Forever Home!

I bet you're thinking that doesnt look like Tucker or Holly's crab-grass infested lawn... and where the heck did she get the funds for that fence? and MY GOD!!! is that two dogs on furniture???

My last blog was the one I posted the day before Quinnie went to her forever home. There aren't too many foster dogs that can make me cry but I bawled like a baby when her new family packed her into their car to take her home.

Kasey and Steve applied for two of our rescue dogs and they ended up with both of them. We decided that it would be in Quinnie's best interests for her to go to a home with another dog and as it turned out they couldnt have picked a better match for her.

So here is an update that I recieved from them.

Hi holly! I wanted to check in and give you a positive update on Scout and Chloe (we changed Quinnie's name). They are doing GREAT! Chloe does not even sleep in her crate anymore and walks around the house like a normal dog...she loves to sleep on our chaise and she loves to be outside...she loves to chew on bones (LOVES them). She is not scared to come around us anymore and we even got her on the leash for walks....its been a very good transition. She is quite happy and we are so glad we adopted them both. We spoil them. -Kasey

It was a long and rewarding foster experience and one I've learned a lot from. Living with a fearful dog is heartbreaking and frustrating at one moment and yet the next, you find yourself beyond elation for the simplest of behaviors, behaviors that you would take for granted from any other dog.

One day at a time, thats all I can say.

Progress Report week 18.5

Tucker and I decided to harness Quinnie up today and take her for a walk.

She was not at all impressed with the harness and as soon as it was buckled on she went to the back of the yard, sat down by a tree and proceeded to pout.

We walked over to her and snapped the leash on her collar and then took a quick spin around the yard. She did good, lots of forward movement and while she was walking very tucked, she didnt army crawl on her belly so we decided to give it a whirl on the other side of the fence.

She's certainly not the easiest dog to walk but she did so much better than I would ever have anticipated. She army crawled a couple of time (but only for a few steps) and she also had a few episodes of some serious panicked pulling but she made it all the way to the end of the culdesac and back with out any serious drama... I'm always excited when I can walk down my street and not have my neighbors staring out thier windows and pointing.

I'm thrilled with the progress she is making. I have hopes that one day she will find the perfect home and they will send me wonderful updates about all of the little steps that the rest of us dog-owers take for granted!

In the meantime, she is such a muffin and I am getting a kick out of all of her silly antics. Lately she has decided that her favorite place to spend the evening is entwined around my legs with her head resting on my foot.

Week 13 Progress Report

Goodness, I've been slacking.

It's safe to say that Quinnie's meds have officially kicked in. I am starting to see a much more relaxed Quinnie.

My friend JB met Quinnie the first week she was with me and he has pretty much been her nemesis from day one. She has a long history of barking at him, hiding from him, and throwing herself of my steps at the mere sound of his voice. Poor JB visits here a few days every week, the other dogs love him.

Yesterday we were camped out in the living room, wrestling with Turk, Yori and Irish and just like that Quinnie walked over to him, sniffed his hands and decided he was 'in'. Needless to say, he was beside himself since he has been getting nothing but a cold shoulder for the past 3 months.

Quinnie finally is standing next to me while I am standing. I know it sounds pretty unmomentous but if for the past 3 month if I'm standing, Quinnie is crouching, its how we roll. But this afternoon we were out in the yard, and not only did Quinnie saunter right over to me (okay, perhaps it was more of a hesitant walk but it was a fully upright walk) but she she jumped up on me and tried to get some love.

Darned Yori teaching her all sorts of bad tricks. I'll be honest, ordinarily this is something I would correct but how do you say "no" to a dog that is terrified of the world and is trying to get love? It was a pretty big step for her so I grabbed her feet, set them on the ground and gave her lots of pets and kisses. She is so ridiculously cute when she puts her mind to it.

But dont worry, my crazy-girl is still in there. I've changed her bedding 3 times this week since she cant seem to resist relieving herself in her crate. Oddly no accidents on my floors in well over a month.

I also learned that while she loves stuffed pillow beds, she loves them for all the wrong reasons. I of course realized this a bit too late as I was collecting a bed's worth of stuffing from her crate and the surrounding area.