Kippy- “A Jewel in The Rough” (rescued from local shelter) Original post-11/29/11

Kippy looking worried re: grooming is about to begin.

Kippy: Happy that grooming is “all done.”

Kippy knows he is looking good.

 

I was not intending to get another dog when I entered the  local Pets Mart to buy dog and cat food. When I first saw the little dog, he was crouched in a cage in the far corner of a row of  dimly lit cages that the store provides for humane societies to show their cats and dogs that are left over during adoption day. He had been left the day before. I could see him shaking and as I approached I saw fright and bewilderment in his eyes. Nothing had been done to make him look more appealing. His coat was  wiry and shaggy-he had a long nose ,under bite, long skinny body, and huge stand-up ears. Truthfully, he was an ugly dog. I could visualize no one wanting to adopt him so I told the young lady that I would take him. After I arrived home with  Kippy, (I chose a  name for him on the way home) I looked through an assortment of old puppy collars that my now adult dogs had out grown. I placed a small collar around his neck, attached a lease, and took a step toward the back door. Kippy immediately crouched on the floor and urinated. At that moment I realized that he had never worn a collar and he did not know how to walk on a leash. And, he had probably suffered abuse. It took approximately a month of many trials before he got the hang of walking on leash. I had to pick him up to get him outdoors. Immediately after putting him down, he would lower his entire body to the ground where he remained until I picked up AGAIN, put him down, then take a few steps, and pick up AGAIN. I repeated the same process over and over again.  Each time he took a few steps he was rewarded with a bit of milk bone biscuit. This process went on for 2-3 weeks.  Finally one day he decided the leash wasn’t so bad after all. Since that time many years ago he has continued to walk on leash without any problem.

Submissive urination was a whole different story. He urinated on the floor any time I attached the leash and attempted to walk him to the door. Without saying anything to him, I cleaned it up and acted as if there was no problem. It took about a year for him to realize that he would not be punished before he stopped urinating on the floor.

 

 Physically, he appears  to be part dachshund,  maybe a little beagle, and with the long, stand-up ears, I’ve decided he’s part chihuahua. Possibly he’s a little bit Jack Russell terrier. 

 

Kippy has keen hearing and is a good little watch dog. He runs around the property with his tail held high. The tip of his tail is white and it looks like a little flag waving as he runs and plays. In the summer I shave his hair really short.  In the winter I let his coat grow out some but try to keep him trimmed so that he doesn’t look scruffy. In the photo he is due for some trimming. He actually loves a bath which he gets about every two weeks beginning in late spring and throughout the summer. 

 

Now people say, “he sure is a cute little mutt. Where did not get him?”  Kippy was simply a stone in the rough that needed a little polish to turn him into a jewel. 

 

 

Post and photographs – Yvonne