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GLACIERGlacier is one of our most beautiful rescue Eskies, and a great example of what happens when you judge a book by its cover! As Glacier's foster Mom, Diane Gonzalez, says, "He is a peculiar dog." Well...I think the word "peculiar" sums up about 98% of American Eskimo Dogs. Isn't that why we love them? |
| Glacier lived with Diane and family last winter after he was surrendered by folks in the throes of divorce. At first, he growled at Diane when she pet him, even after he came to her for a headscratch. So, Diane set about to diagnose just what makes Glacier tick. After a couple months in foster care, Glacier seemed to make progress, and he had yet to make good on his growly intimidation routine, so Diane figured he was about as mellow as he was going to get. She began to interview adopters, and was impressed with a single mom, and her teenage daughter. At first things went well, and then Glacier became argumentative with the teenage girl. She must have been a Britney Spears fan. Oh well....Glacier returned to Diane's -- tail between legs -- and in the next stint of foster care, Glacier showed some preference toward men. |  |
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Glacier and Willie were buddies. |
Well, now, I can count the Eskies who prefer men to women on my pinkie finger. But, it was true. Glacier was a big fan of Willie Gonzalez, and son James, who discovered that he could amuse Glacier for hours with the flashlight. You never can tell what quirk an Eskie is going to come up with. It was Ann Harris who discovered that the one way to torture my Alpha Eskie is to shine a flashlight...it sent Nikita into the closet for a week. And, here was Glacier, joyously chasing a flashlight beam. About this time, we hired a trainer to coach Diane on behavior modification, and Glacier was her guinea pig. He made great progress with Diane, who discovered that the trick was food. |
| And so, confident that Glacier was on the road to being less "peculiar," Diane began looking at adopters once again. Well, I must note that it is a very lucky thing, indeed, when a prospective adopter already has an Eskie who is as "peculiar" as the dog we are trying to place...which is the case with our friend, Joe, of New Jersey, whose female Eskie exhibited many of Glacier's quirks. So, Joe came down to meet Glacier, and they bonded instantly. It truly seemed as though Glacier picked Joe, and suddenly, what was "peculiar" is now absolutely normal, as Joe and his "kids" are getting along famously. Sometimes, all it takes in rescue is a little patience....eventually, the right situation falls right into your lap. |  |
