Monday, February 25, 2019

Tuesday Tails: Bella gets her groove back

By Elizabeth B.

When Bella (formerly CP Andy Dandy) first came to Col. Potter, she was a zombie.
At least, that’s what I called her. She’d been taking tranquilizers to help with anxiety and barking after she moved to a new state and a new condo. Her original owner eventually recognized that a condo can be a difficult place for a cairn terrier, with no yard and lots of unfamiliar noises. So she reached out to Col. Potter for help finding Bella a new home.

We got off to a slow start...
That’s where I came in. My husband and I picked Bella up from a big city two hours away. Unfortunately, the trip didn’t go quite as I—a first-time foster mom—had imagined. Because as it turns out, Bella wasn't used to being crated. So she cried and panted the whole way home. For two hours. Nothing we did could soothe her. I remember thinking: “What have I gotten myself into?!” I had visions of sleepless nights, days in which I was too distracted to work...
Thankfully, the moment we let Bella out of her crate into our backyard, she was right as rain. She came up to me, tail wagging faintly, ready to meet me for real. All anxiety about the crate was forgotten. No more crying or panting. But no more anything else, either. During our first week together, Bella was lethargic, showing little personality. She turned up her nose at her toys. She didn’t want anything to do with her foster brother, True. Each morning, she basically just parked herself on the back of the couch and watched the world go by.
Bella (fka CP Andy Dandy) watches the world go by
The upside of this is that she was a super easy dog to foster. Slowly, over the month I had her (and as I worked with my vet to wean her off the meds), I saw Bella start to let down her hair. Okay, maybe she just loosened her ponytail a bit. She started running to greet my husband at the door when he came home. She got excited when I pulled out her pink leash for a walk. She even initiated play with my other dog and chased him in figure eights around the room.
But I could see she was still tentative, still holding back. She seemed to sense that her time with me was almost up. She was doing so well that Bella was ready for her new mom. And after having waited for more than six months for the right dog to adopt, her new mom was more than ready for Bella.
Now Bella’s personality really shines...
After only her first month in her forever home, Bella has really started to let down her hair and show her sparkling personality. Here’s what Nancy, her adoptive mom, has shared with us:
“Bella has turned into a wild one, ladies. She has completely changed. She is so energetic. Oh how she loves to run and play, chase the cats, squirrels, and birds that get into my yard. And she’s found my basket of toys. She’s been pulling them out one at a time to find the squeaker in each one. She runs around with a toy in her mouth and growls. There’s an explosion of toys everywhere.
Toys, toys everywhere

“She sleeps in my bed and has started talking to me with her little groans. When she wants something, I ask her to ‘show me’ and off she goes to the frig for her apples or to the door to go out.

“You would not believe how she has come to play! Her favorite is hide and go seek. I hide in the closet or bathtub and she comes to find me. In the beginning, when I left the room, she stayed right on my tail. Now, I have time to hide and let her find me. She is so funny running around until she thinks she has found me and tiptoes real slow up to me with her tail going 90 miles an hour.


“As I write this, she's sound asleep on her perch. I couldn’t ask for a better dog. Love love love her. A huge thanks to Col. Potter for letting me adopt her!”


Bella enjoys a lovely walk

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Sunday Sweets!

Sunday is full of SWEETS! Each week we showcase the sweeter side of Cairns. If you have a sweet-filled Cairn and would like us to consider YOUR photo for an upcoming Sunday Sweets, send it to us at cpcrnblog@gmail.com (All photo submissions become the property of CPCRN and may be used for fundraising, promotion and/or outreach purposes.).

Bonnie Rae supervises the loading of the dishwasher

Chiclets is scarce bigger than the can!

Foster Fitzroy shows off his Ballerina-esque posture

Foster Titanium settles in to a fun foster home

Foster Harvey explores his new digs

Maggie (CP Chills) just pops in to say "Hello!"

Foster Miss Wiggles soaks up the sunlight

Ravenswood celebrated her 11th Gotcha Day this month

Foster Santorini shows off a favorite toy

Heigh ho! Foster Silver

Say hello to Sophie (CP Isabella Jo Ann)

This precious puppy paw belongs to Bonnie Rae



Friday, February 22, 2019

Sunday, February 17, 2019

Sunday Sweets!

Sunday is full of SWEETS! Each week we showcase the sweeter side of Cairns. If you have a sweet-filled Cairn and would like us to consider YOUR photo for an upcoming Sunday Sweets, send it to us at cpcrnblog@gmail.com (All photo submissions become the property of CPCRN and may be used for fundraising, promotion and/or outreach purposes.).

Foster Fernando rocking the candy corns
Foster Brass is looking snazzy in blue

Foster Bronze fairly gleams in the sun

Foster Frankie Avalon enjoys a break from his walk

Foster Gold doesn't look a day over two

Foster Isla is on the lookout for forever!

Foster Kase carefully counts his toys

Foster Kelly Nelly stands with her face to the wind

Foster Sunflower snuggles with her monkey

Who and Foster Sunflower make a lovely contrast

Foster Titanium savors the last vestiges of snow

Penny (fka CP Unity), fresh from playing in the dirt



Friday, February 15, 2019

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Sunday Sweets!

Sunday is full of SWEETS! Each week we showcase the sweeter side of Cairns. If you have a sweet-filled Cairn and would like us to consider YOUR photo for an upcoming Sunday Sweets, send it to us at cpcrnblog@gmail.com (All photo submissions become the property of CPCRN and may be used for fundraising, promotion and/or outreach purposes.).

Foster Kase is a scholar and a gentleman

Foster Skipper Lee has a noble carriage

'Tell everyone I say hi!" says Foster Allie Efa.

Beatrice (fka Tonga) lounges in her new home

Foster Bomont is one of our new kids on the block

Foster Bonacci shows off a coat of interesting color

Foster Fernando

Foster Harvey is excited to have found ALL THE BALLS!

Foster Isla waits patiently for a treat

Foster Jessop keeps it California cool

Kelly Nelly still has those puppy dog eyes going

The trifecta of Lucas, Tess, and Gabby

Foster St. Lucia is a sweet girl



Friday, February 8, 2019

Friday Funnies

Who's the pack leader?

Click to enlarge

posted by Bandit @Iamaslydog on Pictame.com

Sunday, February 3, 2019

Sunday Sweets!

Sunday is full of SWEETS! Each week we showcase the sweeter side of Cairns. If you have a sweet-filled Cairn and would like us to consider YOUR photo for an upcoming Sunday Sweets, send it to us at cpcrnblog@gmail.com (All photo submissions become the property of CPCRN and may be used for fundraising, promotion and/or outreach purposes.).

Ginger is a lovely little lady 

CP Cooper has conked out 

Foster Titanium and CP Orva on squirrel patrol 

Best beasties MacPerry and Dougie

Foster Moriarty ponders the mysteries of the universe

The pack waits patiently for a liver treat
NobleRalphie (fka CP Noble), CP Raquel, Ross, and Shorty Long

Foster Sunflower in the sun



Friday, February 1, 2019

Friday Funnies

"Are you okay?"




by Nathan W. Pyle for Buzzfeed