On 29 April, Mary sends along this post about Dr. Butman's letter regarding Piper

CONSULTANTS IN ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Special interest in problem behavior and its practical solutions.

Dear ATRA,

I am writing to express my opinion regarding 'Piper', a young female Airedale presented to Easthaven for general evaluation, vaccinations, and pelvic radiographs, by her ' foster family' the Barcy's through ATRA.

'Piper', was relaxed and confident in the exam room. She was pleasant and cooperative during infections, blood drawing, and even when positioned on her back for radiography. All of these procedures could potentially elicit an aggressive response, however Piper' was very patient.

Based on my dealings with this dog, I would assess her temperament as excellent.

Sincerely,
Barbara J. Butman D. V. M

Piper at Barcy Party 1999 with Nadia Clarke

On 29 Apr 1999 Mary also passes along this note from the Clarkes:

"Thank you so much for all the information you sent us. Annette & Skip had both told us the story, more or less exactly as you did, yet the full gravity of the situation did not hit us until we read the e-mails and began to realize just how many people we were indebted to for playing a very real part in helping us become Piper's very happy adoptive parents. It was very interesting, yet saddening to learn of Piper's first miserable year of life. Hopefully, she's making up for lost time now.

"The story so far:

"She started off chewing anything she could get her teeth round, slippers, of course, and anything soft, but also anything you might have in your hand, a hammer, for example, and Linda's reading glasses! Poor old Angus took the brunt of this, with mouth-mashing sessions that could last for a couple of hours at a time. We gave her as many chew toys as we could afford, but she didn't really seem interested in chewing them, just digging holes in the garden and burying them! Someone had to be monitoring her every moment, therefore the real challenge came at night, what should we do?

"We started off with her sleeping in her cage at night, but after two days she was reluctant to go in, and we were reluctant to insist that she do so, given that she had already spent so much of her life in one. So, the second experiment was to have Angus and her sleep in our room (as Angus always had up 'till she arrived), but this just resulted in nobody getting any sleep. Now they both sleep in the family room with a child gate across the entrance, and they seem to prefer the cooler room, with one sofa each!

"We've had her for five weeks, and her progress has been amazing. She now chews discriminately, she's becoming very trustworthy, e.g. walking in the woods, and shows a great deal of intelligence, more so than we can remember Angus ever doing. She's losing that forlorn, sad look in her eyes a little, and the hunched shoulders aren't so pronounced either. She gets lots (probably too much) love and attention from us all, and unlike Angus, she wants to be near us all the time, sitting at our feet, or just chewing a bone nearby. She learns quickly, while retaining that very Airedale quality of pretending not to hear us calling her until it suits her! (Don't think she's got any Lab in her.)

"She still has some areas of her life which obviously cause flashbacks, she wouldn't let us cut her nails, for instance (her first visit to the vet tomorrow should be interesting!) but we got round that by snipping them while she was sleeping! She is also a different dog now than she was five weeks ago in regard to socializing with people and other animals. I'm sure if the cable guy came back now, she wouldn't put her paws on his shoulders again! If you ever visit South East Michigan, Mary, please call in, we'd love to meet you and for you to see Piper again. Please pass on our heart-felt thanks to all in ATRA and the network of e-mailers."

Barcy Party 1999. Bilbo & Frodo look sad as their friends leave.

ATUR (Airedale Terrier Underground Railroad)
is standing by to assist with travel arrangements.

Dandy Duncan©Lesley Mattuchio, Used with permission

We'll drive anywhere to get a SpareDale to his/her "Forever Home"