carameldog-blog

[carameldog-blog]

Trying the dog park after some successful meets with family dogs

[carameldog-blog]

[carameldog-blog]

[carameldog-blog]

Caramel's First Christmas

One of the first big adventures for Caramel was Christmas. She went to her grandparents' house where she first got to meet all her new family. She was a little nervous when we arrived but she settled right in and enjoyed all the tummy rubs! She also did well with her new cousin Porter.

[carameldog-blog]

Recheck

It turned out miss Caramel dog came preinstalled with Kennel Cough! Since she was fresh from the shelter she could get rechecked for free but that also meant having to take her into an office where other dogs would be. I was a touch worried since her chart at the shelter had said she was aggressive and reactive to small dogs but it had to be done as I couldn't listen to her hacking anymore. We arrived and she was terrified! She was shaking and I had to coax her inside. Once in however she showed only passing interest in the other dogs and just sat behind my legs until we were called.

We got into the office and as soon as the tech came in to examine her, all the hacking and coughing stopped and she was perfectly quiet except for the smallest most dainty cough near the end. The tech beleived me though! And we got her prescription and went home.

[carameldog-blog]

The first night. She had her own bed but I stayed on the pullout with her to get her settled and to keep her off the carpeted areas as she wasn't house trained yet!

[carameldog-blog]

First Meeting 💖

[carameldog-blog]

The Beginning

One year ago, life had settled and I was ready to find a my own fur baby. I had done lots of research and went in eyes and heart open knowing the work that would be involved for any new pet. I took a day to go around to the animal shelters in my city and spent hours meeting dogs and puppies alike. At the last shelter I was making a list of who I'd like to meet when I saw her. Bright eyed, curious without being too rowdy, a little timid but not terrified, I thought "No way a dog this perfect was just dumped in the shelter, she must have some serious behavior issues." Her chart listed only her intake date so I wrote her name down and asked to meet. She was a bit shy but her curiosity got the better of her and she accepted my hand and leaned into me. I asked what they knew about her. They said she had been picked up as a stray and she had been adopted almost immediately, then she was surrendered only four dats later. They said she was agressive and bad with small children and didn't like other dogs. We have no kids and no other dogs in our household so I said those weren't problems for us, and I was fully expecting to need to do behavior work with any dog I found. I met a few more dogs after but I knew I connected with her. My SO came to meet her and we took her home that day. Her shelter name was Jingle but we renamed her Caramel to mark the start of her new life. These are the photos and stories of her days since.