't give up, and yes, rescuing an animal is expensive, but with the proper help, you can minimize the costs drastically.

[Calliope]

I agree with other commenters; you can't bring a stray dog home and expect her to almost instantly adapt to your house. You need to have the time to spend with her to get exercise and establish a routine; and you need the money to invest in professional training.

If you don't have this time or money, it might be better not to commit to bringing an animal into your family. Or you could consider adopting a dog who has already been fostered and temperament-tested, or do more self-assessment to find a breed/mix of dog who would fit your family's lifestyle better.

[Pat]

I basically agree with the other comments, but I have a couple of questions - why was she left home alone when your wife was willing to take your other dog along for their outing? How would a child feel if he was left home when everyone else went somewhere together? Get a clue!!! Animals have feelings too!!! The dog I have now was a rescue dog. She had been dumped somewhere and left to fend for herself. She was also pregnant. When she was found, she was trying to survive along with her nine pups. The rescue league was able to adopt out the pups. I took her for myself. She had extreme separation issues. We left her home once and when we returned our entire house had been rearranged - funny but sad. We immediately enrolled her in doggy daycare for the days we were at work and the wonderful owner of the daycare center worked wonders with her. She attended daycare for 10 months. We took her on a road trip with us and when we returned, she no longer wanted to go to daycare. She wanted to stay in her own home. She has taken good care of her home ever since. The moral of this story is if you want to care for an animal then care for it!! Don't just place it in an unfamiliar environment and leave. You need to take the time out of your schedule to properly nuture it - just like a child!!!

[Cat guy]

Wow!

My heart soars like an eagle as I read the comments from other people who also believe that Sasha is trainable and not disposable. Blogger, please pay heed to your readers. You are getting advice on resources (some of it free even!) and methods and encouragement that it can be done.

And blogger, it is an animal with a warm, beating heart and it is not disposable like an ill-considered retail item purchase. I realize in LaLa that people are prone to give up quickly on fads such as marriage and Uggs, but for once, buck the trend and don't shrug this off as a mistake to be rectified by getting rid of it. Do the right thing and take care of this dog that needs love.

Hang in there Sasha!

Thank you to the other readers for trying to help the blogger!