Dog’s Best Friend: Gina takes a hike

02 Nov Dog’s Best Friend: Gina takes a hike

Telluride Inside… and Out’s Gina the Dog started out life on the wrong paw. She came to us through our friend Dr. Susannah Smith, who delivered her to our doorstep just after she was neutered by Second Chance Humane Society. The bill of goods Susannah sold us was a week in our foster care, then adoption elsewhere. We were not ready for a new dog. We were in mourning. Our prize German Shepherd, Willie the Wonder Dog, had just died of cancer. What happened was predictable to our friends, including Susannah: after a week, we could not send Gina out into the cold. Gina, however, was no walk in the park. She had been abandoned and was a scrapper: certain dogs ticked her off big time and she went for them. One trainer told us to fagettaboutit. Off her. Then another friend, Michelle Kodis, told us about Ted Hoff of Cottonwood Ranch & Kennel, now TIO’s dog expert. It took a month, but Ted, a dog whisperer, transformed Gina into the dog she is today, the one in the video, cute as a button. Ted is the Cesar Millan of the Telluride region. His mantra is pretty much the same as the celebrity Dog Whisperer: discipline, exercise, affection.

(editor’s note: Ted Hoff found that his other hat, the one for Cottonwood Hunt Club, was a tight fit this week, so TIO is substituting for Ted.)