Sometimes They Just Need Time

From Canyon Lake to Austin by way of a call from Houston

Lake showed up two months ago. We got the call from the Houston Golden Beginnings Golden Retriever Rescue organization: there was a young Golden that urgently needed to be picked up from a surrendering family outside Austin and then briefly fostered. Could we pick up this dog and keep him for a few weeks until GBGRR could find him a permanent family?

 

We’ve been a part of the GBGRR for many years now because they needed help with placing Redford – the dog on the cover of my first book – who was rescued from a puppy mill close to twenty years ago.

 

Since that time, we’ve transported Goldens across Texas and been a part of various fund-raising and dog-celebration events for several years. When they called about a dog being surrendered in Canyon Lake, an hour south of Austin, we were happy to help.

 

A “Foster Failure” is a wonderful thing

I picked Lake up on a Friday afternoon. The surrendering family simply couldn’t take care of him anymore. As I pieced together the evidence, I think Lake was purchased as a puppy by a single mom for her pre-teen daughter as an attempt to bring some happiness into a sad home situation.

 

Unfortunately, neither one of them had experience keeping or training a dog, and Lake ultimately became a burden they couldn’t handle. As a result, I think Lake spent most of his first year of life in a crate in the daughter’s bedroom. I picked up a handsome but out-of-control dog that afternoon.

 

The bad news? Within a week of picking him up, we had failed our fostering assignment. The good news? We failed because we fell so in love with Lake that he became our second recent “foster failure” when we let GBGRR know we’d be happy to become his permanent family.

 

Lake has some issues

However, we are dealing with two results from Lake’s prior life: first, whenever he is out of a crate, his energy level is off-the-charts; it feels like all his pent-up energy from living in a crate for the best part of a year comes out all at once. And secondly, he’s more hesitant in new situations than almost any of the other dozen dogs we’ve rescued over the years.

Lake needs time, just like we all do

This hesitancy comes out very clearly when I take Lake to UpReach – our CrossFit gym. Loud music, heavy weights bouncing off the floor, coaches yelling encouragement and athletes talking loudly with one another all conspire to make our gym a very noisy and seemingly scary place!

 

Here’s the encouraging thing: Lake has accompanied my wife or me to UpReach close to ten times now, and he is slowly relaxing. Last night was the best – he got a number of treats from other athletes at the gym, he was comfortable enough to lay down some of the time, and he seemed generally happy and calmer than he’s been in the past.

Change can be hard for all of us

Seeing Lake get used to his new life – and, in particular, a life that includes time at a loud, crowded gym – has been a great reminder to me that all of us need time.

 

Fellow leader – this is particularly a great reminder for all of us who find ourselves implementing change with our team members: make sure we give them the time they need to learn the new rhythms. Where do you need to do a better job at this as you think about your team?