Help Penny Rehabilitate After Severe Neglect

Hi, my name is Jessie Ivener and I am asking for help with an unexpected foster named Penny. Specifically I would like help with financing her rehabilitation and training which is quite costly.

About a month ago an RV was left in front of my house in Winnetka, with a large Cane Corso inside. She was inside this RV for days at a time without being let out and was left with moldy food and no water. Her owner would come by in the middle of the night, walk her for five minutes, put her back, and leave. He is unhoused and reported not having place to put her. He also reported being fearful of her being out down and so he kept her in the RV. I do not agree with the way he treated her at all although I can empathize with his situation and having what he felt was limited options.

We did not want to call animal control because she appeared aggressive and we were fearful of her being put down. We were thinking of a way to get her out of the RV safely and into a foster situation. We would give her food and water daily and check on her regularly. It is difficult to find a foster for an aggressive, reactive, and traumatized large breed dog. She needs to be somewhere without children, other animals and with a skilled foster.

My partner was able to make contact with the owner and build his trust to surrender the dog to us. After two weeks of being in the RV we were able to extract her with the help of a trainer. She is now in my backyard and while she appears to be sweet natured she is very traumatized. She has not been bathed, been to the vet, she was fearful of toys and was reactive to attempts at petting her.

It is our understanding that she spent most of her life in the RV with minimal socialization or attention. We are needing to get her training for increased chances at adoptability. She deserves to feel safe and secure and training will help with that.

Thank you for considering helping Penny, she has lived a difficult life and through it all seems to be very sweet at her core, she just needs some support and rehabilitation.

Update:

My family and I have found a four week board and train program that is willing to support Penny in training. This has been difficult given her circumstances, she is a huge liability. She needs this training to be placed in a forever home, she is too reactive and unpredictable right now. We have done two sessions with a trainer which have been very helpful and challenging. Because her breed is instinctually protective, she has taken to protecting our backyard and training has been difficult and very slow. We have not been able to muzzle her or get her in a vehicle safely (mostly safely for the handlers). The best training will be outside of our home.

We appreciate everyone’s support so much. She deserves help and I am confident she can be rehabilitated.

We will be using a board and training program in Westlake Village, Ca.

The list of what they will help her with is quite extensive it was just cut off here.