Mindy
BossMan and I are 4 days in with our second foster dog and it's been an eye-opener, to say the least. As some of you might know our first foster, Bruce made us both "foster failures". I'll go into that in a later post.
Back to the purpose of this post. Four days into our second foster experience and boy has it been interesting.
I picked up Missy, now Mindy (1. she wasn't attached to the name Missy and 2. we weren't fond of the name Missy for her and let's be honest, IN GENERAL), from the shelter on my way home from work. We had a nice little car ride back home (love a good car canine), met Bruce and BossMan outside in neutral zone and went for a quick walk. The two had already met the night before and they got along so well but we didn't want anyone to feel threatened in the house. If you are introducing two dogs for the first time and your dog might be a tiny bit skittish or territorial please do this! It will do wonders for them.
The first night with our foster girl was a little rough on account of the fact that I only got a combined total of 3 hours of sleep. She destroyed her nice comfy bed (thank God I bought the cheap one) and knock the crate all over the place. I ended up sleep on the floor in the dining room next to her crate to get her to stop crying. Since we have roommates right now who bravely commute to the city for work every day and early I might add, I didn't want her keeping them up!
Not sure how I would have made it through the next day at work without an understanding boss, a run home to take a nap and snuggling with Mindy and Bruce for a wee bit. Mindy was clearly sorry she kept me up all night. I could see it in her pretty amber colored eyes.
Since that first night Mindy May has gotten more and more comfy in our home. She and Bruce are always next to each other either sun bathing or inside laying on the shag carpet (ugh, I'm sure I'll get to how much I hate that carpet in some other post). On our hike this passed weekend Mindy liked to be just in front of Bruce so she felt like she was winning the "race". If Bruce got too far forward she would give him the stink eye or head butt him and he would get his ass back in line. Talk about a man who know how to read a lady! Bravo Bruce!
These are the things I've learned since we started fostering Mindy:
Back to the purpose of this post. Four days into our second foster experience and boy has it been interesting.
I picked up Missy, now Mindy (1. she wasn't attached to the name Missy and 2. we weren't fond of the name Missy for her and let's be honest, IN GENERAL), from the shelter on my way home from work. We had a nice little car ride back home (love a good car canine), met Bruce and BossMan outside in neutral zone and went for a quick walk. The two had already met the night before and they got along so well but we didn't want anyone to feel threatened in the house. If you are introducing two dogs for the first time and your dog might be a tiny bit skittish or territorial please do this! It will do wonders for them.
The first night with our foster girl was a little rough on account of the fact that I only got a combined total of 3 hours of sleep. She destroyed her nice comfy bed (thank God I bought the cheap one) and knock the crate all over the place. I ended up sleep on the floor in the dining room next to her crate to get her to stop crying. Since we have roommates right now who bravely commute to the city for work every day and early I might add, I didn't want her keeping them up!
Not sure how I would have made it through the next day at work without an understanding boss, a run home to take a nap and snuggling with Mindy and Bruce for a wee bit. Mindy was clearly sorry she kept me up all night. I could see it in her pretty amber colored eyes.
Since that first night Mindy May has gotten more and more comfy in our home. She and Bruce are always next to each other either sun bathing or inside laying on the shag carpet (ugh, I'm sure I'll get to how much I hate that carpet in some other post). On our hike this passed weekend Mindy liked to be just in front of Bruce so she felt like she was winning the "race". If Bruce got too far forward she would give him the stink eye or head butt him and he would get his ass back in line. Talk about a man who know how to read a lady! Bravo Bruce!
These are the things I've learned since we started fostering Mindy:
- Having 2 dogs is so much different than having one - the dynamics of the entire house completely changes, not just with the existing dog but between the humans. BossMan and I both have a lot of love in us for each other and for dogs so there is plenty of that to go around. We also thrive on snuggle time for each pup and I think they probably dig it also. It's just the pit bull way of life! There is a lot more praise going around not just for the pups but with each other. We praise Mindy in every positive thing she does mostly to get her feeling like she is being accepted and really because we just want to see that booty of hers shake when she wags her tail.
- Bruce completely and purely spoiled us- he was and is so well behaved (apart from his separation anxiety freak out sessions) that now we think all dogs should be like him. We obsess over him and can't imagine not having him in our family! He is perfect for our family.
- Mindy is now spoiling us - how can it be that 2 dogs both out of the shelter, saved from death row can be so sweet, loving and OMG they are pit bulls (the horror!!!)
Bruce waiting to meet his foster sister
As if I would forget to rescue a dog from the shelter
NERD-I'm super organized
Let's bust you out of here girl! - the car ride home
Loving the car ride AWAY from the shelter
A little unsure of herself but when BossMan walks in she's all wiggles and smiles
On a nice long hike in the Santa Cruz Mountains (thank you to her foster cousin, Tyler for leading her!)
Lovers tired after an exciting weekend
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