My husband and I ‘inherited’ a dog from our daughter at Christmas 2005. We were less than thrilled. She adopted a very sad little dog, Lil’ Bit, from the Humane Society and then realized that when she was working full-time she did not have time to take care of or train her dog. She was ready to return the dog to the shelter and I could not bear to see her go back.

When we took Lil’ Bit home with us she was scared of everyone and everything – even other dogs. Based on her actions we believed she been mistreated. In fact, the shelter told our daughter there was a good chance she was a Hurricane Katrina ‘evacuee’. She hid when we called her and wouldn’t come out of hiding…even to eat. We had a dog we didn’t enjoy, as she was no fun, and we didn’t know what to do. We called Kari Bastyr in desperation.

We met with Kari three times and each time I told her I didn’t know if I could live with such a shaky and terrified dog. I wanted a dog to play with and one that would listen to us. We wanted a well-behaved dog, too. We took Kari’s suggestions seriously and worked with Lil’ Bit each day (in the beginning we had her on a leash 24/7...that gets tiring!) We just didn’t give up. She started Obedience Training in a class with Kari in mid-March and she began to wag her tail and to come when called. Now she sits on command and stays. She will usually heel and is very focused on our requests, welcomes newcomers and socializes with other dogs. Our friends cannot believe she is the same dog.

We gave our little dog (an 8-lb mutt) an opportunity to have a good life and now she gives us laughter, joy, fun, and companionship. Working with Kari was definitely worth it.

Learning how to speak ‘dog language’ was completely new. We had to become the leaders of the pack and it did require lots of our time and patience. It takes dedication, but Kari showed us how to take control lovingly and consistently, not with force or fear, in order to build Lil’ Bit’s confidence and so she could learn to trust us. Now we love and adore her and cannot imagine our lives without her!!

Owners: Anne and John Polich
Pictured: Granddaughter Lexi and Lil Bit