Well, she easily made it through her first day in her new found home. She has managed to cower all four of my other dogs – individually, and as a pack. Amazing, as they are all twice as big as she is. I imagine her snarling at them, “You ain’t nothin’ I just survived weeks in the wilds with mountain lions, coyotes, and foxes. You think you scare me? Ha, this is MY human now! Know what I went thru to find her? I walked miles and miles through the wilderness. Yup, she’s mine now!” And it is true. She has won my heart. Not over the others, but in addition too. I worked hard all day to make sure the others did not feel neglected. Whew, I had no idea the turn my day would take when I woke up.
She ate 4 cups of dog food yesterday, spread throughout the day so she didn’t get sick. She scarfed the last one as hungrily as she did the first. it will take some time to put all that weight back on, so I may have to add some things to her diet.
I took her out on a leash, twice, and she did very well, although not her “business.” She is either leash trained, or not wanting to get more than inches away from me, borne out by her inside behavior. Not fond of the great outdoors, at the moment. That’s okay. She can have a few mistakes inside, as long as she doesn’t make a habit of it. She gets some special consideration for a while.
She needed constant reassurance yesterday, so my day was completely rearranged to accommodate her needs, assimilate her into my tribe, make her feel safe, above all. She followed me everywhere, and whenever I sat, stood, or walked, she was right there sitting at my feet. She wanted up in my bed, but it is too tall, and I did not want to encourage a tick-infested dog into my bed. So, I laid a big fluffy bath towel near the back window door, where I was within sight. She can watch the world outside and me, too.
I have yet to hear her bark, yelp, or make any sound other than this slight snarl she used with the other dogs to establish her place in the pack. They all listened.
I called the shelters in Monterey and San Luis Obispo, posted everywhere, checked Fido Finder, Craigslist, and did what I could to find her “other” human. I emailed and took calls all day. At sunset, we were all settled in for the night, including the cats.
About 9 pm, Missy started acting a little differently. She gave out a quiet whimper, the only sound I had heard her make all day, with the exception of the quiet little dominance, leave me alone snarls I had heard directed at my dogs. She was wandering through the house, so I decided since she needed to go outside to go potty. I had taken my leg off, was in my pjs, and dogs don’t go out at night up here, due to mountain lions.
I got up, put my leg on, didn’t bother getting dressed, grabbed the leash, led her to the door and opened it. Dakota got out, but Missy took one look at the dark, and decided she didn’t want to go after all. I can only imagine the scary nights she shivered and hid through recently, but I reassured her and led her out. Dakota stayed with us, and Missy stayed close to me. We went to a dirt area, we went to a grassy area. All she did was sit. I gave up and told her we weren’t going out anymore tonight. Then, she looked at me with those sweet, loving eyes again. I pretended I didn’t notice her, and she went back to her spot and laid down. Smart dog.
