Suzie 07-255 [1]

Sponsored by: Stan and Betty Hunecke 

On Saturday April 28th an extremely frightened girl took a big step to a better life.  Suzie made a very long trip up from MO to MN.  When I first met her at the Golden Valley Humane Society she was doing circles in her crate.  She shied away from me or any human, for that matter, who came near her crate.  When another one of her fellow MO puppy mill rescue dogs crates was placed next to her, she stopped circling and moved towards the dog and started to wag her tail.  

In that moment I saw her spirit and knew that with time, patience, and love this little girl was going to be all right.  She was extremely gentle and allowed herself to be handled during the vetting and bathing.  She just kind of froze in place and offered no resistance. She had sores on three of her paws and was given meds which she takes easily.  She was quiet during the car ride home and needed a lot of assistance getting out of the car.  She crouched down on the garage floor and needed to be carried outside to the back yard.  Her leash frightens her.  She tried to bolt away but when she came to the end of the lease she rolled her eyes in fear.  I carried her into the house to show her where her crate was.  She wasn’t ready for a grand tour of the house yet.  When I set her down on the floor she saw Daisey 07-177 and made a bee line for her.  She barged her way into Daisey’s crate and buried her head under Daisey’s butt.  Daisey just looked up at me with compassion, gave her a puppy kiss and settled in for the night. 

Since then Daisey a retired puppy mill mom, has taken it upon herself to show Suzie the ropes.  She is teaching her important things like going through doors to get outside, maneuvering steps, playing with toys, and how wonderful getting attention from humans can be.  Suzie is good about going outside, but still needs a lot of assistance getting back in the house.  She is doing the big four--eating, drinking, peeing, and pooping--and has done so from the start.  And good news, no accidents in the house!  Not a single one.  For a nine month old pup that’s never been in a house before, this is amazing!   

Every day I spend some quiet time with Suzie giving her attention.  At this point it usually involves her lying next to me while I pet her and rub her belly while watching TV.   I didn’t realize how much she enjoyed this until yesterday.  I was sitting on the couch with Daisey laid out next to me (yes, I am one of those awful pet people that allows their animals on the furniture) when Suzie cautiously made her way into the living room.  The next thing I knew she had jumped up on the couch with Daisey and me and burrowed her way in between us. Well, Daisey’s tail started to wag and I got puppy kisses and just about started to cry I was so happy.  Suzie is making such huge strides in the short week she has been here.   

Suzie is still a little camera shy.  We are working on getting better picture.  So keep posted.