The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption

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ONE NIGHT CATALINA AND her family sat around the table talking and eating dinner. Throughout the home are reminders of Catalina’s background as an artist. The kitchen connects to a large dining-living area and along one of the walls Catalina and her children have painted a giant angel. The rest of the room is devoid of furniture with the exception of a few water bowls and dog beds, and a large hand-painted picnic table. At any given time, the cat and ever-changing cast of dogs lie about and wander around.

The basement door remained open as was the door to Jasmine’s room down the stairs and the door to her crate. Like the rest of the creatures in the house, she was free to come and go as she pleased, but she still spent most of her time within the confines of her little safe zone.

As the family ate, Catalina thought she heard a creak on the steps. The meal carried on. She heard another sound. She stayed put. Finally, a little pink nose appeared in the doorway. Slowly a snout emerged and finally, those familiar brown eyes came into view. Jasmine surveyed the situation. Her body was tense and she was ready to bolt at the slightest provocation, but there she was. Catalina was ready and as soon as Jasmine appeared she told the kids to throw Jasmine some food-she wanted to reward the dog for her courage. Jasmine picked up the offerings and as suddenly as she appeared, she retreated back downstairs to eat.

The visit lasted seconds but felt enormous to Catalina. It was the first time Jasmine had ever ventured out of her crate unaccompanied, the first time she’d come up the stairs, the first time she had become part of the household. It was part of an ongoing coming out for Jasmine.

Sometime earlier Catalina had taken on another foster dog through Recycled Love, a three-legged basenji mix named Desmond. Despite his disadvantage Desmond was a ball of fire who loved to play. He and Jasmine became great friends, and when Catalina let them loose in the yard they would have a wild time, running, tumbling, chasing, and rolling around in the grass. When they had worn themselves out, they’d climb the steps to the deck and lie in the sun. The time with Desmond not only brought Jasmine much joy, but it built up her confidence.

During this time Jasmine also started getting regular visits from Sweet Pea, the other troubled Vick dog that Recycled Love had taken in. The theory that Sweet Pea was Jasmine’s mother had never been confirmed, but Catalina was more convinced than ever that it was true. Not only did the dogs look similar, but they had a clear bond. Whenever they saw each other they grew visibly excited, racing around, sniffing all over and rubbing up against each other. They loved to be together and Catalina and Sweet Pea’s foster caretaker would take them for long walks together in a large park near her house.

Catalina had also begun including her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Anaise, into Jasmine’s training sessions. When Jasmine performed her tasks properly, Catalina would give her a click, but Jasmine would have to go touch Anaise with her nose to get the treat. When Jasmine was out in the yard and Anaise came out, the dog would run up to the girl and nose her. Jasmine still wouldn’t let the girl pet her, but she was the first person other than Catalina that Jasmine had really interacted with.

Catalina reveled in Jasmine’s progress. When they were alone in the house, Jasmine would come and go, up and down, in and out of rooms. She would nap on the couch or stretch out on the floor. Sometimes Catalina thought, “If I were single, she would be a very happy dog.” It was true, their bond was now so strong that Jasmine loved to be with Catalina. She would get excited when Catalina came into the room or spoke to her, wagging her tail and shaking her whole body. She would lick Catalina’s face and hands and rub up against her legs.

Watching these things, feeling these feelings, sharing this time with Jasmine, Catalina knew that everything had been worth it. Worth the carrying and cleaning up after, the work and the heartache. She watched Jasmine in the yard with Desmond, lying in the sun, running with Sweet Pea, walking around the house, sleeping curled up in her open crate, and she never felt better about the dog or life or herself.

When they were alone on those quiet afternoons Catalina would sing to Jasmine, and no matter where Jasmine was she’d stare at Catalina during the song. Those same soft brown eyes that had stared out at Catalina in apprehension and mistrust now bore into her with what Catalina felt was pure, unfiltered love. And Catalina sang:

On the day that Jasmine was born,

The angels sang a beautiful song.

On the day that Jasmine was born,

The angels danced, and they danced,

And smiled and raised up their hands,

On the day that Jasmine was born.

On a sunny spring day Catalina took a few of the dogs out for a walk. They were on extendable leads that allowed them thirty feet of leeway. The dogs had taken advantage of this freedom and moved well ahead of Catalina, who strolled along, lost in her own thoughts. Suddenly, Catalina saw one of the dogs bolt forward. In an instant all three of them were scrambling and jostling. She ran up the sidewalk, fearing the worst. Closing in on the dogs, she saw Jasmine’s jaws clamping down and Catalina stopped in horror.

Rogue had been the dog who first took off, and Catalina realized that he had flushed a groundhog out of the bushes and begun chasing it. Desmond and Jasmine joined in and at the critical moment, Jasmine cut in front of him and snared the creature, which she now held in her mouth. Catalina did not know what to do or what to think. What did this mean?

She hurried home with the dogs, her mind racing. Who should she call, what should she do? But as she thought about it more she wondered if maybe this was actually a good thing. Rogue had sniffed out and gone after the creature, and if he’d caught it the end result would have been the same, and no one would have given it a second thought. This is, after all, what dogs do. They chase after little animals.

Jasmine had simply done what most dogs would in that situation. Not only that, but she’d done it faster. Six months ago, six weeks ago, she probably would have frozen and sunk to the ground, but now she had reacted the way a dog was expected to react. This, as grisly and unfortunate as it was for the groundhog, was a positive development.

Jasmine was changing. At the home she still encountered difficulties but they were new ones. As she became more comfortable exploring the house during the afternoons, Jasmine had taken to spending time in Catalina’s son’s room. For whatever reason, she felt comfortable there, but if anyone besides Catalina came up the stairs, Jasmine would panic and pee on the floor. Eventually, Catalina had the rug removed to make it easier to clean up after these accidents and she taught her children to let her know when they wanted to go upstairs, so that she could go first and bring Jasmine down.

Jasmine also remained afraid of strangers but this phobia now focused even more keenly on men. Catalina and her daughter were the only ones who made regular contact with her. Jasmine steered clear of Catalina’s husband, Davor, and her son, Nino. If anyone approached Jasmine from behind, she skittered away to the side, looking back over her shoulder suspiciously.

Davor had started feeding Jasmine treats to try to build some sort of a relationship. Jasmine accepted the food, but she felt no more comfortable around Davor. One night when he was trying to offer her some treats Jasmine became agitated. She backed away from him, tail between legs. She seemed be torn between the desire to step forward and get the food and the fear that compelled her to stay away.

It was an internal battle Jasmine had fought numerous times, but Catalina had never seen her react quite this way. Her body language was different, her actions and profile somehow unfamiliar. Catalina did not know what to expect. Then Jasmine planted her feet, stood still, and opened her mouth. Her head nodded forward and a little sound came out.

Catalina and Davor looked at each other. Neither was quite sure at first but they soon realized that it must be true: Jasmine had just barked. It was a weak and high-pitched thing, like a puppy’s bark, but it was undoubtedly a bark. Jasmine had finally spoken.

There was no anger in the; little noise, but for the first time Jasmine had put sound to her fear; she’d voiced her struggle.

By the spring of 2008, Jasmine had been with Catalina for more than a year, and the bond the two shared was stronger than ever. Catalina sang Jasmine her song every day, and each time she did she felt as though the dog would look right into her soul with those soft brown eyes. Catalina could see how insanely happy this would make Jasmine, but she knew it made her just as happy. In the afternoon she would watch Jasmine and Desmond play in the yard and sleep in the sun. In the evenings she would work with Jasmine and then sit with the soft music playing.

Jasmine had become so comfortable and appropriate with other dogs that when Recycled Love took in a new dog and they needed to test its behavior, Jasmine was the dog they would introduce it to. Catalina decided it was time to get down to basics. She enrolled Jasmine in a general obedience class. She had no idea how the dog would react, but she wanted to try.

It wasn’t a problem. Jasmine fit right into the class and did reasonably well, although there were some things she would not do. For whatever reason she refused to lie down. She would sit, and walk on a loose leash, but she would not lie down. Likewise she would not come to anyone who called her except Catalina. In fact, if she was loose in the yard and anyone but Catalina tried to catch her-all they had to do was grab her leash, which she was almost always wearing-it was nearly impossible. Still, she did perform much better in class than anyone would have predicted a year earlier, and soon Catalina introduced her to a few new friends.

Catalina and Davor decided to take their kids to Croatia, his home country, for three weeks in the late summer. Catalina was reluctant to leave Jasmine for that long, but her family sacrificed a lot for her work with the dogs and she wanted to make sure she devoted the necessary love and energy to them, too.

The question was, who would look after Jasmine? Catalina thought about this for some time, and eventually settled on her friend, Robert. [4] He was great with dogs-he had adopted two pit bull mixes-and he was between jobs, so he would have the time. Robert and his dogs began joining Catalina and her dogs for long walks around the neighborhood and in a few local parks.

Jasmine quickly became comfortable with the other dogs and over the next few months she developed a working relationship with Robert. He was the first man to bond with Jasmine in any way, and that fact alone gave Catalina comfort that she had made the right choice.

The plan called for Catalina to put her other dogs in long-term boarding and for Robert and his dogs to move in with Jasmine. It would still be a huge and potentially terrifying adjustment for Jasmine, but at least this way she would be able to stay in her own crate and in her own home, with its familiar smells and routines, even if those who usually shared it with her were absent.

On the night before the trip, Catalina and Jasmine had the house to themselves. The other dogs had been boarded and Davor and the kids had gone to his parents’ house for the night; she would meet them the next day after Robert came. Catalina gave Jasmine the run of the place and Jasmine loved it. She loved having Catalina’s undivided attention and no one else around to worry about.

Shortly after Catalina went to sleep that night she heard the scratching of paws on the staircase. A moment later Jasmine jumped up on the bed. She circled once, plopped down and curled into a ball, and there the two of them slept.

The next day Robert and his dogs arrived. Catalina stuck around for a while to help them settle in. She stayed longer than necessary, certainly longer than Robert needed her to, but she was reluctant to go. At last there was no other excuse to stall and no more time for it. She grabbed the last few things she needed and turned to go.

Then Catalina and Jasmine said good-bye.