Connecting to canines with compassion
Dog whisperer continues to work wonders on traumatized rescue dogs deemed ‘unadoptable’
To understand a dog, James Tsai starts with the eyes.
“I can see the depth of their soul,” said Tsai, of the photos owners have sent him, asking for his advice on their canine companions.
After inspecting the eyes, Tsai moves on to the dog’s face and then examines the body, their muscles, how they carry themselves. Without meeting a dog in person and simply by searching for visual clues, Tsai says he’s about 80-per-cent accurate in determining a dog’s temperament, their personality, what ailments they struggle with and how best to nurture the dog.
Another veterinarian who has tested Tsai’s unique ability says he’s about 95-per-cent accurate.
“When I’m physically with a dog, I have a unique intuition that picks up on the visceral and empathetic issues each dog has,” said Tsai. “I’m able to efficiently develop tools for the dogs to heal themselves.”
The 48-year-old Surrey man runs Arf Arf Bark Bark, a non-profit foundation that rehabs aggressive and traumatized dogs. He has been called one of North America’s top experts in large-breed canine rehabilitation and even dubbed a “dog whisperer.” He has helped the worst of the worst, dogs that are considered hopeless or that are slated to be put down, and those with severe dysfunctions as a result of being abused.
Tsai didn’t grow up with dogs and doesn’t consider himself a trainer in the traditional sense, noting only that he tries to tap into something deeper with each canine, to show the dog that they’re safe.
“Every animal wants a connection. They want to be loved, they want to be respected and appreciated,” he said.
Most recently, a vet who witnessed Tsai’s abilities recommended to the Richmond Animal Protection Society that he be brought in to work with the society’s “unadoptable” long-term dogs. As the Richmond society and city shelter has a no-kill policy, Tsai agreed to provide his services free of charge.
On his first visit, Tsai met Miki, a surrendered German shepherd mix that had been at the shelter for more than two years and who was classified as male-aggressive.
“Within the first two hours he was with her, he was able to touch her. The fact that he was able to stroke her head without her having any kind of negative reaction was just amazing,” said Julie Desgroseillers, general manager at the shelter.
“The thing that stood out to me the most about James and his interaction was — he is completely respectful of the dog. So where a lot of people will try to dominate or assert their opinion of what the dog should be doing ... he comes at it from the dog’s perspective and then he adjusts his response and his approach to how a dog would respond best.
“He’s really setting them up to succeed and because he’s so respectful, he builds a relationship of trust quite easily and that’s exactly what happened with this dog.”
Tsai’s latest client is a puppy rescued last year by Patty Lucci, a retired cop from New York who was among those working at ground zero in the aftermath of 9/11. Since retiring, Lucci has kept busy volunteering with the Southampton Animal Shelter on Long Island.
It was there that Lucci fell in love with Tonka, a two-year-old, blackand-white Great Dane that had been severely abused by its previous owners. Tonka had been shocked into submission, caged, beaten and dragged, so much that the dog had “shut down” and retreated into himself, resorting to aggression in many situations.
One owner was caught punching the dog in the head repeatedly with a closed fist in the parking lot of a shelter on the day he had planned to surrender the dog.
“I met Tonka and just right away — I didn’t see what everybody else saw in him,” said Lucci, who quickly realized despite her connection with the Great Dane, he would still need extensive rehab. “I asked if I could, at that point, volunteer and work with Tonka and they allowed me to, so that’s where it started.”
But because Lucci has another dog at home with Addison’s Disease, she wasn’t able to adopt Tonka. That didn’t stop her from doing what she could to get help for Tonka, to hopefully better prepare him for adoption.
With the help of Great Danes of Our Hearts, an online group that rescues the dogs, Lucci was able to raise enough money to accompany Tonka on a cross-country flight to Seattle in early February. From there, Tsai drove across the border to meet up with Lucci before returning to Canada with Tonka.
The dog, while still registered to the Southampton shelter, will live with Tsai at his Surrey home while being rehabbed. The cost of Tonka’s rehab is being covered through a fundraiser done by Great Danes of Our Hearts.
It’s estimated it will be about 14 months before Tonka — who stands about 6-foot-4-inches on his hind legs — can fully relearn how to interact with humans and other dogs, without becoming fearful or reacting aggressively.
In just a few weeks Tsai has seen significant progress and even Lucci and others who have been following Tonka’s journey are amazed at the updates being shared.
When Postmedia visited in mid-February, Tsai requested that a photographer and reporter not approach Tonka until the dog had himself decided whether he was comfortable around the two visitors. Tonka was wary at first, but within 30 minutes — and with guidance from Tsai — the dog became comfortable enough to begin nudging at the photographer’s hand for a scratch, and even leaned against a reporter, which is a sign of affection.
“He’s made significant progress,” said Tsai, noting just weeks ago that Tonka couldn’t be let off-leash around strangers without becoming aggressive and fearful.
Tsai doesn’t use treats when rehabilitating dogs, but, instead, relies on positive encouragement and verbal and physical guidance to build trust with a dog. The tools he develops for each dog are techniques that about 60 per cent of experienced dog owners can learn and use with that rescue, which means whoever adopts Tonka will need to be an experienced dog owner.
He also had some very strong things to say to those who might be thinking about bringing a largebreed dog into their home.
“The Great Dane is going to inspire people to get a Great Dane. Please don’t get a Great Dane if you don’t have the ability and confidence to take care of a Great Dane,” he said. “We as human beings, when we take on an animal, we need to connect. These are living, breathing souls and everything they do is deliberate. So why do we treat them as garbage?”