New Jersey couple soothe discontented dog, lose their hearts to him

By Barbara Williamson, Best Friends Staff

Tonka was a snarling, slightly nasty dog…but then how would you feel if both your kneecaps weren’t where they were supposed to be? A couple who could see the good dog under the sneer turned to Best Friends Animal Society for help -- and then discovered they were the solution.

Denise Werner and her husband, Joe Sellitti of southern, New Jersey, have a soft spot for the ‘tough guy’ dogs and a knack for helping them get past their fear and let go of aggressive behavior. They are “boxer people” who volunteered with rescue groups dealing with these dogs.

Tonka’s days were numbered when he was pulled from a shelter by such a rescue group. He had deformed hind legs and was diagnosed with bilateral luxating patellas, “the worst case the vets we consulted had ever seen,” Denise said. Tonka was already known to have dog aggression issues and over time he started to display aggression towards people as well.

“I volunteered to take him back and forth for his medical visits and I headed up various fundraisers through the rescue to finance his surgeries. It ended up costing about $7,000 and all of that money was donated.”

“But with every trip to the vet, I could see Tonka’s behavior deteriorating,” Denise said. It was obvious to her what the problem was. “Tonka was fearful and every time he went to the vet, he was being poked and prodded and put through more painful procedures. He had no way of knowing that these vet visits were to his ultimate benefit. From his point of view, every new person he met hurt him, so he started lashing out.”

Denise would spend hours with Tonka in his kennel, icing down his legs after each medical procedure. “He’d lean into me and just give me that look.” But Denise and Joe already had a female boxer, Lexi, and Mugsy, another male boxer who had dog aggression issues of his own, so she forced herself to not melt under Tonka’s gaze.

Then Denise badly injured her arm and could no longer care for Tonka. With nobody locally able to help with Tonka, he was sent to a distant part of the state so others could resume his care. It was after her arm healed and she and Joe were on a visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary that she received a concerning messages on her Blackberry from the rescue group: “We need to talk about Tonka, but it can wait until you get back.”

Something told Denise not to wait, and she immediately got on the phone. After some prodding, she learned that a volunteer visiting Tonka was not able to help him calm down, his aggression seemed worse and the group had become concerned that Tonka was unadoptable. That was not a concept Denise would readily accept.

She got home as fast as could, but she also wasted no time in turning to Best Friends No More Homeless Pets team for help in finding a solution. Pat Prior was one assigned to help Denise.

“Pat had sent me, amongst other things, a list of rescue groups and sanctuaries to reach out to, and she was preparing a message to send Best Friends members in our area to see if anyone could help.”

And then Denise got a great reminder of why she married Joe. “He said ‘Tonka’s not going anywhere. We’re keeping him.’”

“I said, ‘How are we going to do that. Both Mugsy and Tonka are dog aggressive.’ Joe said ‘We’re going to build Tonka Terrace.’ And he did. He built a fully insulated, heated and cooled cottage for Tonka and attached a 10’ x 10’ run.”

The irony was, while Joe was building Tonka Terrace, they had figured out a way for him to be in the house without dog fights, and they ended up with three dogs who all get along. “We built a barricade so that initially they could see each other in the house, but have no physical contact. Over time, they basically got bored with staring at each and we gradually gave them time to physically interact. It took persistence and patience…..and of course lots of dog treats. We’d give Tonka, Mugsy and Lexi timeouts for bad behavior and reward them when there were good.”

Tonka still has issues meeting new people. “We have to monitor him with Mugsy, but the two have come to get along quite well; and we can’t leave him and Lexi alone -- they will play non-stop and Tonka can’t do that because of his fragile hind legs. Yes, it took some work, but it was well worth it!”

During the holiday, Denise and Joe sent Pat a holiday greeting: a picture postcard with three goofy, grinning Boxers cheek to cheek to cheek and it was Tonka smushed up in the middle between his pals.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

► Tonka and his new family are proof that it is important to not give up. If you have having some behavior issues with your canine, check out these resources:

• Dog Training community
• You and Your Dog

Posted by Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends staff
Photo credit: provided courtesy of Denise Werner

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