Sunday, July 19, 2009

Scooby-do!

I have a lot of problems with my back and can't sleep for any long period of time or it will lock up on me... Accordingly, I usually get into bed around 10PM, asleep by 11PM, but I'm up most days around 2-3AM... The first few mornings here, Scooby-do would stay in the family room, tucked away in a corner out of sight in a doggie bed...

But the last few mornings?... Scooby-do hears me stirring, opening up the doggie door, grabbing my Starbucks and he waits patiently aside of my computer desk, tail wagging and in anticipation for a doggie bed to appear on the floor not far from my desk! Once I put one down, he crawls into on the spot, circles around for a few times and then sleeps in from 3 to 6AM or so...

Yesterday he went to adoptions for the first time and initially he was very nervous and detached... I looked over at him and several times I thought to myself that I could almost hear him saying, "Oh bother... yet again... sigh..."... I had put a doggie hammock into the Xpen where he was and he tolerated people picking him up, petting him, putting him back in the Xpen, etc. I am SURE this was all very confusing to him...

Scooby-do and the latest foster (Kelly) have snarfed off at each other several times... It is natural... He was at the bottom of the pack's list, then in comes a foster who wants to move up, he's not going to allow that, etc... Everyone has to find their own place in the pack, and my job is not to allow aggression while the shuffling around occurs...

Last night when I did the "Let's go take a nap" (my command for I'm going to bed, come if you're coming), Scooby followed me down the hallway and I could tell he wanted to go where all the other little dogs were going, but he just wasn't ready to go there... Yet... He will one day, and I don't expect it to be that far away either... But he stood midway in the hallway, wagging his tail and looking, trying to decide if he wanted to pass through that doggie gate or not... In the end, I made the decision for him and said goodnight, whereas he turned around and went back up the hallway and into the family room where my husband had continued to watch TV...

This is a lot of progress for an emotionally detached little guy... I am VERY proud of Scooby-do already and watching him realize his potential is very self-rewarding to me... No dog should be that detached or fearful that they shut down emotionally...

Scooby-do has already started gaining weight for me and his coat is very beautiful... While he's afraid to step out and eat with everyone else, he now knows when I'm at the kitchen sink, it is usually meal time and willing stands (if at the outside of the pack) until it arrives... So it won't be long until he fleshes out well and is no longer so underweight!

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