From A Pauper To A Princess - The Journey of a Puppy Mill Dog (Update 1)

We've all followed the journey of Flopsy, also know as Rusty, from the puppy mill to her forever home thanks to her Foster Mom, Karen, one of CPCRN's foster mentors. (To read Rusty's journey from a pauper to a princess written by her Foster Mom click here.) Rusty started the next chapter of her life in January 2008 when she was adopted by her Forever Mom, Sheryl. Not only did Rusty get her chance at "happily ever after" she also got a new name! Rusty is now known as Maisie and lives with her brothers Murry and Micha. Maisie's story continues thanks to updates from her Forever Mom.

1/5/08 - Written by Maisie's Foster Mom

Sheryl and Maisie arrived in Boston around 5:30 a.m. She called me this evening, after she had a chance to pick up Murry (Cairn) and Micha (cat) at the pet sitters house and introduce Maisie to Murry.

Let me start at the beginning. She said Maisie was a perfect angel on the plane ride home. Once they hopped a taxi and got home, she let Maisie out of the Sherpa and she did her business. They then went inside the house and to bed for a while. Later in the morning, they got up and she fed Maisie her breakfast. Sheryl left Maisie downstairs and heard her pacing, trying to figure out where Sheryl was. Sheryl called to her, but Maisie couldn't figure out the direction of her voice.

Sheryl went and picked up Murry and Micha and left Maisie at home in the crate. When she returned, she put Murry in the backyard and went back inside and got Maisie. She said they sniffed one another for a minute or two, and then lost interest. :) Sheryl said that Murry was more interested in her, since she had been gone for a week. They went inside the house and Sheryl and Murry went upstairs again to unpack. Sheryl said no more than 5 minutes later, she hears a "thump, thump, thump" and went to the stairs and there is Maisie coming up the stairs to be with them! We don't have stairs, so this is HUGE! The only other time she attempted stairs is when we were staying with Lois in July.

Sheryl took Murry and Maisie to the park for a walk, because the next door neighbor had workers outside using power tools and it was really noisy. She put Maisie in her seatbelt and Maisie did her usual rubbing her head around on the seat, getting excited to go for a ride. Sheryl said the time of day she took them is when the park is quiet, so she knew it wouldn't be too overwhelming for Maisie. Maisie, of course, loved her walks and did amazingly well, even when other dogs came up to her. She said they walked the park for 45 minutes.

Sheryl said that Maisie has claimed a "safe" corner in the house and tends to lay there most of the time. When I was talking with Sheryl, she said she had Maisie on her lap, because she didn't want Maisie to always stay in the corner.

Maisie did mark in her house twice, so I told Sheryl that when she isn't able to watch her, to put her in an enclosed area to prevent this from happening and she agreed to do this. I also suggested that she pick up the throw rugs for a little while, since there might be certain odors on the rugs that are "enticing" her to mark.

I am so pleased with how things are going!

To Be Continued ...