by Debra Roberts

“The intent was noble - rescue a stray dog from the SPCA as a companion for my elderly parents after the death of their two elderly Maltese. That was the theory - the reality was a pint-sized nightmare! In realty our Schnauzer/Yorkie cross (prophetically named Buster) turned our lives into a continuous rerun of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie.

Nothing was safe from his destructive force: legs, arms, toes (in fact any body part within reach) toys, bedding, clothes - anything was fair game for Buster. We hid items in our pockets so he just learned how to become an effective pickpocket! The only time you knew you had been pick pocketed was when he appeared on the other side of the room with the stolen goods in his mouth taunting you to chase him! So we put things on high tables - he just learned to walk on his back legs to access them! He turned the house into a whirlwind of destruction to the extent that my parents had to take turns snoozing in front of the TV - because someone had to be awake at all time to watch Buster!

Buster also never seemed to need rest. From the moment he got up (anywhere from 2am!) to when he went to sleep at night (9pm) he would be constantly hyperactive - never lying down or resting. Picture the scene: two pensioners in the yard at 2am playing catch to try and exhaust the dog! On top of this he was deeply antisocial - hating all humans outside Mom, Dad and myself and despising all other dogs. We tried taking him to obedience classes to try and improve his socialisation - but to no avail. He also could not be left alone at home as he would bark endlessly. So every Sunday outing had to planned around a dog friendly venue. Once there, however, he would whine and bark and pull at the lead making the whole experience exhausting. The crowning glory was the inability to successfully house train him after a year of trying. Mom has had 13 dogs in her life and was flawed by her inability to control or train this hound from hell.

It was clear that there was a very real possibility that we would have to return Buster to the SPCA. There seemed to be no other option if we were to survive with our sanity and body parts intact. Dad, who is a devoted follower of Glynne’s newspaper columns, cut out one of her articles one day and thrust it into my hands saying “I think it is time we called in the big guns”. And so off we went to Hillcrest to meet with Glynne. How do you explain to someone that you can’t control a pint-sized dog and keep you dignity intact!!!

Within seconds Buster detected he had met his match never taking his eyes off Glynne and growling appropriately at intervals. From there on in Glynne worked what can only be described as a miracle. After taking a detailed case history and putting us at ease that Buster wasn’t a devil in disguise, she analyzed the source of Busters difficulties and set about reintegrating him into the family and helping us understand how we could help him.

The result is nothing short of a miracle, a happy, restful, obedient, loving dog, who - while still energetic and playful - no longer bites and destroys everything within reach. It has only been a week and we have already been able to leave him alone for a short while, while we went out. We owe Glynne a huge amount of thanks!”