Diary of an Adoption
Ambassador
Paradis Day One: Paradis is a
2-year-old foster dog from Broward Humane Society, absolutely
terrified of everything. Had to be carried into the house, then carried out to
the back yard. Spent two hours running the fence line looking for a way out.
Could only be approached and petted if cornered, so we sat back and
waited for her to approach. She finally
did, but ran again after two or three strokes. At dusk, carried into the house, and put upon
the sofa she finally relaxed and cuddled up - after an hour she had a nap. Would not eat at
supper time. At bed time, she wanted to be on the
bed with us, but took it in good part when told no. Put feet up on bedstand and drank wife’s
water glass, despite having been shown two bowls of water (kitchen and lanai).
Ignored her blanket and went back to the sofa where she had been cuddled.
Paradis Day 2: Panicked when we arose and ran
around the house trying to avoid us. Finally, she approached and received pets and praise. Out into the yard just before
dawn, she ran the fence line for an hour looking for escape,
did her bodily functions, then finally approached and received pets and
praise. When I repaired inside to make
coffee, she began to eat, but ceased as soon as she saw me watching and ran
about the yard. She kept coming back to the food and I soon
learned not to look at her while she was eating.
After an hour or so of roaming the yard
(while I sat in an outdoor chair, telling her what a good dog she was, she went
around the corner tried to jump the 5-foot fence. Managed to hit the gate latch in the process,
and opened the gate. Would not come and
was headed for the open end of the street when, fortunately, a neighbour came
into the street from his morning run. Between
the two of us, we sealed off escape and she finally allowed approach. (With only
two of us on a street that has lawns on both sides, she could have easily
gotten past, but was so timid that she would not try it.) After she allowed
approach, Paradis would not follow on the lead, so she
was carried back home. Wired the gate latches shut,
but will need to keep close watch when she is outside as she can just get her
front paws on the fence bar 6 inches below the top, so might be able to scrabble out.
Went for a walk to the end of the block
(cul-de-sac). She was interested and
tail came out from between legs. On return she followed to the door, but had to
be carried inside. Settling Paradis down and getting used to a loving home
again looks to be a project of a couple of weeks, rather than a couple of days.
In the middle of the night, Paradis
decided that, since our bed is above floor height, she needed to sleep on the
bedroom blanket box, which is almost the same height. However, it is polished wood so quite
slippery - leading to random scrabbling noises through the night, just as we
drift off to sleep after the last bout.
It will be covered with books tonight so she will need to make another
choice. Still spurns the blanket kindly provided by HSBC, so we put it on the
sofa where she likes to nap – to get it imbued with her own scent.
Diary of an Adoption Ambassador: Paradis Day 3:
Paradis is
starting to bond with me, following me everywhere inside the house, and franticly
seeking me if I go outside without her.
Still does not trust me completely and must be carried in and out of all
doors – except for the front door, which she will exit by herself if on the
lead. Has started eating, though prefers to wait until we go to bed and lights
are out.
On the lead and walking, Paradis allowed
approach from two strangers (a neighbour and our pool lady), sniffed them and
permitted them to give pets (two to a customer only). Disdained the idea of a treat from the neighbour. Indeed, spurns all treats even from us,
including the Milk Bones kindly provided by HSBC.
Made the mistake of turning off the
outside light as she was half-way in the back door coming in from the yard:
cringe and scamper and another 30 minutes until she would approach.
Diary of an Adoption Ambassador: Paradis Day 4
First trip
to the dog park – which Paradis viewed with some trepidation. Of course, first
thing had to be an overly-welcoming 6-month old German Shepherd, who needed to
be snapped at and put in his proper place.
But after meeting the third dog or fourth dog, the tail started to come
out from under her belly and she seemed almost happy by the end.
Followed by lunch at Gallupis, which
worried us as there would be lots of strange people. No problem at all, she lay down quietly by
our chairs and even deigned to drink some of the water provided by the
waitress. A firm believer that dogs at
dog-friendly restaurants should also get some lunch, we ordered her a hot dog
(no bun), much loved by our previous dog.
Paradis allowed that it was not up to her standards, so no thanks. Still
has yet to wag her tail.
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