The power of the pack: A case study

The brave firefighters of Station 29 in Los Angeles are a tight-knit, well-oiled life-saving machine, but when Wilshire the Dalmatian landed on their doorstep, these real-life heroes were thrown for a loop! An energetic puppy, Wilshire quickly had the run of the firehouse — chewing on equipment, running amok during fire calls, and pouncing on visitors — until a call from city officials landed Captain Reyna in hot water with the Los Angeles attorney's office.

Luckily, all the tools they needed to rehabilitate Wilshire were right at their fingertips! Los Angeles Fire Station regulations require that all firefighters do a run on the treadmill once a day, and Station 29 owned two of them, side by side. In no time, Wilshire was leaping up onto his treadmill to run alongside the crew anytime one of them started the machine. With a firm but gentle hand to teach Wilshire not to eat from the firefighters' table or trespass into areas where sensitive equipment is kept, lots of vigorous exercise, and the pack structure already in place, Wilshire came around quickly. The men immediately picked up on the importance of consistency with regard to his rehabilitation, and soon had him, with the aid of an expert trainer, performing fire safety demonstrations for schoolchildren during class trips.

With a stable pack environment and a rewarding job behind him, Wilshire has become a symbol, not only of the Los Angeles Fire Department, but of the power of the pack to bring about positive change in troubled dogs!