In November, it will be 3 years since Daisy came to live with me. I sometimes find it hard to believe what Daisy was like before. She is such a different dog today.
Just this week she climbed onto the couch for a belly rub and turned and touched my nose with hers. A beautiful moment that I will never forget. And today, she turned her body to face me again and just cuddled up next to me and I laid my head on her and continued to pet her. Never did ever I expect this fearful dog to do something like that. It makes my heart swell with pride to see who she has become.
My one and only regret was not capturing her progress from Day 1. It's so easy to forget the small steps of progress when you are living it. That's why I love reading my friend Mary's blog. Her work with Aaron, her foster dog, who was rescued from a shelter and is fearful, like Daisy, has been amazing to follow. Not only is it inspiring and uplifting, but Mary's writing is both thoughtful and insightful. I am not over-exaggerating when I say it her words are like poetry. I hope that you will check it out. It might give you and idea of what Daisy and I went through in our first year before I started to blog about her progress.
Hi Eagan,
ReplyDeleteI can so identify with you. We adopted Annie 2 years ago through Project POOCH (http://www.pooch.org). She was a rescue dog from a busted puppy mill, we're guessing about 9 month old, part Kelpie, part Basenji. Completely fear driven. Pooped her pants when anyone came near. Now she goes with me everywhere, meets people and other dogs, leaps for joy and is even learning to play a little. Of course, this all has to be qualified: meets with caution, leaps for joy in the morning etc. Nevertheless, my heart sings when I see her happy. I chronicled her journey firstly to remember the small steps as you say, and also in the hopes of helping others in my book Diary of a Puppy Mill Princess http://www.diaryofapuppymillprincess.com.
Wow! I am so sorry I just saw your post Agnes. I would have responded sooner if I had seen it!
ReplyDeleteAnnie sounds like a very lucky girl. Wow. Daisy also is learning the joy of just being a dog, more so now than ever before. She also still has a sense of caution, but like you, my heart leaps with joy with every step forward that she makes!