From Red Lake Reservation to Therapy Dog – Lacey the Wonder Pup 07/27/2021 By Kerry S Our commitment to people and the dogs that need help most is a strong one. Lacey, a pup from Red Lake would not have had the opportunity to become a Therapy Dog and touch as many lives as she has had we not been committed to our local need. We focus on communities that have few resources hoping to help as many as we can. Pet Haven has had a long relationship with Minnesota Tribal Nations Reservations. We have worked in partnership to improve the lives of the companion animals on the reservations and in doing so, have touched many people’s lives for the better. Dogs coming from the reservations often need more medical care, not because the community doesn’t care for them, they do, it’s due to a lack of resources. There are few options for people if any at all. This is why our commitment and partnership with these communities are so important. We make Minnesota dogs in need a priority and have found the dogs coming from our reservation partners to be unique and amazing companions. Lacey is one of these amazing dogs easily forgotten had she not entered into Pet Haven. She was rescued from Red Lake. Lacey had been living life as a stray being fed and cared for by many people but no one to call her own. She was transferred to Pet Haven in 2015. She was just one year old and was actually adopted out several times and was returned for behavioral challenges that presented themselves in the adopter’s homes and they were not equipped to work on the challenges. Thus Lacey was returned. At Pet Haven, we commit to our pets and we did not give up hope for Lacey. Our Director reached out to a known veterinarian behaviorist to seek help and guidance on what we could do to help Lacy become the best Lacey she could be. We also were seeking tools on helping her foster and future adopter to understand better what Lacey’s needs were and be able to support them. This is part of our Pet Haven Promise to commit to the pets in our care and support fosters and adopters. Something that sets Pet haven apart from the pack. During the evaluation of Lacey, it was clear she was highly intelligent and complex. This gal needed a job and regular engagement to keep her happy and healthy. The Vet Behaviorist agreed to foster Lacey for us and work with her. She would help to redirect some of the destructive behaviors we saw in her adopter’s homes to constructive behaviors moving forward. Well, it worked! It worked so well that Lacey is now a Complex Therapy dog at Gillette’s Children’s Hospital. She is in the Kids reading to Dogs program at the library, Lacey also does assisted living therapy work, hospice therapy work, and agility dog training, and contest winner! Lacey exemplifies what a wonderful companion a rescued dog can become given the opportunity and commitment of those who care for them. Lacey was adopted into the best possible home ever. Her Foster Mom, the veterinarian behaviorist, adopted her! Her Mom describes her as gentle, kind, loving, intuitive, and smart. Everything you want in a companion to spend your life with. She is a proud Momma! At Pet Haven, we promise to give our dogs (and cats) all the resources we can to help them be the best they can be. With the changing landscape of rescue, we are seeing more behaviorally challenged pets. These pets need support and often are left behind in shelters. They need months of support before they can be adopted taxing rescues resources. We want to be able to say YES to these pets needing help so we are building a Behavior Rehabilitation Support program to help these pups and the people who love them. If you would like more information on our program and how to support it please reach out to our Executive Director at Director@pethavenmn.org If you would like to support our program through a gift to Pet Haven, please donate here and you can make the donation “in Honor of Behavior Rehabilitation Support”
