Knotts Island couple and their pets rehabilitate dogs

By Liz King

VIRGINIA BEACH

A three-bedroom home on Knotts Island, N.C., surrounded by wooded acres and a marsh is the peaceful retreat Toni Enright and Jamie Cochran call home – a home they share with their 53 “kids.”

From pit bulls to Chihuahuas, the pair rescue dogs with behavioral issues and rehabilitate them at Forever Home Sanctuary.

“These dogs have gone through trainer after trainer, behaviorist after behaviorist,” Enright said.

But Enright seems to be drawn to these problem-child-type dogs, which she believes are just “misunderstood.”

Watching the dogs, it’s hard to believe they were considered aggressive. More than 30 recently sat silently, unleashed, eyes fixed on Cochran, waiting for their names to be called so they could trot inside. It looked more like roll-call in an elementary school classroom.

Enright, 28, and Cochran, 27, who met while working as a bather and a groomer at Owl’s Creek Veterinary Clinic, began delving into dog psychology after moving in together and realizing their seven dogs did not get along.

“We tried different training classes and techniques, but it did not work for the dogs,” Enright said.

Thus began their research: studying “pack” theory, watching documentaries and reading about “Dog Whisperer” Cesar Millan.

“The true knowledge came from the dogs themselves, though,” Enright said. “They are the ones who taught us, but again, it is their language.”

They were able to tame their seven dogs, but it didn’t end there.

The Sanctuary never was planned. It started with one rescue – a cocker spaniel named Nichie was on the hospital side of the Owl’s Creek clinic, about to be euthanized after biting a child in the face. Before he could be sedated, the pair volunteered to bring him home.

Soon, they were taking in dogs from clients and shelters, rehabbing them and adopting many out – save for “The Pack,” a group of 20 or more lifers used to help train other dogs. To date, Forever Home has had more than 50 successful adoptions.

“Instead of taking the happy-go-lucky adoptable dogs, we took pit bulls,” Enright said. “Once we started doing that work, shelters found out about us. It just slowly happened.”

Now, shelters and humane societies as far away as Connecticut and New York seek them out to take on misbehaving dogs.

Such is the case with the Virginia Beach Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and its mastiff-mix, Buck.

“We loved this dog; this dog had some wonderful qualities,” executive director Sharon Adams said. “But, he was a scary dog. It was not a dog that, even in a shelter with a behavioral modification program, we would feel OK and safe putting in a home.”

Shelter manager Barbara Gipson said trying to find a home for Buck was tough, as a majority of sanctuaries and rescues either don’t take animals with major issues, or tend to specialize in certain breeds. After hearing about Forever Home, she visited and was impressed with its techniques.

“They start from the very basics, building that relationship one-on-one in the beginning, and working out on that for animals,” Gipson said. “You have to get a dog in a certain mindset before you can make headway.”

Enright and Cochran “are pretty savvy of that,” she said.

Enright and Cochran also make sure they maintain that relationship. After a dog is adopted out from Forever Home, they provide a free training program and work with the owners to teach them the psychology of dogs.

Enright also is planning on rolling out classes to teach her findings on the psychology of dogs. Other plans for Forever Home include developing an add-on – the sanctuary was certified as a nonprofit in December – and Enright hopes to develop an agility course for the dogs through donations.

“Basically, we want to educate humans on dogs,” Enright said. “Dogs are so willing to give and live in the human world, we should be so willing to try and understand them.”