A Word from Foster Mom (Jody)

Blue has been making great progress. We are still working on building trust. She will not take a treat from my hand, but is recognizing the 'treat drop' and pouncing on it. After every walk she gets "towel time" whether she needs it or not. She will allow me to touch her front paws and her hips, but the rear paws are off limits. Even through her frightened haze, she shows signs of that famous ES intelligence and need to bond with her human.

I did not know until late last week that she was listed as the only member of her group at the time of seizure. Which means she was isolated from the other dogs, probably chained or kenneled. Whether she was picked on by the other dogs because she chained or isolated because she was being picked on is unknown. Blue has an incredible desire to be with the action although she will not always participate. She has bonded very strongly with my Aussie, Max (Big Oaf).

Max has been great with Blue. He's become quite the caretaker always checking on her when she's in the crate. If she whines, he runs to her crate and comes to tell me. His favorite job is showing Blue normal canine-human interaction. All the "free" lovin' has presented some of it's own issues with Max who is on "Puppy Probation"/NILIF for life. So, we made an extraordinary effort to get to Obedience Class on Sunday morning where we could work on proper manners without upsetting Little Girl Blue. In spite of his problems in class, he was a perfect gentleman at PetSmart (a first for him). After walking the store for 30 minutes and checking out, I had to make a tag for Blue. The machine was next to the grooming salon and even with a number of dogs on their way in and out of the groomers, he remained relatively calm! Okay - one barking fit with a snarly one who invaded his space, but the cashier had my back with the other "handler" (a term I use very loosely).

For now, we are continuing to work the Taming Protocol and introducing new things on a slow basis. She will nose me for a pet and started giving "kisses" today, first a lick on my leg then a lick to my hand. Maybe a treat isn't far away......