Progress on two fronts

She's not the same scared little girl she
was the day she arrived.

Bella reminds me of a lot of dogs coming into a new environment, particularly if they came from a bad environment. Even a good shelter is a bad environment for a lot of dogs because it's strange and new, with lot of noise, lots of people, lots of dogs. It may be a good shelter, but it's not a home. Bella is scared but not as bad as some. She wouldn't let us touch her, but if we extended a hand, she would come up and touch it. She would shy away if the hand came from above or tried to go over her head. The poor girl had probably been hit but she also wanted and needed to trust someone.

She wasn't really in panic mode, but she's no fan of thunder so
she pushed her way in and laid to top of my feet, and partially
on top of Gigi.

Tuesday afternoon and evening we had a thunderstorm and it was then that Bella decided that I was less scary than the storm. She jumped the kitchen gate where I had her confined with the puppy and came upstairs to push her way in under my desk with my scaredy-cat crowd. She laid there between my legs looking up at me and was more than happy when I reached down to pet her. 

She didn't settle for a second best spot either,
she got right between my legs. That's Trooper
behind her in this picture.

When the storm was over Bella wasn't as eager to be touched, but she is clearly getting better, trusting us more, each day. With her lithe and agile body, I'm concerned that she could jump the fence in the dog yard and I'm not yet convinced that she's "homed" here, so she's been pretty much confined indoors.  The puppy, (we are calling him "Jess" now), gets far more freedom and outdoor time because he's never far away and comes immediately when I call or shake a food dish in his direction.

 

When the storm was over she just laid her
head on my foot and went to sleep.

She now hangs out in my office during the day along with
some combination of Trooper, Gigi, Maya, Vince, Samantha,
Scarlett and Penelope.

Penelope and I did a home visit today, checking out what I think will be her new home in Charlottesville. Very nice folks, and they were very taken with her, and her tongue. It's a great home, but it's not ready for a couple weeks yet, so she'll be with us for a while longer. We will miss Penelope when she goes, but she's a lot of dog. She needs more attention and we need the space so I'm glad that she will soon have a home of her own.