Ode to Dixie

 

Because this is a blog mainly about my foster dogs and rescue endeavors, I have failed to ever dedicate an entire post to Dixie, the matriarch of our pack. So, as I make my first entry in 2014 in hopes of a better year, not only in the blogging world (one of my resolutions was to get back at it, no matter what), but the year as a whole, this one is for my girl, "Schmick."

I have never lived with another dog like Dixie.  She is a total mess.  There are so many things she does that drive me absolutely nuts and most of them are because she is so damn smart.  She takes every opportunity to scavenge the kitchen.  She can and will jump any gate.  She can climb up to any counter and has no qualms about snatching food from atop. Each attempt is as passionate as the next, whether it's a juicy steak or merely a stray cheerio she is seeking.  She can open all of our cupboards and will even crawl completely into the garbage cupboard with the door closed behind her so as not to be seen as she forages.  Even though she adores people and never meets a stranger, there is one exception.  She guards her home and her pack fiercely from the evil people that come to the doorstep everyday in blue uniforms.  The only worse enemies are the more sporadic brown-uniformed people.  Our typically mild mannered girl turns into Kujo at the mere sound of the UPS truck.  She can hear it coming from blocks away.  Being an almost exclusively online shopping household, this fiasco is a pretty regular happening.  She is also a predator extraordinaire and will not hesitate to kill anything small and furry, feathered, or scaled.  She has a lump of scar tissue with a fang hole in the middle of her snout from an encounter with a copperhead in 2008.  And sadly, the murders of several chipmunks, rats and mice, baby birds, an over confident squirrel, and even a feral cat have occurred on our property over the years.  Being a lover of all creatures great or small, these statistics disturb me.  Because she is blessed with hybrid vigor (she is a healthy and tough mutt), I believe that her mischievous behaviors will continue well into her golden years. 

 

What?  I sit up here all the time.

 

Bad to the bone.

 

How do we put up with a dog like that?  Simple.  Because she is also Super Dog.  Dixie is as intetlligent as they come and loves to prove it by showing off her many talents.  She knows all the formal obedience "commands" as well as several fun tricks, like jumping through hoops and giving high fives (left and right paws).  Years ago, before our fostering days, she and I trained in agility.  She feared no obstacle and although we didn't formally compete, she excelled easily to the top of her class.  Because of that training, she will climb ladders, cross beams and bridges and even do the slides at the playground.  But what really makes Dixie Super Dog in my mind, and why she is irreplaceable to me, is that she is probably the most important member of our little rescue family. 

She gets beside herself excited when a new foster comes along.  She clearly has working dog in her mixed blood and she absolutely understands that being a teacher and support system to each dog is her job.  And she takes it very seriously. The more severely damaged the dog is, the more time she spends trying to mend them.  This is not something that we taught Dixie.  It can't be taught.  Over time, she has learned what we expect of her in relation to our fosters, but her ability to read and work with these dogs has developed way beyond our expectations.   I can't exactly put into words how impressed I am watching her work her magic.  Just when I think I have seen it all, she surprises me again.  It's something that even if you saw in person, if you haven't had the experience of being around a truly troubled rescue dog, you may not appreciate how special her gift really is.  So, you'll have to take my word for it.  She is really something.  One in a million. 

Frolicking with Jax and fosters Roxie and Reagan.

 

With foster, Bella

 

 

With foster, Calista enjoying a rare Arkansas snow day.

 

With foster, Calista.

 

With foster, Lincoln.

 

With foster, Bindi Sue.

 

Dixie was born on the street for all we know.  She is a scrapper and a survivor.  She would've probably been happier living on a huge farm where she could spend her days hunting and patrolling.  But that wasn't in the cards for her.  Instead, she is queen of our ever-changing pack, an irreplaceable part of our family.  Sometimes I fear that this lifestyle that I have forced on her is unfair.  Because of her almost human-like qualities, I expect more out of her than I should.  She often takes a backseat to the dogs that demand more of my attention.  And worst of all, she regularly gets her heart broken when her precious "kids" that she works so hard on, leave her behind for their new families.  Still, as much of an emotional toll that her rescue life takes on her, she never lets in break her.  It has become a part of who she is, just as it has for me. 

Passed out with Dad in her younger days.

 

Throw back to the pre-fostering days.  With Asia (RIP)

 

Another throw back

 

This is the very first week we found Dixie and her traveling companion (now Phoebe). At the time, we called them "white dog" and "shep" and had no intentions of keeping either one. 

 

 

 

I have no doubt in my mind that Dixie would give her life to protect any member of her family, human or canine, without a second thought. 



Full name:  Dixie Lynn Steen
Nick name " The Schmick"   
Age: 7 years in February
Breed: All American (mutt). Her most visible roots are pit bull- type.
Likes: hunting, flirt pole, hiking-especially rock climbing, geocaching,  (human) children, her "job"
Dislikes: getting wet, getting her nails trimmed, people in uniform, simple-minded dog games, such as fetch- clearly below her.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Try, try again.  And again.  And again.  

We were still tampering with the idea that Roxie just wasn't fit for adoption when yet another seemingly perfect application came along.  (For every "perfect" application she gets, she gets three terrible ones).  This app was very unique and could be the absolute best situation for a dog like Roxie.  This family lives on 52!! fenced acres.  They have an in ground pool and a male boxer that is desperately missing his canine sibling who passed away of cancer not long ago.  There are actually two homes on this property, the adopters live in the "small" house and their grand parents, a sister, and two nieces live in the "main" house.  They own a family business and people pretty much come and go all the time.  That kind of hustle and bustle is right up Roxie's alley.  She loves a busy lifestyle and the more people around, the better. 

Of course, I went through the whole spiel about Roxie and her many quirks.  The good, the bad, the ugly.  I got the feeling that they were not the kind of people who would shy away from a challenge, nor the kind to worry about a broken window blind or a chewed up shoe.  They had been there, done that.  Also, living in the country with the freedom to run and play all the time may take some of the anxious energy out of Roxie's life.  It sounded like, if it all worked out, it would be a better home for Roxie than we could offer her if she stayed with us.  For that reason above all else, we decided to pursue with the process. 

They live south of Dallas.  Right away, I knew the perfect person to do the home visit for me.  Someone I totally trust and who knows first hand what I expect out of my adoptive homes.  Jen, of course (adopter of Bella, for those who don't know Jen).  She did a great job and had all of the right concerns.  I'm sure we will be using Jen's services again for other apps that we get in the DFW area. 

The meet and greet was set up for a Saturday afternoon in Texarkana.  Once again, our group had an adoption event that day.  As hopeful as I was that this would be "it" for Roxie, I was not going to take any chances of this awesome couple and their dog driving all the way out there and not going home with the perfect new family member.  I knew it was ultimately up to the two dogs getting along and if they didn't, I didn't want to lose this wonderful approved home.   So, I set up back up dogs (all female) with different personalities.  It would be like the doggy dating game for their boy. 

This trip out to Texas with Roxie felt different.  As Jonathon, Rox and I drove out that morning, I didn't once cry.  We didn't even really talk about losing her.  I guess it was like we were getting immune to the fear of saying goodbye to her.  It was getting harder to believe in success so why be sad over and over again?  We hung out with the crew and met our new foster (Yup. We jumped the gun a little this time) at the event and then headed to the park.   "Good luck!"  everyone yelled as we left to meet our girl's potential new family.  Deja vu. 

It was pretty obvious from the start that this was no match made in heaven!  Their dog, who was the second biggest boxer I have ever seen, was not as "laid back" as they had described.  We walked them together for a while doing everything by the book.  When we stopped to let them officially meet, Roxie instantly wanted to rough house with him and he didn't appreciate her unladylike behavior.  He went after her once and it was over.  Roxie has no desire to start fights anymore, but she sure as hell won't back down from one.  She is fearless to a degree of stupidity.  Confident that she could take on a dog that weighed minimally double her, she was in full blown "Bring it!" mode.  Eventually, that bravery would have gotten her in a world of hurt.  On to bachelorette number two.

We brought them back to the event to meet the others.  Thankfully, they found the perfect match for their big boy in Daisy.  She is much more his speed and from the texts and pictures I received in the following days, she fits perfectly into their family and is loving her new life! 

And at the end of the day we head home with not one dog, but two.  Go figure.  Roxie had no problems at all being introduced to the new foster. 

Third Time is the Charm!

When I wrote the last post about Roxie, I was already working on an adoption for her.  Of course, I never like to jump the gun and announce something before it actually happens.  After having Roxie all summer long, we had actually toyed with the idea of keeping her.   It just didn't seem like we were going to have any success at finding her a perfect forever home and frankly it was getting hard to keep going back and forth emotionally.  Then I get the email.  The application and the accompanying note sounded almost too good to be true (and usually, they are).  I wasted no time getting started on reference and veterinary checks.  As I spoke to their friends and family members, I began to fall in love with this family. 

They live in College Station, TX.  They have a beautiful home with a giant fenced in yard and...wait for it....a great big inground pool!  My favorite part was that there are two children in the family.  A girl and a boy, 8 and 11 years old, who had been begging for a dog for over a year, since the last family dog passed away.  It was obvious that a lot of time and thought was being put into finding the right dog for the family.  They are very active outdoor lovers and they wanted a dog to take everywhere with them- a true family member.  They wanted a dog that would cuddle with the girl, play fetch with the boy, and go jogging every morning with the mom.  All this and a pool to boot!

I began my communication with them the way I begin with every potential adopter- a long, detailed email.   I NEVER sugar coat my foster dogs.  Any issue, major or minor, each and every bad habit, every little annoying thing they do, I put it all out there, full disclosure (with Roxie, this included the fact that she had already been adopted and returned once).  If that doesn't deter them, I of course follow up with all the things that make the dog so wonderful!  Over several days we talked frequently and I sent tons of pictures and videos of Roxie.  They were "honored" when I told them that I was approving the adoption.  A volunteer from another boxer rescue in their area did the home visit for us and gave a glowing report.  She texted me a picture of a beautiful, custom made, leather collar with ROXIE imprinted on it that sat waiting on the kitchen counter.  Just the sight of that brought me to tears.

We picked a day about 10 days out to meet in Texarkana.  Conveniently, our rescue was having an adoption event at the PetSmart out there.  With me being in Central AR, I rarely get together with the rest of the group so it was the perfect excuse to visit.  Over the week, as the big day approached, Jonathon and I were able to digest the idea of Roxie leaving us and accept that it was for the best. 

When Saturday came, Roxie and I were up and on the road to Texas early (Unfortunately, Jonathon wasn't able to make the trip with us because had his friends flying in that afternoon.).  My first of several crying sessions began almost immediately when the song "I'm Moving On" came on the radio, as if on cue.  After a long drive and a couple of hours at PetSmart with the crew,  Roxie and I headed over to a nearby park to meet her new family.  We arrived first and when the family pulled up it was love at first sight.  The entire back end of their Suburban was filled with toys and treats and blankets for Roxie.  We spent a good hour at the park.  There were hugs all around and the little girl had tears in her eyes when she told me that she would take very good care of Roxie for me and send lots of pictures. When it was time for me to hand over my girl she jumped happily into their car and settled between the children in her giant pile of stuff.  I stifled my emotion as best I could.   As for Roxie, she never looked back.  I knew she would miss us, and the home she had come to love, but in that moment, she was the center of attention and she was loving it. 

Over the weekend I was kept very much in the loop.  She texted me pictures and had lots of questions and stories for me.  It was awesome. 

Then, everything changed when on Monday evening I received a text that just said "Call me as soon as you can please."  Those are words that a rescuer never wants to read.  It's never good.  Nobody ever texts that and then says something like "Oh, she did the cutest thing!"  My stomach was instantly in a knot.  I called her right away to find out from a sobbing voice that they wanted to bring Roxie back.  To say I was shocked is an understatement. 

Although I had them well prepared for Roxie being a trouble maker while home alone, they were not expecting, nor was I, that she would get separation anxiety.  She scratched at the doors and tore down the blinds trying to get out.  She dug a hole under the fence and got loose when they tried leaving her outside for a couple hours instead.  We have always known that she has major crate anxiety, but she has been fine for months when we leave her out when we are gone.  I had even left her home instead of taking her to work with me the entire week before so she would get used to the idea of staying home alone.  She got into things, like puppies do, but she was totally fine.  We had no idea how dependent she was on the other dogs being there with her.

They held out some hope that I could tell them how to fix the problem and give them the answer on how to help Roxie.  Because other than that "She is perfect! She is the sweetest dog we have ever met.  We love her so much already." Sadly, the only answer I could give them was that it takes time and patience.  How long?  I couldn't say.  Separation anxiety is one of the hardest issues to deal with.  It can take an incredibly long time to get under control, and in many cases it's never actually cured.   The goal becomes only to manage it as best as possible.  I told them I didn't think Roxie was an extreme case like that, but I couldn't promise anything.   I explained to them that it wasn't something you could "train" a dog out of.  She wasn't misbehaving, she was having the equivalent of a human panic attack.  As someone who suffered from occasional panic attacks in my late teens and early twenties, I empathize.  During the most severe panic attack I ever had, I actually lost consciousness.  I woke up laying on a restaurant floor, breathing into a bag, surrounded by paramedics.  I am a logical person.  There was absolutely no reason for me to get to that point, but it was a physical reaction that I simply couldn't control.  Dogs have even less control and understanding of anxiety and irrational fears.  You can't punish or yell at an anxious dog.  That will only intensify the reaction.  They understood and agreed with everything I told them. 

She felt terrible admitting that they didn't have the time or the experience to work with Roxie on this issue.  They couldn't live with the stress of not knowing what the house will look like when they get home everyday, not to mention that they knew Roxie was suffering all day.  She told me that this was the hardest phone call she had ever had to make.  She felt that they failed Roxie.  Failed me.  I assured her that it wasn't them that failed Roxie, but the people who had her before she came into rescue.  They had broken her.  The rest of us are trying our best to put her back together.  And as far as failing me, certainly they had not.  Failing me would have been NOT having the courage to call me about the problem.  We talked for a long time.  I assured her that they will make great dog owners and offered to help them find the right boxer, whether from our rescue or a different one, when they were ready.  I could tell she found some comfort in my words. 

The next morning, I was on my way back to Texas to bring home our girl.  The rescue director was able to meet them half way between their home and Texarkana to get Roxie and then I met her in Texarkana.  The kids took the day off school to make the trip with their dad.  They were crying of course, but we told them that Roxie just got to go on a fun trip and meet some new friends. 

Foxy Roxie has been back home for a week now.  Things are back to normal, which in our house is anything but.  We will not fail Roxie.  She will get the forever home that she deserves, and if it turns out that she is already there, well that's fine too.   You don't always choose your dogs when you are a rescuer.  You just end up with the ones nobody else wants.

Foxy Roxie the Boxy

I love each and every dog that I take into my care.  It comes with the territory.  Love alone can not heal them, but I don't believe that they can heal without it.  I don't play favorites.  As soon as a dog arrives, they are treated as family and along with the love, are given the same rules and boundaries that the other dogs have.  This is the way we create and keep balance among the group. 

That being said, sometimes a dog comes along that stands out.  You treat her the same, but you can't help but feel a stronger connection.  In this case, that dog is Roxie.  Roxie joins Calista, Lincoln, Winston, and Bella in the elite group of "long-timers." These are the dogs that have been with us several months and become so integrated into our lives, that we forget that they are guests. 

Roxie might just be the most fun dog that we have ever fostered (though you wouldn't know it because of my lack of posts!).  She is a riot.  She is smart and athletic and incredibly sassy.  Although she is one of the "challenging" dogs because she is extremely high energy and has some anxiety issues, we have an outlet for her that we haven't had with the others.  The pool.  She swims every single day.  She can't wait for Jonathon to get home from work to play fetch with her and she will jump in over and over.  I bet she jumps in over 100 times any given weekend.  If nobody wants to play with her, she drops her toys in the pool herself.  She will clear out leaves and bugs too.  And if there is nothing to retrieve, well then she'll just hop from floatie to floatie.   Swimming drains energy like nothing else!  The pool has been a godsend for working with Roxie.  

She has come so far over the summer.  I'm very thankful that she ended up in our home because she had some major issues with the other dogs when arrived.  Behavior that would have tagged her as "dog aggressive" in the wrong hands.  Dog aggressive dogs often end up in boarding (most foster homes have multiple dogs) and their problems only progress there.  She wasn't dog aggressive.  She just wasn't socialized and became overstimulated very easily.  She wanted to interact and play, but play quickly escalated to aggression because she had no self control.  She was young and we knew that with help, she would come around.  And come around she has.  She loves playing with the others and will do so until she has worn both of them out.  She is able to play the extremely rough and loud boxer style play and she never gets out of control.  It would have been quite a shame for her to be mislabeled early on and not been given the chance to have dog friends.

In fact, one of her favorite weeks of the summer was when we she met her new friend, Winston.  He stayed with us while his family was out of state.   It was so great to have him back again!  This was his second time visiting with us since his adoption and he still feels right at home here, which I love.   He and Roxie really hit it off.  They are pretty much exactly the same.  Winston is Roxie, minus the attitude:-)  They were absolutely non-stop for days.  She pouted pretty badly the evening he went home. 

She has had several adoption applications over the summer.  Most were an obvious mismatch from the start.  People are drawn to Roxie because she is a good looking dog but when you begin the evaluation process with them you discover that what they actually want is the exact opposite of Roxie.  She had one local family that got as far as the weekend visit.  They were a fantastic home (with a pool!) and any dog would be lucky to live there.  Unfortunately, their older female boxer hated Roxie.  She was a mild mannered, submissive girl, who had just lost her sibling and was still mourning.  Her energy level was about a 4.  Roxie is a 10+.  So she came back to us.  The family had already fallen in love with her and when I picked her up they gave me a donation in the amount of her adoption fee!   More recently, we found another great potential home in Little Rock with three young boys.  But, they had a kitten that Roxie was just a little bit too interested in so she didn't work there either.  We found that family another dog and they are going to start volunteering for us.  Score!  But still no home for Roxie.  With each hard-to-adopt dog, I go through a period where I think "We will never find the right home for this dog. Sigh."  And then, eventually, the perfect family does come along.  And my heart is inevitably broken. 

When nobody has any energy left to play with her, Roxie runs by herself!

Football game with Winston!  This tug of war went on for an hour.

 

Racing my niece Halle.  Roxie LOVES kids. 

Boo Goes Home

Remember Boo, the adorable deaf boy who stayed with us this spring when his foster mom was traveling?  Well he came back to visit us again.  It' didn't turn out as well this time, as we made the rookie mistake of bringing in an unbalanced male dog into a house with an unbalanced female in heat.  But that's another story.  This story is about Boo's happy ending. 

Boo came to our rescue back in March when his devastated family had to let him go, per Doctor's instructions.  His mom was critically ill with bone cancer.  She was to have no contact with anything that could potentially bring bacteria into the house, including her beloved Boo.  The family had rescued Boo from the only life he had ever known, shelter life, and it killed them to give him up.

I was literally speechless last week when I got a text from the director "Boo's family wants him back."  My heart started pounding instantly.  How could this be true?  It turns out that his mom had been misdiagnosed.  Although she isn't well, she doesn't need to fear infection.  There was a lot of random back and forth partial communication because our director was out of town, as was Boo's foster mom, as was Boo's former "Dad".  I think all of us were holding our breath, anxiously awaiting the outcome.  Then we heard that wasn't going to happen after all.  When a dog is in our rescue as long as Boo has been, everyone becomes attached.  He goes to almost all of the adoption events, so everyone knows him.  And those of us who have gotten to know him well, with all his silliness and quirks, love him dearly. 

So why, after all these months, did Boo not get a single application?  We networked him like crazy!  He has his issues, of course, but so many do, especially the deaf ones.   He is good looking, smart, outgoing, and super sweet.  But nobody showed any interest.  He saw numerous foster siblings come in and then get adopted, leaving him behind.  Although Boo was very loved at his foster home, we all prayed that he would find a forever family.  But it didn't happen. 

Now we know why.  Because Boo had a forever family all along.  He came to us when tragedy found them.  The rescue kept him safe and healthy and his foster mom loved him with all of her heart.  We thought that our job was to find him a new home, but we were wrong.  This time, our job was to let him wait with us until he could return to his true home, to his family.  It was meant to be.  

A tearful reunion happened on Friday night as Boo and his family got back together after four long months apart.  I wish I could have been there.  I am told that everyone was crying like crazy.  The pictures and video were enough to bring on the waterworks for me.  Boo was overcome with joy when they were reunited.  Mom (not my place to share names) was so emotional that she had to step away for a few minutes and gain her composure.  The family is hopeful that having Boo back in their life will improve her health.  Dogs have a way of doing that. 

It's not often that these kinds of story book endings come along, but when they do, it feels pretty amazing.  It seems God had a plan for sweet Boo Boo.  I'm glad I got to play a small part in it.  

Boo talking to me!

Roxy

Roxy, our latest, is a 10-12 month old flashy fawn female.  She is beautiful, smart, and eager to learn and please.  She also thinks that she is the queen bee around here.  She prances around with her perfect exaggerated boxer gait like a champion in a show ring.

 This lovely lady comes to us by way of an independent rescuer in a little town to the north of us.  She is a child of a divorce.  She is healthy and in great physical condition so she was obviously well cared for yet neither person wanted her.  She was dumped off to a lady who is known to take in animals no matter what.  Her intentions are good, but the environment is not (think hoarder).  She has 30 dogs that she tries to keep up with.  Roxy is in heat and would have quickly become pregnant if not removed from that place. 

She is extremely people social and doesn't meet a stranger, as a boxer should be.  However her dog social skills, although improving, are lackluster.  She is by no means dog aggressive, but rather indifferent at first.  She had no idea how to play nicely and anytime she got excited, her attempt turned to mounting and attacking.  We are working with her and although she still prefers the company of people, we encourage (supervised!) play sessions daily.  She has been spotted cuddled up to each of her foster siblings a time or two, although she would never admit it;-)

She also has fairly severe separation anxiety.  Her world was turned upside down and this behavior is often the result.  I'm thinking she was a bed sleeper in her former home because no matter how tired she is, crated or not, she cries and whines for hours some nights being away from us.  I have never had a dog that after a week, wouldn't just rest calmly with the other dogs at night.  She has damaged two crates already.  She comes to work with me every day at this point because she isn't ready for extended crating yet and I don't know what she would do to the house if I left her out.  She will climb or tear down any gate.

Despite her little issues, she has us totally captivated.  She entertains us daily with her unusual favorite activity.  Boxers are not typically swimmers.  Their cropped tails, short hair and dense bodies don't tend to be very buoyant.  More than once, I have seen the myth "all dogs can swim"  disproven.  Whenever we get a new dog that we feel is curious or clumsy enough to fall in the pool, we A) make sure they can actually swim and B) teach them how to get to the stairs to get out should they happen to take a plunge.  One lesson is usually all it takes to ensure that they steer clear.  The experience is apparently so repulsive that never has a dog fallen in twice.  Maybe swimming is instinctual for a retriever, but as for little Roxy, well she just sunk.  The difference between her and every other foster we have had is that she was undeterred.  If we were in the pool, she wanted to be in the pool.  She had no fear and no swimming skills...not a good combination.  It was a fatal disaster waiting to happen. We worked with her, literally teaching her to move her legs and stay afloat.  She eventually started to paddle on her own, looking like a cat flailing around aimlessly.  But over the week, she got more and more graceful in the water.  Now she seems to think she is a Labrador.  She plunges into the water over and over again.  The day Roxy fell in the water changed her life. 

 

 

 

Because she is in heat, she has not been spayed, therefore has not been listed yet.  I think that because of her picture perfect looks, she will attract a lot of attention and get applications quickly once she is. 

Olivia

Most dogs end up with us because they have been neglected, abused, or abandoned.  Because of this, most of them also come with baggage, mental, physical, or both.  But every now and then, a dog like Olivia, our latest foster, comes along.  She and her brother had been in a nice home well loved and well cared for their entire lives.  Life got tough for their "mom" and sadly, she lost her home.  It was a tragic day for her when she had to say goodbye to her two dogs that she had shared her life with for the past 4 years.  Olivia is a middle aged, well behaved, mild mannered, and healthy dog.  She'd never seen the inside of a shelter or known hunger or loneliness.  The odd part was, she didn't fit in very well here.  I guess our house caters more to the troubled souls.  She was a spoiled dog, used to a quiet life.  She was depressed being away from her brother and her home and refused to eat.   Luckily, her time with us was to be short. 

I had a potential adopter that I had approved an application on months ago.  His references were wonderful.  His wish for the "perfect dog" was what held us up.  I appreciated his honesty in what he could handle.  This would be his first dog as an adult.  He admitted that he didn't know how to train a dog and he probably couldn't meet the needs of a dog with issues.  He also hoped for a settled dog, a little older, that wouldn't be bouncing off the walls all the time.  That in itself is a tall order for a boxer!  He'd told me that he was willing to wait for the right dog to come along, no matter how long it took.  I thought of him when I found out that we were getting this pair of dogs, although part of me figured he'd gone elsewhere to find his dog.  Little did I know, he had been following our rescue on facebook all along.  I didn't get a chance to reach out to him before he contacted me.  He too thought that either Olivia or her brother, Harley, might be a great fit for him. 

Olivia was clearly missing her life and after only a day was getting overly attached to me.  She never left my side and snapped at Jax and Dixie when they came near me.  I thought that if she was going to attach herself to someone, it may as well be her new family, if possible.  I'd hate to get her comfortable and then uproot her again.  So, I took her over to meet the adopter, who is only minutes from us.  It was love at first sight.  I came home alone.  Olivia stayed for the weekend.  I picked her up one more time to get her vetted and micro chipped, but she never came back to our house.  It was the fasted adoption I'd ever done. 

Her new family reports that she has finally started eating and coming out of her shell.  She lives with two guys and one of their girlfriends is there most of the time.  They have family and friends over often and everyone just adores Olivia.  She is once again a spoiled, happy girl.