ANGEL

Little Angel's story is a sad, and yet, all too common one. She was truly "Daddy's Little Girl." She was purchased from a pet store by a young couple who were on the verge of starting their family. Angel was their first "child," and she was loved, and even spoiled as though she were their little human baby girl. But, alas, eventually the real human baby arrived, and Angel was so used to getting her own way that she pitched a fit at the thought of sharing her parents affection with a newborn.

And so, Angel was dumped early in her young life. I must say that this type of situation really steams me. There is no reason why kids and dogs can't co-exist in the same environment, if the owners prepare the dog, and do the necessary obedience training. I only have to look as far as our own Diane Gonzalez, whose six year old, James, has been indoctrinated into rescue with some of our most challenging kid hating dogs, and has annoyed some of them to distraction, never receiving more than a cautionary nip on the leg. And the reason is that Diane Gonzalez runs a tight ship, and refuses to take crap from twenty pound dogs...unless, of course she runs into a bout of canine diarrhea, in which case she has no choice in the crap matter.

Back to Angel....I picked her up from her owner and the good bye was absolutely tragic. I could see that Angel was a bit of a spitfire and that she was a spoiled little princess. Well, nothing that the Angels From God love more than a spoiled little princess. (NOT).

And so we made our way back to Massachusetts, and as expected, the Angels From God taught Angel how to be a dog...a "Princess" of a dog, but a dog, nonetheless. And so, I let the AFG's do their training ritual, and Angel settled in like a trooper. It wasn't long before we had a barrage of inquiries about this little cutie...but Kim and Nancy's application stuck out. I wanted to place Angel in a home with another dog so that her progress would continue. Kim and Nancy had a young male Eskie named Halo. Angel and Halo had some kind of ring to it!

I met Kim, Nancy, and their son, Sam, in New York, and the adoption meeting was a great success. So far, Angel has continued to make progress and is delighting this family more each day.

Here are some of Kim and Nancy's reports:

January 16, 2005

Hi Denise:

All continues to go well. Halo is a little depressed, but that's to be expected now that he has to share us! Angel seems to have bonded with Sam the most so far, probably because he gets on the floor and plays with her on her level-- She is still shying away from being picked up or even being petted at times, but improving on that already.

I'll keep in touch and send more pictures soon--

Thanks again,

Kim, Nancy and Sam

January 29, 2005

Hi Denise,

Angel is adjusting rather well. She is wonderful with Halo and is so excited to go out and play in the fenced yard. They run their little legs off chasing each other, then come in snow covered and tired. Take naps, and then start playing all over again. They are both non stop energy. (in a fun way) We are really happy with her.

We are concerned about something though. Her write up stated that she was "Daddy's little girl" and held a lot, but she is very nervous when we pick her up. We can not get her to come if we call her, so trying to get a leash on for a walk is next to impossible. She is quick to get petted if we are sitting and she, at her own pace, comes over to us. We are not forcing the issue considering she has moved 3x in the last month. She is allowed to sleep on the beds and go on the couch. We encourage it actually. She is very very excited to see us if we have been out and she greets us at the door with the Spitz bark. We were hoping that she would have warmed up enough by now to want to cuddle and play with us. She has warmed up to Sam (our son) and is all over him. She is curious about the cats, but since Halo and Angel look alike, the cats have no idea that there are 2 dogs in the house. Angel has no aggression what so ever with them.

We are working with Angel on coming when called (treats) and not being so nervous. It's odd that such a pampered pet would have this trait. With your experience, have you ever seen an Eskie act this way when placed in a new home? When we got Halo, he just walked in the front door and from day one, he "was home". He goes to the extreme when it comes to cuddling. He is a very mushy dog. We need to get the collar and leash on and get her walking. She absolutely loves the yard. She chases the squirrels and barks to come in. It's very cute to see her and Halo play in the snow. They run like the wind together.

We'll keep you posted on our progress. If you have any advice to help us get through this situation, please email us.

Thanks for writing.

Nancy, Kim and Sam

January 31, 2005

Denise-

Thanks for the advise. She has been staying closer for longer periods of time, and once you get the leash on her, she is very excited to go for a walk. Nancy took her and Halo to the school today to pick up Sam (this was her normal routine with Halo prior to Angel's arrival) and she was very good and very excited to see so many people. Halo's socialization was very much enhanced by these daily trips to school, so hopefully Angel will also improve in this area. Both the parents and the kids at the school are very good about not approaching until we give them the ok and then one at a time, so I think this will be a good thing for Angel.

We will try the massage you suggested also. When we do get her to sit on our laps, she is tense at first, but then relaxes and eventually falls asleep and I think this is helping. We will keep you posted, and when I can get my camera to upload to the computer, we'll send more pictures. They are very funny in the snow together!!!

Thanks again,

Kim, Nancy, Sam, Halo and Angel

February 4, 2005

Hi Denise.

Just a quick note about Angel. Our other dog Halo has seizures on occasion and it takes a few minutes for him to come out of them. Our Vet can not find anything wrong that would trigger them.

Since we got Angel, I wondered if she would warn me if Halo would have a seizure if I wasn't in the room. Well, to my great, wonderful surprise, she reacted as I hoped she would. I had my back to Halo, and he had a seizure. (Halo is silent during the seizure) Angel curled up to him, had her head on his head and was "protecting" him. I picked Halo up and sat on the couch with him, holding him, and Angel went crazy. She did not want my arms around him. She was digging at my arms to get them off Halo. She licked Halo and was nuzzling him. I couldn't have been more pleased. I hope she will know to come to get me if he has another one.

She is warming up more and more. She is less hesitant to be petted, and if we try to pet her, she is less apt to run. Progress is slow, but rewarding. She does love sleeping on the bed. We will keep you posted on any more Angel stories.

Nancy

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