Regarding Rover Blog
The Trouble with Stanley
by Cindy Bruckart on 11/13/11
So, we got a new dog. It wasn't planned and I did everything that I tell my clients NOT to do. I made a purely emotional decision fueled mostly by cuteness. In my defense, look at that face!
I found Stanley at Multnomah County Animal Shelter, which is also where I work. I was sure that he fell in love with me at first sight, so I almost had to bring him home. I've later found that Stanley falls in love with just about anyone who pays any attention to him.
Within the first few hours we found that one of Stanley's hobbies is to chase cats. Well, it's more than chasing. He makes contact, the cats squeal and he ends up with fur in his mouth. Seeing as we have four cats, one of them 16 years old, this was very upsetting.
Normally, I would counsel a client on how to manage and change this behavior. I know how to do it. Stanley would be a fairly easy fix since he doesn't chase every cat, every time and he can be called away from the excitement. But fixing this problem isn't in the cards for us.
The point here is not about how to choose a dog or about how to stop dogs from chasing cats. It is about me getting a lesson in client empathy. I have to rethink the part of me that gets frustrated and upset with the poor, emotional decisions that some of my clients make. It is about me standing in the shoes of my clients who have the answer to the problem but honestly don't have the time, energy or inclination to put the solution into action.
I am not returning Stanley to the shelter. I am fostering him until I can find him the perfect, cat-free home. I am humbled and slightly embarrassed that my trainer mind didn't say, "Hey, he's a Jack Russell - Dachshund mix. He is probably going to go after your cats." Turns out that even dog trainers are human.
