Taos Bark: Tersia’s story (as told by a four-legged author)
A reader recently sent me this story. It is a wonderful testament to Stray Hearts and the work the people there do with the dogs to help them become more adoptable.
Tersia’s story (by Gordon Hirsch)
It has been almost a year since I left the shelter; for the many of you who remember me, I thought I would acknowledge this happy occasion with this update. For those of you who do not know me, this is Tersia (the dog) working this keyboard with my paws.
I was found in January 2012 in the snow near the Taos Ski Valley. At that time, I was about half a year old. I didn’t get adopted until a year ago — so at that time, I was the longest-term resident of Stray Hearts.
You may remember me as a wild black dog — leaping, barking, jumping as high as I could in my desperation to get attention. I might still be at the shelter save the fateful day when Gordon, my “two-legged,” stumbled into my kennel to become my advocate. From his nervous and confused look, it was apparent that Gordon was clueless as to how to work with a big, dominant dog like me. This might have been the sad end of my story, but it just so happened that a woman with a great heart and a lot of experience, Delinda VanneBrightyn, had returned to the shelter to create a training program for well-meaning, clueless two-leggeds like Gordon.
As soon as Gordon had a basic grasp of dog commands, I realized that he was my best chance of getting to a life beyond the shelter. So when he told me to focus on food, I focused. When he told me to sit, I sat. When he said to stay, I did that, too.
My real chance to earn my freedom came as a result of a kind couple from Texas who donated money to build the shelter’s agility course. No longer confined by my kennel and bursting with the hope of something better, I learned to master the agility course. I hopped on tables, crawled through a tunnel, ascended that “A” frame. I scaled obstacles, walked on bridges and even took my chances on the teeter-totter.
As I did all this day after day, I could see that something was shifting in Gordon. He kept saying that he never wanted a dog of his own. But I kept proving him wrong. Until one fine day, about a year ago, he simply ran out of reasons for not taking me. After almost four years of living at the shelter, I got to go home.
“Home” — what a sweet word it is for a shelter dog. A place where I am safe, a cozy bed that belongs to me, a world of smells I call my own.
To be sure, my transition to “the real world” has been difficult at times. My wildness and the experience of growing up in a shelter did not leave me the day I departed. I have scars on my body from past dog fights and there are mental scars that can’t be seen. The good news is that I picked a two-legged who knows how to ask for help.
So Gordon enlisted the assistance of his good friend, Ed Heffernan. Ed’s been a dog person his whole life and Ed’s two dogs set a standard for what was to be expected of me. Then Gordon started taking me to Delinda’s community dog class. It was so strange at first to be in a room full of other dogs and no one growling or barking at each other. Unbelievable! At first, I didn’t know what to do; I could not handle it. I panicked, I trembled, I pawed at the floor, but my two-legged insisted on taking me every two weeks and I eventually got calm with the idea.
No one except me knows how proud Gordon was the day Delinda decided I was socialized enough and invited us to her basic obedience dog class. In dog class, I got to show off some of the commands I had already learned at the shelter and on the agility course. What fun I had in showing the other dogs how to behave! After basic obedience, we enrolled in advanced obedience.
So I, Tersia, the big and black dog who would not stop jumping at my kennel door, can say with confidence that I can sit, lay down, stay (for minutes at a time) and heel (on and off lead). I stop on command, come running when I am called and leave things when told to do so. I can jump over obstacles, walk on tall objects and do about 40 other things that Gordon doesn’t remember, but I do. Best of all, I have become friendly with the other dogs in the class; I belong to a pack!
Some of you people who have seen me since I left the shelter have remarked on how my appearance has changed. My kennel tail disappeared months ago. Because I get to spend more time in the sun, my color has become more chocolate than black. Because of all the exercise I get, I have bulked up and gained 3 pounds (while my two-legged has lost an equal amount of weight). Gordon finally learned how to shower me, and when he does, my coat shines and sparkles in the light.
What a life I am having!
Sometimes, when I am dozing off in my own bed, I consider my favorite things: chasing rabbits, frolicking in the snow, rolling on my back in the grass, getting belly rubs. Of course, I would not get to do any of these things if it weren’t for all the kind two-leggeds who saw something in me and kept me alive all these years at the shelter. To these people (you know who you are), I am forever grateful.
I sometimes think about all the other dogs at the shelter, especially the dark ones like me. Gordon says a lot of people have an aversion to black dogs; that we seem evil and dangerous. This seems strange since I can’t see color and have no idea what evil is. Heck, even my two-legged understands that the character of a dog is 1 percent genetic and 99 percent environment. So to all my brothers and sisters still at the shelter I say, “Never lose hope!” If I, Tersia, the dog that no one wanted, can find a home in the real world, you can, too.
Hernandez can be reached at taosbark@gmail.com or (575) 613-3448.
