“This girl has skills!” I said out loud (to no one in particular) as I typed in notes about Mercy, a 5-year-old Shepherd mix, who was surrendered to the Washington Humane Society (WHS) shelter when her owners moved to a new home without her. No Mercy, things ain't what they used to be. With her graying muzzle and wary gaze, Mercy – who, by an adopter’s standards may be considered “too old” – has been a willing participant in a variety of the Behavior & Learning Center’s (BLC) training programs. But spring chicken or not, it became evident that this staff favorite had some training skills before anyone could barely wave a treat in front of her nose.
Behavior Counselors were amazed to find that once she got more comfortable in the Center and was offered a tasty treat, she in turn would offer up behaviors. Sit? Check. Down? Check. Shake? Check. Speak? Check! (A timorous version, of course) And when she laid down, and her handler motioned to the ground and cued “all the way,” she would rest her head on the ground. Check plus, Mercy!
Not unlike Sarah, another shelter resident awaiting a home; Mercy has participated in training classes as a part of the DogTags program where she has been paired with service members who have further enhanced her established repertoire, teaching her such skills such as, “come”, “stay”, “crawl”; and just last week they started target training, a type of training in which she touches a target object such a hand or post-it note with their her nose or paw! No problem for Mercy. And working with STEPs (Shelter Training & Enrichment Program) trainers, she has worked on loose leash walking, focus exercises, and more trick training , even executing such numbers like “sit pretty” and “spin”.
And through a new sponsorship opportunity, allowing donors to sponsor the training of a shelter dog at the same rate as a regular attendee (with all funds supporting programs and services of the BLC), Mercy has participated in Well Mannered Dog classes and has continued to work on the aforementioned skills and more.
Training has been an integral part of Mercy’s stay here at the shelter, helping her to gain confidence in new environments, combat shelter stress and boredom, and gain the lifelong skills that may potentially find her a new home.
This afternoon, as I prepared to write about sweet, talented Mercy (with that old Marvin Gaye tune stuck in my head) I received an email from Bethany Meissner, WHS’s Adoptions Outreach Coordinator, who on the previous night had taken her to an adoption event. In her email, she shared the following charming anecdote about Mercy that should say no more:
“She spent most of the event with her tongue lolling out the side of her mouth as she leaned against whomever was giving her pets. There was a cute moment when a little girl came over and imperiously said, “sit” and Mercy immediately sat and then licked the little girl.”
Mercy is waiting for a new family to welcome her and her talents into thier lives, so please come down to the WHS Adoption Center at 7315 Georgia Ave NW.
50 percent will be reduced off all adoptions fees on days when the temperature reaches 100 degrees in an effort to encourage more adoptions in August at the Washington Humane Society; PLUS fees will be waived on all pit bull adoptions through Aug. 31. But don’t delay! Contact the Georgia Ave. shelter at 202.723.5730 about Mercy today!
For information about any of the Behavior & Learning Center’s programs such as DogTags, STEPs, or for information about obedience classes or sponsoring a shelter dog through obedience classes contact askthetrainer@washhumane.org
By Katherine Zenzano, Behavior & Training Counselor
Mercy is adorable! Hopefully the little girl will convince her parents to bring Mercy home :)
Posted by: Tracy L. Murray | August 04, 2011 at 10:12 PM