Norah's Journey ~

Norah was one of 7 afghan hounds surrendered to AHRCO after their owner passed away unexpectedly November, 2012. Norah was our foster for several weeks as plans for her future were secured. At the breeder's request and in accordance with the rules of AHCA Rescue, Norah was returned to her breeder in Florida in December 2012.

On April 2nd,  I received a call from a Florida Animal Shelter that a female afghan hound micro chipped to AHRCO had been surrendered for euthanasia. Further conversation revealed that the 10 yr old bitch (Norah) we had returned to a breeder had been turned in for aggression. Because she was micro chipped to AHRCO (all new rescues are automatically micro chipped on arrival), the shelter wanted instructions on how to proceed.  I asked them to hold Norah for 24 hours while I investigated. I contacted the breeder who informed me that Norah was dangerous; that she had attempted to attack her granddaughter; was vicious toward the other dogs in the kennel; that she ran the fence fighting with neighbor dogs.   This was all behavior that was unknown to us. I asked if Norah had been vet checked and was told no, that in this breeder's opinion Norah was "not right in the head' and she stood by her decision to leave Norah at the shelter to be euthanized.  

We understand that the breeder had to do what she felt was right for her family, however the Norah we knew was not aggressive - she was a sweet, gentle, shy soul. For that reason and after consulting with the behavior experts we arranged for her to be taken to a safe place to be evaluated by experienced veterinarians and sight hound people to be determined what should be done with her.

For the next 2 weeks Norah was under the care of an experienced sight hound veterinarian  and a sight hound behavior specialist/dog trainer in Florida. She was exposed to multiple other dogs of various breeds and several different people - all without incident.  Those who evaluated her, described her behavior as that of a dog that has suffered head trauma and that her best chance of recovery and a normal life was that she be returned to the last place she felt safe.  With that goal in mind, the decision was made to bring Norah home and 2 volunteers set out on a road trip from Columbus Ohio to Orlando Florida and return.  Throughout the trip Norah was nervous and unsure about where she was going next.   She did enjoy renewing her relationship with the AHRCO volunteer who went to fetch her home.  When Norah arrived home, she walked into AHRCO HQ and immediately relaxed.  She has taken walks around the neighborhood, renewed her relationship with our wheelchair bound volunteer and taken cheese from a complete stranger. She met Elle, a visiting afghan hound who was new to her without any sign of aggression and she's having fun playing with the other afghan hounds here.

We gave her a few days to acclimate then took her to our veterinarian to be examined  where it was determined that she was probably in pain due to the extremely poor condition of her mouth - lots of tarter and decay and periodontal disease.   On April 26 Norah underwent surgery for a dental where it was discovered after the decay and tarter had been removed that the roots of her teeth were exposed.  This had to be causing some serious pain.   At the end of the day she lost 14 teeth, was spayed and a string of mammary tumors were removed.   Her first few days home were a challenge with pain management.   She was heavily medicated to ease her pain but 2 weeks later she is up and running and enjoying life.  

It's been 5 weeks since Norah was left at the animal shelter to be euthanized for aggression.   In that time no-one, from the animal control officer who called  to veterinarians to the many people she has come in contact with have seen any sign of aggression.    She has shown some hesitation toward men of a specific build and appearance but is otherwise relaxed about meeting strangers and other dogs.

We don't know for sure what happened to Norah during those 3 months she was in Florida.   Norah is a gentle soul who as a show dog was probably out in the public arena a lot, but once she gained her championship and as her owner's health declined she did not leave the property.  As time passed she became shy and very dependent on her owner, when her owner passed away her world fell apart - she was uprooted from her lifetime home, transported to rescue, then transported again to her breeder where she was not really wanted and it was likely all too much for her to understand.  Maybe she acted out her fear or maybe it was the pain, we will never know, but we do know that the Norah we have here is a sweet and gentle soul who plays well with all the other afghan hounds here.