Maria came to me as a transfer in 2005. I was told she had multiple issues and needed a lot of work. Confident that I could "fix" her I agreed to take her. She was such a sweet girl. For the first few days she never left my side. If I even got close to sitting on the floor she was in my lap. This actually frustrated me sooo much because Patriot was so aloof and rarely cuddled at all.
After about a week with Maria I realised things were much more serious than I had imagined. She was terrified of everything. She would slink past big rocks, flags, Halloween decorations, bikes, motorcycles, sprinklers, and would growl at men. I couldn't take her to work because she couldn't handle being in public, and school was out of the question. Although she improved in the short time I had her our CFR eventually decided it would be best to have her under closer supervision and she was transferred again to CO. It was surprisingly painful to put her on the puppy truck! I think I cried for the rest of the day over her being gone. I was angry that I wasn't able to help this poor little girl improve. The next summer I saw her at Fun Day and she had improved, but was later CC'd in phase 4.
Things I learned from Maria:
- Not everything can be "fixed"
- Its ok to stay inside
- Cuddling is not all bad
- Guide dogs can not be afraid of the world
