Foxy's 3rd birthday

It's Foxy's third birthday. She's been gone about 4 months; and I still miss her. I've talked with her new mom several times and it seems that she has settled in real well and they adore her; so I know she's being well loved and well taken care of . . . but I miss her.

She lived with us as a foster doggy for over a year, and learned so much about being a good pet, being loved, and being a cherished family member. . . and she snuck into my heart.

I hope she's living a wonderful new life.

New home in North Carolina

Foxy's picture and story were posted on PetFinder.com; and there were many people interested in her. I interviewed them until finding someone who seemed just right. I was quite determined to find someone who would understand her past and be able to work with her limitations and continue to use positive based training.

She has found a wonderful new mom who lives in North Carolina. After several phone calls and emails, reference checks and discussions about Foxy, we decided to meet halfway in West Virginia. It was a very sad undertaking for me; as I'd grown quite fond of Foxy and found it very difficult to relinquish her to someone else.

However, she seems to be adjusting well and her new mom is delighted with her. I 'm sure she'll be well loved and well treated.

Foxy's former foster mom

It's my 2nd Birthday!!

I'm all of 2 years old now, and have become quite the well mannered and comfortable youngster in my new home, where I've been for about a year now. I love my humans and my animal siblings (another dog and 5 cats . . . well, actually 4 of the 5 cats. One grumpy orange cat doesn't like me so I have to just stay out of his way.)

I've learned lots of tricks and commands - sit, down, catch, stay, fetch, shake hands, gimme 5, gimme 10, back up, wait, jump in the car, jump out, etc. And I've learned manners - to wait for permission before jumping up on the bed or the couch or charging out the door, to sit instead of jumping up on the humans, to respond appropriately to "come" or "here".

I haven't chewed up any more chair legs lately (sorry mom), and I've stopped "marking" (peeing right beside the other dog's food bowl). I've finally learned to walk politely on leash instead of pulling the arm off of anyone who takes me for a walk.

My health has inproved considerably. I look really good - I've filled out from the bony condition I was in a year ago and my fur is thick and lush. The homeopathic treatment I've gotten is helping me to recover from getting too many vaccinations when I was rescued. I've calmed down considerably - some from getting a bit more mature, some from feeling more secure and safe, and some from the medical treatment I've gotten. I hardly ever panic and go crazy anymore, and my back legs haven't gotten weak and collapsed in quite a while.

I'm still a little suspicious of new people, but I'll let most of them pet me now. And I like playing with other dogs at the dog park, but I'm not supposed to bark so loud in their faces - it might make them mad and they'll bite me. I'm not so good with crowds and sometimes new places or noises scare me - maybe they make me remember scary times before I came to my new home.

Everyone thinks I'm as cute as can be - I have really distinctive features and coloring. I'm very photogenic, so my mom takes lots of cute pictures of me!

Update:

Lil Foxy Brown is very energetic and happy; always wants to play with the other 4 legged members of our household. She also loves going on walks and playing fetch and playing tug. But most of all, she likes tracking varmits; would rather do that than anything else! Her nose is always following a scent trail thru the backyard; she knows exactly whatever mouse or rabbit or groundhog may have been there the previous night.

She eats anything she's given - and always wants MORE! But she's learned to count on getting more at the next meal and isn't nearly so frantic as she used to be.

Her coat has grown in very thick and lushous; it's feels wonderful to run your fingers through it. She doesn't really like being brushed, but will put up with it, especially when she gets treats for allowing it.

She does well with the household cats. 2 of them are quite playful with her, she likes to chase them and tries to wrestle and play. Sometimes they'll play, sometimes they aren't interested; but they put up with her real well.

Sascha, the resident dog, isn't very often interested in playing with Foxy. But when she is, Foxy is delighted! More often, Foxy amuses herself with one of the many toys available for her - she gets busy with the squeaky ones a lot.

Progress Report

Foxy must have been treated very unkindly, to say the least, before she came to our house. She is so wary and suspicious of everything! And so hard-headed. But also very smart - wily, street smart. "Show me the money" kind of smart. She can't be forced or bullied into doing anything; has to be sweet-talked or bribed into compliance.

At first, she freaked out over everything and would fight like a banshee to get away. If you tried to take her by the collar or pick her up, she'd go ballistic. Or take her towards something that scared her - the bathtub, or the sink, or even to try to have her sit in my lap - she'd start thrashing around, snarling, threatening to bite - all this must have worked in her previous life for people to let her go and quit whatever they were doing - but what were they doing that she got so panicked to get away?????? We've gotten a lot better about her trusting that I'm not going to hurt her.

We originally had a problem whenever I wanted to wipe off her feet or her hiney when she came in from outside. She would growl, threaten to bite and fight to get away. Over time and gentle training (clicker and treats have worked wonders!), she has gotten better and better about allowing things that she used to go crazy over.

Hard to believe that 20 pounds of dog could be so disruptive. But if she got panicked about something; she was scary!!

After she got de-wormed and stuff, and got all healthy, she learned that the appropriate place to go potty was OUTSIDE. And then it took a long time before she finally quit peeing in one spot in the house, we think it was territorial marking, because it was always on the floor near the other dog's food bowl.

Another issue has been trimming her toenails - wouldn't even allow me to touch her toes. Again, lots of patient, gentle training with clicker and treats (and putting up with lots of long toenails!) have reduced her fear of it, and I can get a couple of them clipped at a time.

As we've attended obedience classes, she's learned to walk better on leash and to obey commands like sit and down and stay. She knows "Shake hands", Gimmie 5" , "Gimme 10" and is quickly learning others.

A doggie psychic told me . . .

Here's what a very intuitive dog psychic told me:

That Foxy had lots of memories of the hurricane; that she'd been on the streets running with other dogs and was quite proud of the fact that she was the last one to be caught!

That she spoke "Dog" really well and was very dog savvy - knew how to get along with other dogs quite well; when to be submissive or when it was necessary to be dominant.

That she was very smart, and was wanting the warmth of a home and a family, and would be an extremely loyal dog.

After Katrina . . .

I think I've got it pretty good these days. After surviving thru New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina, flooding and then Hurricane Rita and more flooding; I was loose on the streets for awhile. But eventually I got caught and was put in a pen where lots of other dogs were barking and lots of people were looking at me and it was very scary. I wouldn't eat or let anyone touch me; and acted real ferocious whenever anyone came too close. They had to catch me with poles and use gloves and put a muzzle over my mouth so I couldn't bite.

Then I took a looong trip in a car, and ended up where I am now; in a warm house with lots of food and some cats and another dog to play with. And a new mom who is helping me get over being so afraid. She says I have "grabaphobia" because I'm so scared that someone will grab me and hurt me; and I don't want to approach within arm's length of anyone.

But I'm getting more secure and less suspicious every day. I'm learning tricks and getting treats and going for walks, and feeling more & more playful.

I think I'll stay!!

Gotta' get a bath!

From day 1, Foxy wasn't allowing anyone to touch her tail or her hiney -- but she'd been sick with diarrhea and really needed to be washed!!

The 2nd day at our house, poor scared-out-of-her-wits Foxy required 2 experienced groomers to get a muzzle on her so that we could work with her!! But then we were able to clip her nails, cut out mats, and give her a much needed bath. She certainly looked so much better!

Thank goodness that she didn't hold a grudge!

Foxy's "Gotcha" Day!

February 22 is what we'll mark as Foxy's "Gotcha" Day; the day we got her. A friend and I drove about 6 hours to pick her up; took her for a quick walk, then maneuvered her into my car (in her crate) and headed for home. She hadn't let anyone touch her when she was at the shelter/adoptathon in New Orleans, and she still wasn't allowing anyone to touch her - snarling and threatening to bite you if you tried! (I was a bit afraid of what I'd gotten myself into!)

However, we stopped for a meal and got her some chicken nuggets -- which was when she decided maybe I wasn't such a bad thing after all! She thanked me by actually allowing me to pet her!!