Shy Dogs

It’s time to put in a good word for shy dogs.

Taffy, aka Dumpling, has been at the shelter since before she was born. Yeah, her mom was a rescue with us too, so Taffy was born at the shelter. She comes from a line of sweet but shy dogs, and because of this trait she still lives at the shelter over a year later. People just keep passing her by because she doesn’t speak up for herself.

But Taffy isn’t shy with me. She has trusted me from the very beginning and she is always glad to see me, even if it’s been several weeks since my last visit. Yesterday I took her outside the fence as a special treat, as she is now the longest longtimer. We circled the fence on the outside looking in. It gave her the chance to mark the perimeter from the outside…a very special honor. She was enthralled, sniffing and wagging, looking up at me with clear, warm eyes to thank me for the treat. After once around she wanted more, so we walked up the road a bit. It is a long straight narrow country road, surrounded by open fields with just enough trees to give the land some scale, a house or two. It felt very open and unprotected. We walked about 500 yards up the road and she turned and asked to go back. She was ready.

This kind of communication happens often between intelligent animals and receptive humans. Sensitive and shy dogs are very often of above average intelligence. Taffy is certainly one of those. When she looks at me straight in the eye I can tell if she is trying to tell me something, or ask, or thank. If her outside were as lovely as her inside, she would be a show stopper. But she doesn’t show her self to just anybody. A friend recently used the phrase, “hiding your light under a bushel.” This fits Taffy to a T.

Taffy brings to mind several of my longest and closest friendships. Those relationships didn’t just happen overnight. They started slowly, quietly, then deepened over time into a rock solid bond. Trust takes time. I ought to know. I was painfully shy as a child, and even though I really wanted friends, it was very hard to make them. I can easily put myself in Taffy’s shoes (or paws).

There is another shy dog that just came in with her sister. Ellie and Allie are 4 months old and were in foster care with little human socialization. Allie is naturally outgoing and gregarious, and is opening up quickly. But Ellie is more reserved. I spent some time with her yesterday. Once she started to trust me, I found that she was soulful and intelligent and very gentle. Again, she is sensitive and intelligent, and her sister is a ham. Think of how human kids act in this kind of a relationship. If I were two chose one of the two, it would be Ellie, because once she came to trust me, we would be tight.

Shy dogs won’t show you their stuff on first inspection, but maybe that’s because they have something worth hiding.