Amber has been in her current foster home for three weeks now. Upon arrival, she was completely shut down, as a coping mechanism, as it was her third move in a very short time. Amber arrived at her foster family's home the evening of February 28th. She was brought in a kennel, that she'd had an accident in, and transferred to a clean kennel. She was very scared, unsure and would not make eye contact.

She now lives in a home with three resident dogs. Because she had just arrived from another state with 13 other dogs from a hoarding situation, we thought it best to bring a familiar face to her and also foster another dog from the same situation. Buddy was brought to our home on March 1st. He did recognize Amber and seemed happy to see her, although she did not make any indication that she knew him. 

The first 48 hours with Amber were the hardest. She had never seen as much snow as we had in February - heck, I don’t think we have either! Trying to get her outside to do her business was very tough. We would be out there walking her around our fenced yard for 30 minutes to an hour, giving breaks due to the cold, and yet nothing. She would hold it until she no longer could, and eventually would have an accident in her kennel. This was not surprising. 

I am pleased to say that something clicked with her the week of 3-11 to 3-15, and she is now doing her business outside. Amber does like to spend a lot of time in her kennel. Her door is always open, but at nighttime if she is in there and has to go outside, she gives a few whines and barks.

Unlike typical commercial breeder and puppy mill dogs, Amber does know how to go upstairs and is not afraid of the doorway. Now she runs to the back door when it is time to go outside and waits to be hooked up to her tie-out.

The first few weeks with her in the home were tough, not because she was difficult, but because I did not know what to do for her. After three weeks in our home, she has slowly started to emerge from her shell. She joins us on the couch at night while watching shows, she has been on a walk - a very short one because it is still scary - comes out of her kennel more, and tries to engage the resident dogs in play outside.

There is so much potential for this young lady. All she needs is the right home with the following:

• Another confident dog her size in the home, roughly 30-50lbs.
• Someone who is home more than not, but with regular working hours, she can be kenneled.
• A family who will accept the fact that she may need time to warm up and show her personality. We are only three weeks in and yet she is just starting to show us her true self.