Scout's First Few Days

When I got home Tuesday night, I realized that I had a dog coming to stay with us for a few days. Yikes, this is quite a day I'm having... Thankfully, it's a dog and owner that I know well, some of you might recognize the little fluff ball in the picture below.

 



Scout apparently (so far) loves all dogs.  She and Chaille are fast friends and Chaille was even trying to play with Allie and Scout this evening.  Chaille doesn't play with ANY dogs that I know of, so this is pretty cool.  I think Chaille was asking for a little more than she bargained for, though she was game to give it a try.  When Scout tries to play it often involves dramatic play bows and some big, flailing paws :)

Things Scout is Good at:

• Playing with other dogs
• Looking adoringly at me
• Snuggling
• Riding in the car
• Going on walks in our woods
• Chasing and being chased by Allie
• Taking treats and food gently
• Being adorable
• Tail wagging
• Sleeping and dreaming
• Sharing - food, treats and affection
• Going to the vet's office
• Rolling around on her back on the bed

Things Scout is Learning:

• Uncle Michael is a Nice Man
• Doors are not all scary
• Mom will come back
• Food comes twice a day - in a bowl
• Eating from a bowl
• Noises are not all scary
• Getting in the car does not mean that I'll be left somewhere by myself again :(
• Telling Mom that I need to go out is a Good Idea
• Kitties are Good and the People like them - so I'm not to chase them :)
• No one is ever going to be mean to me again...

So, there are some hurdles ahead of us.  Scout has had some accidents in the house, though at least a few of them have been my fault since I've become accustomed to Allie's freakishly perfect skills in that department.  Also, I'm suspecting that she's had some unfortunate interactions with a man or men in her short life, since Mike couldn't get near her at first and it's still not possible for him to walk her without me present.  She panics and tries to get away - not good.  Considering she may have never seen a cat before, she's doing pretty darn well.  Jinx and Archie are nearly normal around her, just a tad more "aware" and she does a little chasing, though calls off readily and is easily redirected.  We're playing a game called "See a Kitty, Get a Cookie" - that's helping a lot.

The really sad parts are how she wouldn't come in the house the night I brought her home and her fear of getting in the car.  The night she came home, she would NOT go through the sliding door and when I managed to pick her up, she struggled and wiggled and resisted until I had to put her down.  We ended up going to the side door and even then food had no effect, she was just terrified.  I wondered if she had ever been in a house.  Eventually I was able to pick her up part way and get her front end in the door, then her back end and she was just still, she was so scared.  I had to lift her front end up on the stairs and then she just stood there for a minute, not sure what to do.  After a bit, she figured out how to get her back legs up and poof, she was in the kitchen.  Then she flipped a switch and got REALLY happy :)

The car is different, she resists it more strongly.  She is going readily in and out of the sliding door now (for the past few days) though I have to catch her to pick her up to get her in the car.  She runs away from me to the end of her leash and food, my voice, Allie, nothing can get her in the car.  Allie is able to get her close to it and then she pulls away.  I'm going to spend a lot of time this week working on our car skills.  I can only guess that she was dumped from a car and just remembers that it all started when she got in.  She rides quietly and happily once she's in, so I don't think it's the actual car that scares her.

Soooo....Everyone wants to know if we're going to keep her.  The jury is still out on that question, mainly because I have to keep my promises to all of my cats as well as the promise that I've made to Scout.  Also, speaking of cats, I still have two kittens who need homes - any takers?  More on them tomorrow.  There are many more Scout stories to tell and it's only been 4.5 days - I'll post to Sam's blog and Spiritual Foraging tomorrow, too.

Good night Scout - she's sleeping at my feet on the bed right now.  Sleep tight...