Rehabilitation
Because Saving Sunny’s mission includes the rescue of those animals whose circumstances exceed the resources of other rescues or animal agencies, it is common for our dogs to require more extensive medical, behavioral, and or emotional / pyschological rehabilitation than the average rescue. Saving Sunny firmly believes that any dog who has the ability to recover from her/his circumstances deserves the opportunity to recover and find a happy home, no matter how long it takes or how much money or emotion is required.
For those dogs who require veterinary care, Saving Sunny is fortunate to be able to turn to a short list of veterinarians who always answer our call and provide care at the most affordable “rescue rates” possible. They are strong supporters of Saving Sunny’s mission and they are essential to our ability to treat every dog who needs treatment. Please go to our Resources page to find contact information for those veterinarians. |
Who We Rescue
Saving Sunny, Inc. is dedicated to the rescue of abused and neglected animals. We do not discriminate based on an animals’ breed or history and will consider each and every Saving Sunny case with the utmost regard for his/her individuality. Specific cases of rehabilitation will require outside professional assistance and evaluation, at which time we will seek out appropriate consultation and treatment. Saving Sunny cases have been and are not limited to victims of dogfighting, domestic abuse, neglect and starvation, and severe medical problems and complications, all of which we have re-homed and seen blossom into loving companions.
Adopting a Saving Sunny animal means you have not only saved a life, but you have been a part of the final stages of his/her rehabilitation and have given the animal the loving safe haven he/she has been waiting for. Check out our Current Adoptables! Want to help foster? Read about it here. |
Saving Sunny’s Rehabilitation Philosophy
Saving Sunny, Inc. does not offer dog training services and does not represent itself as a provider of dog training services. Specific members of the Saving Sunny leadership team do, however, respond to calls for assistance when a Saving Sunny foster home, a Saving Sunny adoptive home, or a member of the community needs support to help keep their dog in its forever home. In such cases, the focus of the Saving Sunny representative is to provide training to the humans in that home in order to better equip them to discover and meet the needs of their dog(s) in a way that will bring balance back into the home. Depending on the goals of the dog owner, Saving Sunny will often refer to professional dog trainers. In addition, Saving Sunny actively pursues partnerships with local professional dog trainers in an effort to insure that the unique needs of every dog are met and that dog owners have a menu of perspectives from which to benefit.
The strategy implemented by Saving Sunny when providing an in home consultation focuses on the following:
· Humans must provide calm, assertive leadership for their dogs in order to help their dogs achieve balance;
· Dogs must have daily exercise that incudes leash walks in order to provide the dog not only with physical activity, but also to better promote the human/dog bond and to exercise human leadership;
· Dogs have a better chance of achieving balance if they are provided discipline in the form of routines, rules, boundaries and limitations. In this sense, discipline does not refer to punishment, but rather structure.
· Affection should be given to the dog only when the dog is in a calm state, and not when the dog is nervous, excited or escalated. Also, affection can be shown to dogs in many ways and is not limited to physical touch and voice.
Some common lessons learned by humans at Saving Sunny in home consultations are:
· Check yourself first. What kind of energy are you sharing with your dog? Are you nervous, anxious, and stressed, etc.? You can fool people, but you will never fool your dog about what you’re feeling and she will mirror your state of mind.
· Less voice, more body language. When you are frustrated, nervous or angry and you rattle on with commands and comments at your dog, she hears little more than barking. Dogs communicate with body language and your body language is your best tool to communicate and share energy.
· Do not over-analyze your dog’s behavior or feel sorry for her. Live in the present. Dogs do not have critical thought, they do not premeditate, and they do not hold grudges. They respond to situations and energy in the here and now. DOGS LIVE IN THE PRESENT. This is not to say that dogs do not suffer lasting trauma. Almost every Saving Sunny dog came to us because of some trauma. But your dog lives in the present and can learn new responses, behaviors and experiences if you will live in the present with her. You will both be better off in the present.
For more in depth information about specific strategies to help humans be more effective leaders for their dogs, or to ask about specific challenges, e-mail us at contact@savingsunnyinc.org
PLEASE NOTE: Saving Sunny encourages dog owners to pursue the assistance of professional dog trainers and supports the philosophy of positive reinforcement training. Saving Sunny does not believe that our rehabilitation philosophy concerning the training of humans to be better leaders is in conflict with positive reinforcement training, but rather that it serves as a compliment to other strategies.
The strategy implemented by Saving Sunny when providing an in home consultation focuses on the following:
· Humans must provide calm, assertive leadership for their dogs in order to help their dogs achieve balance;
· Dogs must have daily exercise that incudes leash walks in order to provide the dog not only with physical activity, but also to better promote the human/dog bond and to exercise human leadership;
· Dogs have a better chance of achieving balance if they are provided discipline in the form of routines, rules, boundaries and limitations. In this sense, discipline does not refer to punishment, but rather structure.
· Affection should be given to the dog only when the dog is in a calm state, and not when the dog is nervous, excited or escalated. Also, affection can be shown to dogs in many ways and is not limited to physical touch and voice.
Some common lessons learned by humans at Saving Sunny in home consultations are:
· Check yourself first. What kind of energy are you sharing with your dog? Are you nervous, anxious, and stressed, etc.? You can fool people, but you will never fool your dog about what you’re feeling and she will mirror your state of mind.
· Less voice, more body language. When you are frustrated, nervous or angry and you rattle on with commands and comments at your dog, she hears little more than barking. Dogs communicate with body language and your body language is your best tool to communicate and share energy.
· Do not over-analyze your dog’s behavior or feel sorry for her. Live in the present. Dogs do not have critical thought, they do not premeditate, and they do not hold grudges. They respond to situations and energy in the here and now. DOGS LIVE IN THE PRESENT. This is not to say that dogs do not suffer lasting trauma. Almost every Saving Sunny dog came to us because of some trauma. But your dog lives in the present and can learn new responses, behaviors and experiences if you will live in the present with her. You will both be better off in the present.
For more in depth information about specific strategies to help humans be more effective leaders for their dogs, or to ask about specific challenges, e-mail us at contact@savingsunnyinc.org
PLEASE NOTE: Saving Sunny encourages dog owners to pursue the assistance of professional dog trainers and supports the philosophy of positive reinforcement training. Saving Sunny does not believe that our rehabilitation philosophy concerning the training of humans to be better leaders is in conflict with positive reinforcement training, but rather that it serves as a compliment to other strategies.
