Faces of No-Kill: One smart cookie of a dog

Squeak, squeak, squeak. With a great big grin around her most prized ball, Marge can’t help but show off the fun noises it makes — all while she partakes in her second most favorite activity: painting her friends’ pants with the slobbery ball.

Marge is the reigning champion of fetch at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. But life hasn’t always been fun and games for the 10-year-old pup.

When Marge arrived at the Sanctuary from a shelter, it was clear she loved people, but she had some behaviors that could make it difficult to find her an adoptive home. She didn’t like anyone coming near her food and other prized possessions, and she would bark and lunge toward other dogs. She also had a serious fear of riding in the car.

So the Sanctuary’s behavior team, trainers, and caregivers came together to create a plan just for Marge — one that helps her work through challenges and feel calmer and more confident. They quickly discovered she’s a very smart girl who loves to learn as much as she loves to play.

To help engage Marge’s mind and turn training into playtime, the caregivers design fun activities for her like nose work. Nose work involves hiding scents for a dog to search out.

One of Marge’s favorite activities — besides fetch — is putting that nose to work to find the treats or toys a caregiver has hidden. “Marge is so fast when I hide things for her to find in her run,” Best Friends caregiver Sam Woyak says.

Faces of No-Kill: Dog’s journey from guarded to goofy

Caregivers will tuck toys and treats in the large yard where Marge lives while she’s waiting inside. Once the door opens for her to start her search, she’s off like a rocket, zooming along to follow where her nose leads her: right to her prize. By engaging her mind and giving her a job to do, games like this help Marge channel her energy in positive ways and build skills that make her more comfortable and confident.

Marge is also a pro at a training game called “look at that” — teaching a dog to look at something that would typically trigger an anxious reaction in them (in Marge’s case, other dogs) and then look back at their caregiver all while remaining calm. Using this technique helps to lessen reactivity to a dog’s trigger. From this training, Marge has learned that if she remains calm by her caregiver’s side when they see another dog while out on walks (instead of barking or lunging toward the dog), she gets a treat.

Marge has even become a good neighbor to the dogs living near her at the Sanctuary. She watches them walk by cool as a cucumber, and she’s shown how much of a star student she is with her training, now going on walks without reacting to other dogs she might see on the trail.

Marge’s fear of riding in a car is still a work in progress, but she’s made more than a few big strides. Because going places in a vehicle, even occasionally, is part of life for most pups, caregivers have been working on creating positive experiences with Marge around cars.

“Marge will get in cars without any problem, but as soon as the engine turns on, she panics,” Sam says. So the caregivers and volunteers have been working with Marge to overcome her fear of the car using a golf cart and dog cookies — lots and lots of cookies.

Adventures abound for adoptable dogs

“We’ll hop in the golf cart and go for a slow drive while a volunteer hands Marge cookies,” Sam says. As soon as Marge decides that’s quite enough, they hop out and walk the rest of the way, which gives Marge a chance to show off one of her special skills: redecorating. “She loves to rearrange the sticks on the trails when we go for walks,” Sam says. Marge can’t resist the temptation of picking up the best sticks on walks, carrying them for a bit, and then finding the perfect spot to drop them to leave for the next walk.

One of Marge’s favorite destinations while on these outings is the pool for dogs at the Sanctuary. And while she may not romp with other dogs in it, she loves when people admire her from the sidelines. “When she gets hot, she cools off in the pool, but it’s very dainty,” Sam says. “She puts her paws in first and then does a little plié — like a ballerina — to dip just her belly in.”

Marge’s love of cookies has come in handy for caregivers working to help her become less protective of her food and other items. Caregivers offer her a treat in exchange for her food bowl after she’s done eating, and Marge is more than happy to make that deal.

Plus, it helps that she simply loves spending time with people. Marge’s love for people shines wherever she goes. “She’s always happy to meet new people,” Sam says. Marge will seek people out with her trademark grin and wagging tail, happy to play whatever game they have up their sleeve. She’s thrilled by every cookie and every scritch she’s offered.

Whether she’s parading her beloved ball around, searching for hidden scents, or going for dainty dips in the pool, Marge approaches every day with exuberant joy. And for those lucky enough to spend time with that joyful spirit — along with a few slobbery ball smudges — it makes every moment feel like a prize.

Our goal at Best Friends is to support all animal shelters in the U.S. in reaching no-kill. No-kill means saving every dog and cat in a shelter who can be saved, accounting for community safety and good quality of life for pets. 

Shelter staff can’t do it alone. Saving animals in shelters is everyone’s responsibility, and it takes support and participation from the community. No-kill is possible when we work together thoughtfully, honestly, and collaboratively.