Stanley’s Road to Recovery – What a Difference a Week Makes !

Another week has passed since Stanley has been in foster with me and he’s already made a great deal of progress. One really important aspect of fostering a dog is socialization.  Stanley was found as a stray so we don’t know anything about his history.  We have no way of knowing if he’s ever been on a busy street, met a child, seen a skateboard…all the things a dog is generally exposed to in their day to day.  This week we had an opportunity to be exposed to all of those things and so much more!
 
Sunday night Stanley joined my family at my parent’s house to celebrate father’s day.  He got to meet everyone at the house, stay for dinner and sit in the backyard for post dinner cocktails.  He even got his very own guest blanket for outside since his bum is still a little to skinny to sit on stones.  The rest of the week he came to work with me, passing by other dogs, seeing cats, meeting people in the lobby and riding in a car.  Having done fantastic with all this we were able to bring him to an SPCA event at the W hotel.  He met tons of people who absolutely adored him and a bunch of other dogs.  We loved that the W hotel is pet friendly!  He fell in love with an English bulldog and possibly the waitress who was handing out salmon pieces for the dogs. 

 
If that wasn’t enough for Stanley, he was invited the next day to ANOTHER hotel for a press conference.  While we were standing around introducing ourselves someone approached us to invite us to sit on the stage because Stanley was behaving so well.  He did not disappoint and behaved like a perfect gentleman.    After the press conference so many people wanted to hear Stanley’s story.  We did interviews with CBC, CTV and Global and once again Stanley was on his best behavior. 
 
So this week I was able to expose him to crowds, cars, other animals, busy streets, skateboards, bikes, kids, new environments, cameras, strangers…all kinds of things. 
 
In other good news he has officially made the switch to a grain free, white fish based diet.  He is digesting it well and his coat is coming in nicely.  Slowly, but nicely.  The swelling in his face has gone down as well and we’re starting to see his “true” face.  He seems much more comfortable and has even taken to sleeping on his back.  He has a vet appointment tomorrow with a wonderful vet with a huge heart and we’re going to make sure he’s on the road to recovery.  He’s put on a good amount of weight and is much more active and outgoing.  It’s an amazing experience to literally watch this sweet dog come alive, I am very grateful to be in a position to help him get the life he deserves. 
 
And I love him dearly …..but he’s got to stop peeing in the house so I hope my next update will be that he is officially 100% house trained.  Fingers crossed!