Farhaan

Adopted 20 May 2006 in Daharan, Saudi Arabia – died 29 January 2011 in Houston, USA

Dear Julia Zack:

The world is a quieter, safer, duller place as of 2100 hours of 29 January 2011, when Farhaan succumbed to the only enemy he couldn't beat, old age.

I want to thank you, Julia, for bringing this canine force of nature into our lives. There was a glimpse of things to come when he mauled sweet Magnus, the resident dog, he was supposed to befriend. He bit Chris within millimeters of the femoral artery; other bites followed, each resulting in a pair of smashing Bermuda pants. Because it was open season on houseboys, I was the only expat in Dhahran to push a mop and scrub toilets. He bit DVMs Cessford and Robinson at the Arabian Kennel Club clinic and several vet techs there. But friends were his main fare: John Eigelhart, BethTaylor .... I try to forget how many others. Entering or leaving the house was a harrowing experience for anyone afraid of bared teeth. Once inside, seated and drink in hand, guests were supposed to remain static, like a frozen tableaux; any attempt to get up or move more than was required for breathing, provoked Farhaan to growl menacingly; daring to get up required my personal protection and escort. In fact, Chris sometimes shielded himself with a stool, like a lion tamer, to go from one point to another. I was never bitten because I realized that if he sensed fear I would not be able to protect him.

Farhaan, which in Arabic means happy, merry, and (yes) gay was what is known as a fear biter. The first 7 years of his life he was confined to a small room shared by two Philipino cooks in Al-Khobar. Marshal, as he was first called, entered that grim enclosure barely weaned, never again to leave except to relieve himself in the building's roof top, a daily ascent that left him permanently afraid of stairs. Farhaan had never seen a car, a tree, a cat .... or people except two men, only one of who cared for him and fed him restaurant leftovers. When the cook's work permit expired, forced to leave Saudi Arabia he wrote an emotional appeal for someone in the Aramco campus -- an oasis in an animal-hostile peninsula -- to adopt his beloved Marshal. You, Julia, as is your wont, stepped in to help. But finding a home was not easy for a highly reactive, unsocialized dog. Two of Aramco's bomb-sniffing dog handlers categorically stated that Farhaan "could not be trusted."

Hesitantly I adopted him on 20 May 2006, while Chris was on a business trip. On his return, he questioned my choice of a second dog but we persevered. Slowly, Farhaan expanded his horizons and gained some trust, but when in doubt, aggression was the answer. To the very end, Farhaan had frequent relapses into weirdness, like walking 4 or 5 steps, stopping, and looking behind again and again, which meant that going just around the block could take forever. Yet, if he spotted a dog in the distance, the plodding mode would turn into a mad dash to injure the offending dot in the horizon. If the target of his rage was near, then I had to anchor myself to a lamp post, a tree, a car.... how I managed to hang on to the leash and prevent untold carnage so many times, remains a mystery. Walking Farhaan was no fun and I have the scars to prove it.

On the positive side, Farhaan's reputation made our residence impregnable. Muslim workers often refused to enter, even with the dog in King-Kong tethers. His bark alone has turned people away from our doors in Dhahran, Tulsa, and Houston. Friend or foe, no difference, he would rush to the door snarling viciously. That's how he greeted his dear human father every day until the end.

From the start, his health was compromised by allergies. Steroid treatment gave him a phocine countenance bringing on a myriad other health problems that required medication. But no pill could be coated in anything so delicious that he couldn't eat it leaving the pill intact on the floor, or spitting it across the room, or thowing it up later. Of hundreds of pills I administered, he swallowed maybe four.

Now it's all behind us. Why aren't we relieved? Why are we mourning? Farhaan Marshal was eerily human: His mistrust, his stubborness, his bravado to hide weakness, his prejudices, his volatility ... it was easy to recognize oneself in the mirror of his almond eyes. Lucky for us he was a dog with all the virtues of his kind. To me who knew him best his plump, velvety teddy bear ears symbolized his utter vulnerability in a world he feared would not spare him.

I remember the parting words of Dr. Robinson when I asked him to issue the necessary papers to take Farhaan (and his Arab nemesis, Basmah, the one-eyed cat) to the USA on our repatriation. "You are taking HIM!?" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Oh my! What a lucky dog!" In fact, Chris -- whose patience, generosity, and courage in the saga that just ended can never be praised enough -- and I were the lucky ones to be loved by that magnificent "rage ball."

Thank you Julia for making it all possible. -- Dolores

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Dear Mr. Horam:

 

On 20 May, we adopted a 7-year old dog who had lived with the same man since he was a few weeks old. We are having a problem of aggression with him (I will be more specific) and want to give him every chance to get over it so we can keep him. Dr. Bede Robinson, in Dhahran, told us that you are a professional trainer of long experience, and so we take the liberty of asking your opinion/advice on how to handle Farhaan (F henceforth).

F weighs about 60 lbs and is as tall as an average German shepherd, but of slighter built. Like most local dogs, he may have some saluki in him. Thin legs, oversized paws, concerned look. His appearance can best be described as that of an oversized red fox. He is considered a “desert” or “jebel” dog, and as such, probably at least one of his parents was feral.

 

Problems:

(1)  People arriving, departing, or moving away from their seat while in our house. He becomes agitated and tries to bite, especially when departing the house. F bit my husband on two occasions: once when he tried to pull the dog away from the door by the collar, and once when he reentered the house after leading a guest out safely through the backyard. On this second instance, I was holding him leashed, but didn’t expect his sudden lurch toward my husband. 

Arrivals are easier if I leash him and take him outside to meet the visitors.

Once visitors are seated, he placidly lies in the middle of the floor or even close to one of them, either sleeping or observing what’s going on. He may even be playful. 

The instant someone (except me) gets up, he becomes upset and approaches the person with a low growl. He has done this on a couple of occasions with my husband, who lives in the house, and obviously must move about a lot.

When my husband arrives home, he is greeted loudly, but not aggressively, by F, who follows him around making “talking” noises or barking. When I arrive, however, F doesn’t bark; he may stay wherever he is and just wag his tail.

When my husband leaves, F sometimes, but not always, displays some “concerning” behavior. When I leave, F stays wherever he is and doesn’t move.

When F bites he then acts “sorry.” He grabbed (but didn’t sink teeth) a visitor’s wrist, and then would not obey the command “come” (away from the man he bit) and in fact sat by him for a while and enjoyed his patting.

 

(2)  Walking becomes a problem only when a dog, a cat, or a person appear. Interestingly, he may act quite aggressively toward either one of those, but completely ignore a similar target later, or vice versa.

There is no specific type of person or animal he dislikes more. Joggers seem to trigger his aggression, but sometimes he ignores them. His reaction to dogs varies from ferociousness, where he bites and pulls grass from the ground, to casual attention. 

Quite often, F stops and sniffs the air, nose high, like in a trance. 

F is willful of where he wants to go. If I pull in the opposite direction, he lies down and won’t budge until I become more forceful.

(3)  F takes his home protection seriously. When he barks, it is hard to make him stop, unless I go to the door, “check” and tell him that it’s ok. Then he may follow me away from the door.

Virtues:

(1)  F is very clean and never relieves himself in the house, even when left for hours. Remarkably, he was first house trained in the foster home.

(2)  F doesn’t chew things or exhibit other destructive behavior.

(3)  After two initial spats with the resident dog (M), also a male, F has not behaved aggressively toward M, even when M takes away his toys or wedges himself into his food bowl.

(4)  F has not make any aggressive moves toward me.

Background:

F was treated kindly by his first owner, but never left the apartment in which they lived. While the owner worked long hours, F stayed alone in a roof terrace, unable to see much of the world and probably pretty uncomfortable in the Arabian heat. His only human contact was with the owner who loved him and fed him people’s food from the restaurant where he worked. He was never walked and relieved himself in the terrace. Apparently there was another man sharing the apartment, but he paid no attention to F.

 After the owner left KSA (he couldn’t take the dog), F stayed at the Arabian Kennel Club where he was considered “temperamental.” He was neutered. Despite any lack of previous veterinary care, F was deemed very healthy. A foster home was found: a woman quite steeped in dog behavior, who already owned two large female dogs of the same local stripe. Soon, F grew fond of her. 

 At the foster home, F learned to walk on a leash, to eat dog food, to be house trained, etc. About 3-4 months after he was surrendered by his first owner, we adopted him. When he was brought by the foster lady to my house, he howled all night, missing her. When I took him out for walks, he sniffed cars, hoping one was hers. 

 We already had a large, older dog, M, who was either abused or not socialized because. He hides from most company, although lately he will stay around when only my husband and I are home, but he adores all dogs. This is the main reason we got F – to keep M company. As I mentioned, there were two instances of aggression (by the door) in the beginning, but he understood my “no” and that was the end of it. M and F like each other’s company.

 When we first adopted F, he didn’t display any aggression toward visitors. The problem behavior began suddenly, with a given visitor. It has gotten worse. However, with dog savvy people who let him sniff them and enter the house with confidence, he is ok … until they move or leave.

 After boarding him during a trip (because he will not accept pet sitters), he was happy to see us on our return and eager to get back home. He shows affection for us and responds to play.

So this is the story of Farhaan. We don’t want anyone to get hurt and we want to keep Farhaan. Any help will be invaluable to us and very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dolores Proubasta and Chris Liner.