We helped Mommy rake leaves!
Friday, November 22, 2013
Thursday, November 14, 2013
Milestones
Greetings everyone-
Deputy Dougal has graciously allowed his Momma to hijack his blog for this one time so I can share a few personal observations.
As the Deputy has alluded to, his Daddy and I brought Sheriff Padfoot home when he was 7 weeks and 3 pounds of pure white fluff. This beautiful, sweet boy was incredibly vulnerable and relied on us for everything with never once experiencing anything scary (outside of the wind blowing a plastic bag or a bush) or negative. Every one of his milestones such as climbing up and down the steps for the first time (regardless of the fact that he had broken out of his crate and took every one of Mommy shoes from the closet down the stairs to the living room), going potty outside (only two accidents in the house ever-must be some kind of record), learning all of his commands (sit, down, paw, beg, speak), jumping on the couch, all were celebrated with love, claps, and treats. I thought it was not possible to love a single thing more than watching this dog become a needy puppy into a very confident and well behaved adult dog. How could anything top the loves he gives in the morning just because we woke up, or the fun he has running "the bases" in the local park?
Now, I know. It's experiencing the milestones with a rescue or more specifically with the Deputy. We knew when we applied to adopt from Maryland Westie Rescue that there may be challenges or unexpected experiences we would need to address. When the Deputy's story was told and all of his little (or significant) idiosyncrasies were provided, we were very confident in our abilities to meet or exceed every one of this poor boys needs. Our confidence lasted roughly 24 hours after we brought him home. Having had limited experience with rescues that had suffered the way he had, we were completely unprepared for the fear, anxiety, and downright confusion facing us. Every noise Dougal heard, he would bark at, he would growl and snarl when petted, he refused to eat for the first 48 hours, he would hide under the bed for no other reason than it was nighttime. After a week, I was wondering if we had done the right thing, did we have what it takes to help Dougal heal and trust us? Were we enough for him? Could he love us?
Those questions continued to play over and over in my head after each vet visit, dog park experience, attempts to walk on trails, etc. Slowly, progress was made. For each milestone we reached, setbacks would follow. For example, Dougal was aggressive when being brushed or getting his paws sprayed with special allergy reducing medicine. After about 3 weeks, he finally realized that neither the spray nor the brushing were going to hurt him. Yet, last week, after almost 6 weeks of progress, he reverted and lashed out at my husband. What happened? His Daddy and I felt like failures because we had worked so hard to gain his trust and show him unconditional love and affection. After sitting with a very contrite, obviously upset dog in our laps, we realized that progress is slow and sometimes to go forward, steps backwards have to happen. Patience and love are definitely virtues we need to utilize in our daily lives with Dougal. However, progress has happened!!! After about 6 weeks, little things began to change. Dougal met dogs in the neighborhood that he actually would play with, he responded to commands with enthusiasm and pride, he would bring toys for us to play with, sought our laps and company when upset instead of hiding under the bed, go outside without barking, allowed the groomer to wash and brush him without incident, gave licks and love for no other reason than I petted the right spot.
These were not the same milestones we had experienced with the Sheriff but they had the exact same impact. Each and everyday our precious Deputy improves and trusts us more and more. My heart is so full of love and joy because of these two exceptional boys and cannot imagine our lives without both of them in it. For those that struggle with feelings of inadequacy or despair after bringing a rescue home-hold on just a little longer and longer after that. Two steps forward sometimes means 4 steps backward but it is ok! Things do improve and they are miraculous when they do. You don't want to miss out!
Deputy Dougal has graciously allowed his Momma to hijack his blog for this one time so I can share a few personal observations.
As the Deputy has alluded to, his Daddy and I brought Sheriff Padfoot home when he was 7 weeks and 3 pounds of pure white fluff. This beautiful, sweet boy was incredibly vulnerable and relied on us for everything with never once experiencing anything scary (outside of the wind blowing a plastic bag or a bush) or negative. Every one of his milestones such as climbing up and down the steps for the first time (regardless of the fact that he had broken out of his crate and took every one of Mommy shoes from the closet down the stairs to the living room), going potty outside (only two accidents in the house ever-must be some kind of record), learning all of his commands (sit, down, paw, beg, speak), jumping on the couch, all were celebrated with love, claps, and treats. I thought it was not possible to love a single thing more than watching this dog become a needy puppy into a very confident and well behaved adult dog. How could anything top the loves he gives in the morning just because we woke up, or the fun he has running "the bases" in the local park?
Now, I know. It's experiencing the milestones with a rescue or more specifically with the Deputy. We knew when we applied to adopt from Maryland Westie Rescue that there may be challenges or unexpected experiences we would need to address. When the Deputy's story was told and all of his little (or significant) idiosyncrasies were provided, we were very confident in our abilities to meet or exceed every one of this poor boys needs. Our confidence lasted roughly 24 hours after we brought him home. Having had limited experience with rescues that had suffered the way he had, we were completely unprepared for the fear, anxiety, and downright confusion facing us. Every noise Dougal heard, he would bark at, he would growl and snarl when petted, he refused to eat for the first 48 hours, he would hide under the bed for no other reason than it was nighttime. After a week, I was wondering if we had done the right thing, did we have what it takes to help Dougal heal and trust us? Were we enough for him? Could he love us?
Those questions continued to play over and over in my head after each vet visit, dog park experience, attempts to walk on trails, etc. Slowly, progress was made. For each milestone we reached, setbacks would follow. For example, Dougal was aggressive when being brushed or getting his paws sprayed with special allergy reducing medicine. After about 3 weeks, he finally realized that neither the spray nor the brushing were going to hurt him. Yet, last week, after almost 6 weeks of progress, he reverted and lashed out at my husband. What happened? His Daddy and I felt like failures because we had worked so hard to gain his trust and show him unconditional love and affection. After sitting with a very contrite, obviously upset dog in our laps, we realized that progress is slow and sometimes to go forward, steps backwards have to happen. Patience and love are definitely virtues we need to utilize in our daily lives with Dougal. However, progress has happened!!! After about 6 weeks, little things began to change. Dougal met dogs in the neighborhood that he actually would play with, he responded to commands with enthusiasm and pride, he would bring toys for us to play with, sought our laps and company when upset instead of hiding under the bed, go outside without barking, allowed the groomer to wash and brush him without incident, gave licks and love for no other reason than I petted the right spot.
These were not the same milestones we had experienced with the Sheriff but they had the exact same impact. Each and everyday our precious Deputy improves and trusts us more and more. My heart is so full of love and joy because of these two exceptional boys and cannot imagine our lives without both of them in it. For those that struggle with feelings of inadequacy or despair after bringing a rescue home-hold on just a little longer and longer after that. Two steps forward sometimes means 4 steps backward but it is ok! Things do improve and they are miraculous when they do. You don't want to miss out!
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Puppy Serenade
The picture is dark and not the best, but if you turn your sound on, you can enjoy the Sheriff and I serenading Mommy! Enjoy!!
P.S We added a gadget thingy so you can follow my Deputy posts by e-mail! Now you will be up to date on my daily activities.
The Deputy
P.S We added a gadget thingy so you can follow my Deputy posts by e-mail! Now you will be up to date on my daily activities.
The Deputy
Monday, November 4, 2013
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