Magnum,
first of the Freedom Prints
Magnum,
aka Maggie, and the latest, Magada (I sing to him, Magada,
Magada, Magada...he looks at me like I'm insane), is one
of my 'foster' dogs removed from a chain almost two years
ago. Pictured on the chain he was
a pitiful wretch...a thin, 45-lb. dog dragging a 50-lb.
logging chain, yet still neurotic, untrusting, scared and
yet scary. He wagged his
tail yet lunged to bite me, grabbing my sweatshirt sleeve
at the wrist, ripping it. In my naivete I thought he'd
'missed' his target...but I now know he did exactly as
he'd meant to do: warned me that if I came closer or threatened
him, he had plenty more where that came from.
Kim and I looked
at each other like "oh crap,
what're we gonna' do with this one?" Not sure if he was salvageable,
we made the caretakers bring him to my home, as we were
both afraid to take him off the chain ourselves. They didn't
have a leash, and so brought him dragging his whole big
chain behind him.
Once released into the yard, he ran around
the perimeter for a bit, keeping his distance, afraid to
come near us. We weren't keen on approaching him either,
so we left him there, hoping he'd work off some of that
crazy energy and we could have a proper introduction.
Approximately
half hour later, he was calm enough to come to us. He
made no attempt to bite, and was submissive and even docile. At the time we thought he just needed to be off the chain,
and while that was true, he still retains to this day some
modicum of fear aggression, especially on a leash or near
the front door or fence. If a stranger comes into the home,
particularly a male, he will lunge and has even nipped,
but once again, it was a warning.
Heather just adores Magnum
(she's one for the 'challenging' dogs), and she tells the
story of bringing her husband here to help her take care
of the gang, but he stayed outside because of Magada. Maggie
would run out to the fence, bark and slobber and carry
on ferociously, and then run inside and lay at her feet,
belly up, totally submissive and sweet and hoping for a
rub. Then he'd get up and repeat the pattern.
Well, he's
not easy...but he's our Magada, and we protect him from
himself. He shreds toys, steals food, and sleeps beside
me in bed. Wow, he's become a real dog!
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