Max and Hazel were two of the tougher cases from the Olympic Animal Sanctuary. Hazel was extremely fearful of humans when she arrived at Safe Haven Rescue Kennel and tried to nip when afraid. Max is can be a biter and an extreme resource guarder.
Max and Hazel might not ever adopted, but as you’ll see in their pictures and videos, regardless of whether or not they are adopted, they will get all the love, attention, and professional training they need at Safe Haven Rescue Kennel, things they were supposed to get at the “Sanctuary.”
Thanks to Aiko Shinseki from Safe Haven Rescue Kennels for writing their stories.
Hazel, Forgotten and Under-Socialized Beautiful Girl
In March 2014, Safe Haven Rescue Kennel made the decision to rescue a few more of the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary” dogs. Safe Haven foster mom, Debra Ross traveled to Arizona to pick up Walter (Goofy), Wylie (Wiley), Cookie, and the two Jindo’s (Jinx and Django) for another rescue.
This is how Hazel lived 24/7 at the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary.” Photo from OAS – Life inside the Sanctuary.
While there, she videotaped a few dogs for us and marked ‘Hazel’ as feral.
We had not heard of Hazel before but we did found her on the ‘missing’ list listed as a Basenji mix.
Although Hazel has similar markings of a Basenji she is not of that breed. We affectionately called her the “unknown feral”.
In June, Safe Haven committed to rescuing both Rosie and Hazel. Rosie went to Safe Haven and Debra Ross fostered Hazel.
Kathi Richards (a Reiki Teacher) volunteered to pick up Rosie and Hazel from Arizona. Kathi smothered both of them with tons of Reiki offerings, songs and essence oils during the entire 6 hour drive to Safe Haven.
Hazel hung out for a few days at Safe Haven so staff could take her picture and assess her behavior before she went on to Debra’s house. Kathi did her magic in making sure Hazel felt comfortable in her new surroundings.
It was immediately apparent Hazel struggles with human trust and bonding, but Safe Haven was aware some of these survivors may take longer than others and some may never get to an adoption stage.
After Hazel lived inside a crate at the “Sanctuary” for years, she finally gets to play outside. She looks much happier than she was in the photo above, don’t you think? Photo from Debra Ross.
We quickly learned Hazel was not dog aggressive but was very uncomfortable with a collar and not leash trained. Not much is known about Hazel or her story before she was at the “Sanctuary” outside of being a dog picked up from the pound, a bitter and a cat killer.
However, it is apparent she did not have much socialization with the outside world, people or dogs. I would not consider Hazel a feral dog, but a dog under socialized and fearful of human interaction. Hazel is comfortable with having other dogs around but lacks the overall doggy social skills.
Upon arriving to Debra’s Paw Palace, Hazel settled in and decompressed nicely. Hazel shows lack of interest (or knowledge) in playing with dogs and toys and interacting with them but will go after a ball. Debra paired her with a OAS dog Jindo named D’Jango. D’Jango and Hazel are both leveraging off each other to learn new skills not taught to them before.
Debra works with Hazel even with her trust issues – on occasion she is brave enough to come up for treats or get touched while she is getting her holistic essences oil applications to help reduce her fears and anxieties. We think Hazel may be 6-7-years-old. When Hazel arrived to Safe Haven early June from Arizona we did notice she had a growth on her right thigh area. We monitored the growth and in October, her health was checked and her blood work showed everything was normal including her thyroid. The cancer growth was removed and came back benign. But with many of these previous OAS dogs, she had poor dental hygiene and two of her teeth had to be pulled.
She looks very sleek and healthy now. Photo from Debra Ross.
As time progresses for Hazel she continues to take steps forward. She is learning to relax more and has started to open herself up to learning doggy interaction and play. In early December we say her romping and playing with another dog!
Even though its been year since Hazel was rescued from OAS, she has a long way to go before she can be adopted, but our expectations are set to allow her to move forward at their own pace. At least now she’s happy and surrounded by people who love her, which is the most important thing after years of suffering at the “Sanctuary.”
Keep moving forward Hazel!
Hazel starts leash training
Hazel (left) chilling at Save Haven earlier this month with D’jango, another dog rescued from the “Sanctuary.” Photo from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
In this recent video, Hazel finally takes a treat!
The many faces of a happy dog. Photos from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
A celebration of Hazel!
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Max, The Wickedly Cute MinPin
Our OAS dog Max is always up for the next hunt as an efficient barnyard ratter. In May, Safe Haven went to Arizona to help transport a few of theOAS dogs (Jake, Bandit, Walter) for Cold Nose Kennels and review middle aged MinPin called “Max”.
A Miniature Pinscher (MinPin) is called “King of the Toys”. MinPin’s are alert, spirited and fearless.
You can see from the video Debra Ross took of him in March he was living up to his breed as a wonderfully loyal, active, playful, loving, energetic, and intelligent dog.
When asked “would there be anyone who would want him” and the answer being “no” Safe Haven took him in without hesitation.
When Max arrived to Safe Haven in May, he settled in very quickly. Max is very comfortable around people and dogs (large or small) although he would prefer to smell and mark everything. However, as you can imagine for a dog living in a crate 24-7 for years, Max isn’t very crate friendly. He is actually quiet aggressive in a closed crate.
Max at the Olympic Animal “Sanctuary.” Heartbreaking. Photo from OAS-Life inside the Sanctuary.
But, Max is a real snuggle bug on the couch or under the blankets in bed with his caregiver. As an 8 to 10-year-old his health was checked and his blood work came back normal including his thyroid. Max did arrive to Safe Haven a bit overweight (21lbs) from the free feeding provided in Arizona but is now 15-17lbs. As with many of these previous OAS dogs, he needed dental hygiene and it resulted in having nine teeth pulled.
As time went on and we got to know more about Max and how he showed his bouts of PTSD and we learned it takes a bit for him to come out of it. He is also extremely food possessive aggressive causing a possible trigger for a PTSD episode.
More importantly, Max is a cheery “all about me” kind-of-guy and very smiley cute. He is a camera ham and absolutely adores his feral girls (Joan and Betty) who live with him. Max is always up for a lizard hunt on the desert hills or playful interactions with Joan and Betty. He also likes running around playing at the park. His ultimate smiles come from his paw lift (shake) when he gets a treat. His cuddly hug attitude is irresistible.
Max in Arizona not long after he was rescued.
Max learned how to “sit” last May
Recent picture of Max at the Safe Haven Rescue Kennel. What a difference! Photo from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
Max and his lady friend. Photo from Save Haven Rescue Kennel.
Max loves his toys. Photo from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
Happy Max. Photo from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
REALLY HAPPY MAX! Photo from Safe Haven Rescue Kennel.
This video of Hazel is from early November.
Max striking poses last month.
A celebration of Max!
The damage done before and during the time at the Olympic Animal Sanctuary in Forks, Washington will take time and dedication on our part to unravel. We keep our eyes open for when they tell us they are ready for their next step. Safe Haven — Hope From Despair. Our Focus is around rescue, repair, rehabilitate, educate and re-home. We at Safe Haven do not put any expectations on our hard cases.
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