The black one in the middle is Needles. I named him that. here’s why…
We first met needles in spring of 2008. He was one of 120 dogs in a Korean “shelter” (by wester standards it was a hoarder). This dog was set apart from the others, chained to a pallet out in the open, and when we asked about him, the guy that was running the place said: Stay away from him. he is very dangerous; he bites anyone who tries to touch him!
A few months later the guy went bankrupt and was forced to abandon all his dogs. He was going to send them to the city pound for euthanasia unless someone took over. Jin and I (Leo) took over the financial burdens of these dogs, and with two Korean helpers we started BAPS.
At that time, we were researching a lot about sheltering, and one of the things we read over and over was that most shelters usually euthanized any dogs that bite humans. This is because they are unadoptable. Since euthanizing is done with a syringe, I decided to name him Needles… because in any other shelter, he would have gotten the needle. I made it my objective to “tame” the dog.
To gain his confidence, I started by sitting near him, for 10 or 15 mins at a time. I would do that maybe once an hour, about 4 times a day ( a few times a week)… at first he would growl at me being near, but in time he just let me sit there, and ignore me.
after about one month of sitting near him, I began sitting near him while holding some doggie snacks… Ah, now I was interesting! About a week later, I offered him a snack, by placing it on the floor, at the midway point between us. After about 5 minutes he picked it up. then I placed it closer to me than to him… and so on.. this went on for about 2 more weeks. Then, it got to the point where I was putting the snack on my leg. After he started picking the snack from my leg, it took about two more weeks for him to let me touch him while he was eating the snack… and once he let me pet him, and scratch behind his ear in that place that dogs just LOVE to be scratched, he finally trusted me.
Soon enough, as soon as I would sit next to him, he would jump on my lap and put his head under my hand to get rubbed! Ever since then, he furiously greets me when I arrive, and jumps into my arms licking my face!
Now, four years after we met, Needles is a changed man. He loves people, and loves going out on walks. Anyone can come up to him, and he accepts love from all. He has become ‘top dog’ at BAPS, and it is a joy seeing him come out of his cage like he owns the place.
But the story of needles has to be told with the story of Bear. Even though Bear was one of the 120, he was not caged or chained at the shelter. He was running around free, and was impossible to catch. Not even the hoarder could get him. I guess one day he was brought to BAPS and at some point escaped from his cage. Then he decided to hang around.
The reason he never went far was that his best friend in the world is Needles. When no one was around Needles, (who you’ll remember was not caged, but chained in the yard), Bear would be inside Needle’s house. If someone came near, he’d immediately disappear. No one could catch him.
From a distance, Bear observed how Needles and I became friends, but it was still not enough to make him trust me. In fact, we never actually caught him, despite many comical attempts (I’ll tell the full story later). The way we were able to confine him was by putting Bear in a playground, and waiting for Bear to join him.
Ever since he’s been caught, he has also accepted our contact, and over the past year has learned to walk on a leash and be handled by people.
Needles and Bear need to be together wherever they are. Especially Bear. If we ever take Needles out of the cage they share, Bear starts crying, pacing, and whining. As soon as Needles returns, Bear has a sniffing party!
Leo and Bear, 2009
writeup that her foster mom prepared for us:
