From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog (Entry Nine)

Karen, one of CPCRN's foster mentors, has graciously allowed us access to her diary documenting the journey of Flopsy, also known as Rusty, from the puppy mill to her forever home. The diary will be broken up into short sections and posted. Check back for new entries in the series entitled "From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog". (Previous Journal Entries: Entry One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight)

6/6/07
At bedtime tonight, Rusty came into the room all by herself and jumped on the bed! This is a first for her. She let me take her off the bed and put her in her crate without any problems.

6/7/07
Rusty came back into the bedroom by herself, once again! Usually, I have to catch her in the other part of the house and carry her back to the bedroom.

6/9/07
Today, when I let the fur kids come into the living room, Rusty laid down on the dog bed in front of the fireplace. I crawled over to her on all fours and she didn’t run away from me! She even let me scratch her all over. I did this same ritual a few more times and she let me pet her each time.

A short while later, I was getting ready in the guest bathroom and Rusty came down the hallway and peeked inside to see what I was doing. She even came into the bathroom with me, and then rushed back out when I made a movement. Mostly, Rusty laid outside the bathroom and waited for me. It was quite cute.

Each day, Rusty is becoming a little more confident. We are still having problems catching her and she will not let us approach her. She continues to come back to the bedroom by herself. Tonight, when I turned around to give Holly a treat, the little munchkin jumped up on the bed with Starry!

6/28/07
For the past few days, I have been taking Rusty to the back bedroom with me, so I can work with her by herself. I just lay on the floor and give her treats, pets, treats, etc. I decided to use some Rescue Remedy today, before our session. Rusty was a touch calmer in the room and a little more relaxed in the other part of the house, too.

I have also started to sit by her food bowl when I feed her. I try to be as still as possible, so I don’t frighten or startle her. She was apprehensive the first time I did this, but is getting better.

This evening, I took the blanket out and laid on the grass. Rusty was initiating play with Holly. I even heard her mimic the play noise the others make, too cute!

I was giving the kids some of my tiny ice cubes, and of course, Rusty tried it and loved it.

As I was laying on the blanket, all of the kids were laying close to me. Rusty was actually laying within 4 feet of me! When she moved down towards my feet, I felt her touch my toes with her nose.

Rusty is such a wonderful little dog. She is really easy to take care of, as she potties the minute I let her outside. She loves those walks and car rides. I hope someone out there will discover this little diamond in the ruff!

To Be Continued ...