Most rescue people believe that dogs deserve a new name to go with their new life. With that in mind, I have given my rescue project the name Vegas, because I am taking a gamble on him.

This morning I sprung Vegas from the kennel for his 11:15 vet appointment. He was given a physical that he passed, and a blood test for a complete thyroid panel. There is a lot of research showing that dogs with Low Thyroid can be aggressive, and that they may improve with replacement medication.

Today at the vet Vegas was wearing a muzzle, but still sweet as pie. He play bowed and got excited to see everyone in his path ,and his sweet demeanor was like a magnet that pulled everyone over to him for a bit of loving. Vegas won the heart of the entire vet staff.
He leaned into both the vet tech and the vet for support and love during his blood work, which led the vet and I into the following discussion.

In some ways, this sweet 14 month Golden Retriever is the most dangerous of dogs, because in a million years, you would not think this dog could hurt a fly...yet he has three confirmed bites. He is the dog that kids will hug and smother with love, and he is the dog that people will let their guard down around much too quickly. I know of at least 3 occasions, none of which I can write about here.

But on the other hand, if I didn't have kids, I think he would be a breeze for me to rehabilitate, and in turn could be either a great pet, or a performance dog in competitive obedience, agility, freestyle, and rally-o.

When we were leaving the vet, I took off his muzzle in the parking lot and when I opened the car door, he decided he didn't want to get back in. I observed him closely and decided for some reason he was afraid, but I did make a note to myself that in prior situations, he had been forced to do many similar things with unfortunate results. I tried taking him for a quick walk and that didn't do it. I tried luring him up into the car with food, still no luck. The one time I pulled on his leash to get him in the car he gave me a hard stare, otherwise known as the evil eye, and I backed right off. I got in the car and just sat holding his leash, ignoring him and he jumped in on his own accord. I praised him lavishly.

Vegas then gave a me a look that said "you have passed the test".
Now call me crazy, but something did pass between me and that dog in my car and I am sure we understand each other. Vegas was visibly relaxed for the first time all day on the ride back.

When we got back to the kennel, Vegas treated the staff like his long lost best friends in a way that only Goldens can, and the kennel has more than graciously agreed to keep him until his test results come back, which may take up to two weeks due to the holiday weekend.

Life would be great if it turns out the dog has a medical cause for his aggression and we can treat it. If that is the case, we should see a change in about 6 weeks if the medication works. If his aggresion has a treatable medical cause than I will rehome him. (or keep him...did I just write that?) But as things are right now, it would take a very special person to be able to handle him safely, and there are not many qualified people getting in line to help dogs like Vegas.

But I am getting ahead of myself, because right now the odds are stacked up against him.

***To read more about Vegas, check out a previous blog Rescue Sucks.