Rescue Blu

I got this wonderful email from the lady that is adopting me. I am in love.

I think I have mentioned before that  I love people… all kinds: shapes, sizes, ages… doesn’t matter I love to walk up to people and have them hug and pet me. So many people have show an interest in adopting me, and I feel very lucky for that. All the people at Narnia agree that I would do fine in many different homes. As a matter of fact, they have socialized me as much as they could. I have stayed in homes with little kids, bigger kids, adults, cats, and dogs of all breeds and ages. I have enjoyed every minute of this rescuing business, but I am writing to tell you today that I found where I belong Wednesday afternoon. We spent three hours together, and we hardly left each other. We played, we cuddled, we bonded… I tried to let Rebecca and Cathy know as best as I could, and I think it worked. For the first time ever, I chose to go and stay with someone else OVER Cathy and Rebecca. The two of them, as well as everyone else at Narnia, they have been my rock. I have needed their love and healing while looking for my home, but Wednesday afternoon it was obvious that this nice lady belongs with me and I belong with her.

I have been thinking a lot about this place. Rebecca and Cathy keeping telling me that I am just visiting, and that soon I will go to this forever home place. Rebecca and I had a long talk the other day… well, she talked; I wagged my tail. She told me that she really needed a sign as to whether or not I wanted to live with any of these nice people that I have met recently. I am not sure what “a sign” means, but I will try.

Last week, I got to go to class with Rebecca. She was helping with a introduction to clicker training class. Her friend Liz actually worked with me. It was very fun. I heard that funny clicking noise … the same one that I hear when I walk with Rebecca… and Liz would give me treats. Very cool. She also helped me press a button that said “That was Easy” when I stepped on it. I thought that was pretty funny. I also got to “free shape” with a big cardboard box. I looked at it, and I touched it with my nose. Then I decided to paw it. All these things resulted in Liz clicking and treating me. I thought… really? I can just think of stuff to do and she will feed me? That is AWESOME! She also was helping me with more tricks I am working on: take a bow and spin.

After class was over, I went to a really big crate that belongs to one of Liz’s dogs. I think it was Rosie that nice German Shepherd that showed me the ropes at the senior home. Rebecca then started helping with another class. I just sat in the crate and watched all the dogs and owners. It was better than that TV thing that people watch. I didn’t bark or anything. I just sat there smiled at everyone. It was so fun just to hang out with people and dogs. This is the life!

Sunday afternoon Rebecca took me to a senior care facility in Wheaton. The place was called Brighton Gardens of Wheaton. It was a pretty cool visit. When we first came in, I meet one of the workers dog’s named Sadie. She is a 8 year old female golden retriever that comes to work everyday with her owner. How cool is that? They hang out in the front part of the living area. Rebecca and I, along with our friends Liz (human) and Rosie ( 7 year old German Shepherd… certified therpy dog through Therapy Dogs International) went through some doors and ended up in a different living area. This was an area for people with severe Alzheimer’s ( not really sure what that is, but I heard the humans talking about it, so maybe you know too). Most people were in wheel chairs or walkers which I totally did not care about. I just wandered up to people, and they would lean over and pet my head. I got to go down to their rooms and visit some of them that did not feel up to getting out of bed. It was fun. They were all having an ice cream snack when I got there, and Rebecca was so proud of me because even though the ice cream was at my nose level… I DID NOT TRY TO EAT IT. I know… I’m cool.  We stayed about 2 hours. I visited almost everyone that I could find. It was really fun, and Rebecca said we can go back next Sunday if I want. I love visiting people and I love car rides, so all in all, this seems like a pretty good deal. Don’t you think?

Rebecca says I am not a certified therapy dog, but she and the other trainers of Narnia have hypothesized that I would be good at it and enjoy it. If someone is interested in doing that kind of work, the trainers at Narnia said that they would help get me ready for the tests. Until then, I am going to keep going to Brighton Gardens to share some happiness and get lots of practice.

Howdy everyone! Blu here. I am so ready for winter to be over. Rebecca and I walked the other day. I must admit, she is not quite as much fun as when I walk with Cathy and Molly. She hardly lets me sniff, but she does bring treats and I get them if I walk nicely at her right side. I can do that. Plus we really get moving. Cardo work out for me! She is use to walking those crazy border collies she lives with. Seriously… chill out, I say. Too busy for me.

Saturday I am going to Narnia for a one day trainers class. That is when all their trainers get together and train their dogs. Angela is going to work with me. I can not wait. We are learning Crate Games. I like my crate well enough, but anything that is described as games must be fun. We are going to learn to like our crates and stay in our crates with the door open no matter what the distraction is… until our human says we can come out. I like the idea of also being able to visit with people and their dogs.

By the way, did I tell you that whomever adopts me gets a free 6 week beginner class at Narnia? Even though I have been through the class, the Narnia Staff thought it would be good if the family that adopts me gets the training too. I love class, so it sounds cool to me.

Gotta go. I am going to go and try to sneak up on the couch or tailgate the human around the house. Those are fun games…

BLU

Today I was just hanging around when I heard a car pull in the driveway. Molly and I barked, but when I saw the visitors… I got SUPER excited. It was Rebecca and Meredith. I showed off some of my new jumping up on people abilities when Rebecca came in. I wasn’t able to do that before, but now that I have been on my medication, I am feeling much better. Meredith said hi and headed downstairs to play with the toys. My foster mom, Cathy, and Rebecca stood around talking for a couple of minutes until I heard Rebecca announce, “They are here”.

In walked two really nice ladies from Naperville Humane Society named Angie and Michelle. They talked a little with Rebecca, then they put a leash on me. They hugged me, touched me, and pet me. I was happy. Then I noticed they had a can of dog food. Cathy added some of my kibble. This was so exciting that I didn’t care about the toys they were showing me. I just wanted the food. It was like Christmas getting to eat an extra meal today. They gave me the bowl of food and touched me while I was eating. They moved me away from the bowl. I was fine with it. I figured if I was good, I would get it back… which I DID! Yippee!

They played a little more with me and talked more with Rebecca. They are going to help me find my forever home. Wow. I keep hearing about this forever home place. It sounds really cool. A place where they will want me and love me and train me. A place with a backyard for me to explore, and comfortable dog beds and toys.  I have heard about these places. Where I am staying now is really nice, but it is Molly’s forever home. I understand that, but I must admit I hope I find my soon. Have you seen it? Can you tell me how to get there?

Blu

My neighbor just gave us a bunch of toys, since she just lost her old dog. Blu seems to love the squeaky plastic toys. He was bringing them back to me so I could throw them again, but then decided to bring them into his room, so I would throw him another one. He must have close to a dozen in there now. I know that he has more energy, but it looks like he wants to play more as well, thanks to the thyroid medicine. At least now I have more things for him to play with. And when I took him for a 1 mile walk today, he still had plenty of energy when we were finished, so I am going to start taking him on longer walks (He used to start dragging at the end of 1 mile, while Molly could go at least another mile). Since both dogs need to be getting more exercise, having Blu able to go further should be better for all 3 of us.

Here is what the vet said about Blu’s thyroid. He is doing wonderful on the medicine and is ready to go to his forever home.

Hypothyroidism is the natural deficiency of thyroid hormone. It is the most common hormone imbalance in dogs. Active thyroid hormone serves as a sort of “volume dial” for metabolism and affects multiple body systems.

The classic symptoms of hypothyroidism include:
- skin abnormalities/infections
- hair loss; loss of under coat; dry, brittle hair coat
- obesity
- lethargy
- very rarely neurological problems

Hypothyroidism is diagnosed by blood tests. Treatment is relatively straight forward with twice daily oral thyroid supplementation. Treatment is for the life of the dog and the medication is very safe and not very expensive. Often improvement in attitude and energy level is seen within the first couple weeks. Skin and hair coat improvements take longer (2 – 4 months), but are often quite dramatic.

Blood tests are run to check the thyroid level 4 – 6 weeks after the supplementation is begun to make sure the dose is correct. After the correct dose is found, rechecking the level every 6 – 12 months is recommended.

The people I am staying with had this thing they call “Thanksgiving” at their house. Lots of people came over and there was all the yummy food everywhere. I wanted to stay in the kitchen and help, especially taste testing, but they said I was in the way and kept making me leave. It was OK though, since when they started eating, one of the men kept feeding me and my friends some turkey and ham under the table. The other people wanted him to stop, but I didn’t mind it one bit!

After this “thanksgiving” thing was over, the people started doing some strange things at the house where I live. My foster mommy started putting a thing up that looked like a tree. It didn’t smell like a tree, though, so I tried to get closer to figure out what was going on. I guess I was getting in the way, because mommy put me in my crate until she was done. Afterwards I came out and checked. Nope, it isn’t a tree, at least not like the ones I see on my walks. I know all about trees. And it wasn’t something you can eat either, so I really wasn’t interested in it anymore. The cat seemed to think it was something to eat, so she would go under the tree thing and chew on the green stuff, then she would throw up! I thought cats were supposed to be finicky! I mean, I could have told her it wasn’t any good to eat, and I do know what is good to eat!
I was much more interested in what was going on in the kitchen. I could smell the cookies, pies, and turkey that mommy was making. And did I mention the cookies? She wouldn’t let me help taste anything this time either, and shooed me out again. Oh well, maybe that nice man will come over and share with me again!!

The people started putting different colored boxes under the tree thing. I could tell there was nothing to eat in there, so I just ignored them.  On Christmas morning, the other 2 family members showed up and they opened up the boxes. Some of the boxes had tissue paper in them, and I wanted to nibble some of that, but they wouldn’t let me. Afterwards the people ate the turkey and potatoes and corn, and I did get a little, even though the nice man didn’t come over.

There is snow on the ground outside and my friend Molly likes to eat it. So I thought I would try some. I like it too! Now everytime I go outside, I like to eat a little snow before I come back in. I like the snow. Molly sometimes has trouble in it because her legs are shorter, but it doesn’t bother me at all!

Mommy puts some peanuts outside, but those pesky squirrels keep taking them! I try to scare them away to protect Mommy’s peanuts, but they always come back. And they must be telling their friends about the peanuts, because there are so many of them in the backyard!

We don’t get to go for walks as much because the sidewalks are often very icy. But when we do, there are all the new smells on the way, so I really look forward to them. I hope the ice on the sidewalks melts so we can go for more walks! I don’t see my children friends as much now that it has gotten colder. I do miss them. They loved to come and pet me whenever we would walk by their house. I get excited when I get near their house. Maybe one day they will be out, but even if they aren’t, I still love to go for walks.
-Blu

Molly is the resident dog that lives in my foster home. One of the reasons that my current foster home agreed to take me was that they thought Molly would benefit from having a friend. She doesn’t like to wrestle or chase, but I am okay with that. Most of the time we just hang out together. Here is how my foster mom describes our friendship:

Blu is currently staying with a 9 year old mixed breed Female dog named Molly. Molly is around 60 pounds. They walk well together and get along well. Molly isn’t much for playing, preferring to be more of a mother dog than a playmate to 2- 3 year old (approximately) Blu. I don’t have to crate either one when we leave, in fact, both are out all day long and both sleep in the bedroom with us (on their dog beds) at night. We don’t seem to have any aggression issues with either one. They sleep on whichever dog bed is currently unoccupied. Blu is fed in his crate, both to get him used to being in the crate as well as to allow Molly to eat as well. Except for when we first got him, he hasn’t tried to get to Molly’s food while she is eating. He waits for her to finish before checking out her bowl to see if she left anything behind.
On walks, we usually go about a mile each time, though we have gone further. Molly walks on the left and Blu on the right. I hold both leashes in my left hand, which allows me to have a free hand to shorten Blu’s leash when necessary (he does tend to cut her off when trying to check out some interesting smells on her side of the sidewalk, which is also the parkway side. They are only allowed to do their business on the parkway, not in people’s front lawns. I try to get Blu to go BEHIND Molly, both when going to the left and when coming back to the sidewalk, but so far I have had more success when returning to the sidewalk. With practice, I know he will catch on to the other.)
Blu is a very smart dog and learns quickly. He knows to sit on the side of his crate while I am putting the food in his dish, as well as to stay until I tell him it is OK to get up. He also sits and stays after he is done, until I tell him OK, so he can get out.
He gets along well with other dogs and leaves the cat alone as well. We kept a 1 year old maltipeke, and both dogs enjoyed playing together. The little one was used to playing with big dogs, and usually instigated playtime, but I was careful to keep an eye on them, because Blu was so much bigger.
Blu and Molly practice training together. They love practicing their skills and seem to benefit from being together. Blu caught on faster learning how to shake since Molly already knew that one, but now Molly is the one learning while Blu demonstrates all that he knows. They sit/stay and laydown/stay side by side, even while I am moving around the room. And both do like the mailman, though they have to bark every time he comes around. Molly has been shy, but having Blu around seems to have helped her come out of her shell more, as she is more willing to meet strangers when they are together.
Blu seems to love everyone, and the neighborhood kids feel the same about him. They even come over just to pet him.

My foster mom Cathy wrote up the kind of home that I would like. We have spent a lot of time together, so she really know me well. All I know is that is that I would really like to find my forever home, so if you know someone that would like a big, social, but calm dog… tell them about me.

From Cathy the foster mom…

Blu loves people, but due to his size and young age, may do better in a home with older children as opposed to young toddlers, since he has a tendency to follow closely to people and may knock a small child down by accident. He loves to follow his people from room to room and make sure everyone is doing okay.
He needs someone who can take him for walks. With a daily walk, he gets bored. He doesn’t have to walk real far or for real long, but he loves to get out and sniff. He does have an Easy-Walk Harness which will go with him to his forever home (along with his bed and food dishes)
Due to his tendency to chase squirrels and small animals, he needs a fenced in yard or to be put on a lead when outside. This behavior is improving, but I don’t feel comfortable letting him out off leash, just in case.
Very social, gets along with other dogs (size doesn’t matter) and cats. He also respects their requests to be left alone most of the time.
Loves being outdoors (as long as someone is with him), loves car rides, walks, meeting people.
Laid back personality most of the time, though he will play fetch and tug of war, but he needs encouragement first to start playing. Like many foster dogs from rural areas, he is just learning about toys.
Loves attention, petting, hugs, brushing, belly rubs. He makes good eye contact and did great in obedience classes at Narnia.
Commands: Sit, lay down, settle, shake, stay, come, off, forward, halt (still working on this one), roll over (still learning), quiet (knows what it means, but doesn’t obey this one quickly). He has a GREAT prancing heel and while he hasn’t been taught this formally, with a little training it would look really cute!
Walks well on leash, but tendency to pull, especially at first, so needs someone strong to be holding the leash (an adult or older teen perhaps).
He does bark, and it can be loud, so not a good dog for an apartment. While we don’t know what he is, somewhere in him is defiantly some time of hound because he does have that hound howl.
Doesn’t chew and isn’t destructive to furniture, etc.
Semi crate-trained meaning he will go in it and stay in in but he prefers not to.

Blu took a little mini spa vacation to my home in October for a few weeks. He got along great with my two cats, paying very little attention to them. He got along great with my 18 month old female Toller. Blu walks well on a leash with a harness, and loves to take strolls around the neighborhood. He met some kids on our walks and was appropriate and happy to get pets from them . He is very laid back with joggers, strollers and bikes. He loves to take trips in the car and gets excited to go to Petsmart. He knows how to sit, give paw and lay down. He was good with my husband and myself. He was crated overnight without any objection, and left free in the house during the day without any problems:chewing or destruction He is a very gentle,  mellow, good souled dog who doesn’t demand much. He just needs a warm bed and someone willing to pet him unconditionally to start his new year off right!

Amanda

Last weekend I took a trip to downtown Downers Grove with Rebecca, Meredith and Bonnie. They said we were headed to a place called the Happy Dog Barkery, and that I would really love it.

Blu loved the Barkery

It was a sunny day and, really, I was just happy to be taking a walk and smelling new smells. Because I was so excited, it was tough to remember to walk nicely, but I tried.

We got to the Barkery just in time, right before the store was supposed to close. But the nice woman working there told us to come in — and then she took a treat out of the fridge and gave it to me. It was amazing! Bonnie said it was called leaping liver cake.

The woman, Cheryl, is one of the store’s owners. Rebecca and Bonnie told her my story while I sniffed all kinds of great stuff in the store. There were baskets of bully sticks and bones, plus toys all over the place. There also was a case filled with freshly baked cookies. Cheryl gave me a football shaped cookie, and I ate all of it except for the icing. Plus, I got to help Meredith pick out cookies for Bonnie’s dogs. It was a really fun place.

Blu relaxing outside the coffee shop

Next we stopped at the coffee shop. Bonnie and Rebecca got coffee, but not Meredith and I. She had lemonade and I had a piece of cookie. We sat there and watched people walk by and a couple of trains pull into and leave the Metra station.After coffee, we checked out the fountain. It was pretty cool.

Then, we went for a walk downtown. Rebecca and Bonnie were laughing because I start prancing when there are treats involved. Meredith was my walking buddy, she walked back and forth with me when I was practicing. Rebecca filmed a video of my walking.

Commands Blu knows:
sit, shake, off, lay down, stand, stay (somewhat), come

Working on:
halt, forward, settle, swing, Blu (look at me), stay,

Using lay down instead of just down as we use down for when Molly, our 9 year old aussie,  jumps (and in case she teaches Blu to do that as well), as well as when we mean “get off the couch”

Blu would prefer to lay on the couch, however as we don’t know that would be allowed by whoever adopts him, we don’t want him to get in that habit. Right now we have stuff on the couches except when we are sitting on them, as a deterrent. He has been using either his dog bed or Molly’s instead, or just flopping down on the floor.

He loves being outside and wants to follow anyone outside (we need to work on that). He doesn’t like being outside by himself (or even with Molly), though. He wants to be with people. The neighborhood kids like spending time with him and he enjoys showing off his new tricks for them, especially if there are treats involved.

We no longer give him treats for “sit”. He gets praise and petting, and we now use that whenever he goes for walks (has to sit to get his leash on, as well as before we open the door) He still is in a hurry to get out, as is Molly, so we are working on getting him to sit longer, or sit/stay. He is a fast learner, so hopefully he will catch on.

We also use “off” now on walks, especially last night (garbage night, he wanted to sniff all the cans). He does seem to respond to “off” on walks and gets praise when he obeys (he is also starting to understand that when we let him sniff and count to 10, 10 means “time’s up” and sometimes will resume our walk without having to be told). We use halt when we get ready to cross a street, or when the other dog is going potty, or if one gets tangled up. Molly knows now to stop and he is starting to catch on. I would like to start working on getting them to stop/sit when I say “halt”, but it isn’t as easy with 2 dogs, so I may have to walk them separately at times. Blu still likes to roam around during walks, but at least we are no longer getting the leashes wrapped around each other. Still cuts Molly off when he wants to investigate the good smells on her side of the sidewalk (typical male driver or just exuberance of youth?). He is getting better at relieving himself on the parkway instead of in people’s front lawns. Perhaps since most neighborhood dogs go there, he realizes there are more good smells on that side of the sidewalk anyway.

I finally got Blu to use the tug rope on a walk. He seemed to enjoy using it. Of course the next time he started grabbing his leash on a walk, I of course had forgotten to bring the rope along. Looks like I’m the one who needs work in that department.

Blu and Molly practice together as Molly has discovered that practice time means food, and she wants to get in the act. Molly is also more outgoing toward strangers now that Blu is here as she doesn’t want to be left out in the attention department either.

Frequently, the kids in the neighborhood stop over to visit and play with Blu. Visiting people, going for car rides, and chasing squirrels are his greatest life pleasures right now.

On Saturday afternoon, Rebecca and Bonnie picked me up from my foster home and took me to McCollum Park in Downers Grove. There were tons of people or all ages and sizes there. There was something going on called a Summer Bash with loud music and lots of running and screaming kids. I thought it looked some what interesting, but I really just wanted to get in touch with my hound- self and sniff.

We walked past some girls on tricycles

Bonnie and Rebecca said we were going so I could see new things and practice walking nicely on a leash. This “walking nicely on a leash” thing is a little silly to me. I like to wander all over the sidewalk… meandering from left to right… basically I follow my nose. They don’t seem to like this. They want me to walk on their right side. BORING, but I try because I get treats and they talk to me in the happy voice. Sometimes I get excited and hop on my front legs and grab the leash and swing it around. They call this “Silly Blu”. It makes them laugh so I like it.

As we walked around the park, we stopped to watch a tennis game. At first I was just sniffing and then I saw the ball. Hmm… something started coming back to me… did I play fetch? I was very focused on this “tennis game”. Bonnie and Rebecca were very interested in this.

On the way home from the park, Rebecca and Bonnie stopped for lunch. I got to sit by their outside table and watch people go by. Every single person that walked past me would pet me. At first I think I startle people because of my size, but I am a lover not a fighter, so soon I win them over. I love people to pet me. I would love to one of those dogs that goes and visits people in nursing homes or other places like that. That would be cool.

We stopped at Jimmy John's for a late lunch. I love the free smells!

Earlier this week was also exciting for me. On Tuesday, a new woman showed up at my house. I was very happy to meet a new friendly person. She said we were going to school at Narnia. I had no idea what that was, but she smelled like liver, so it can’t be too bad. Kim put on my harness and we got in the car. Hooray! Another car ride. This time I got the whole back seat to myself. I tried to get in the front seat, but I’m too big for that. Kim showed me that dogs need to be in that back seat of her car and that suits me just fine. We were off on another car ride.

When the car stopped, we got out at a place I didn’t recognize. We walked around the grass and there were lots of other dogs milling about. Kim took me inside. There were lots of dog smells in the building and I started to wonder if this was another animal shelter. Would I get left all alone again?

Kim and I moved into a big room and along with all the new dogs and people, I saw two people I know, Rebecca and Sara. That’s when I knew everything was going to be OK. Kim and I found a seat. There were new dogs all around, but that’s OK with me. Kim gave me treats when I sat calmly and looked up at her. We also practiced sit, down and stand. I already know how to do that, but it was a little different with all those dogs around. Other dogs jumped up on humans when they walked past, but not me. I’m pretty laid-back. I tried to pay attention to Kim, after all she had some really good food. I did get distracted a little. It’s very hard to pay attention to humans when other dogs are barking. We all wanted to sing that night, but Kim showed me that humans ignore me when I bark. Instead, as soon as I was quiet, Kim gave me lots of attention and petting.

Kim said that I did really well for my first class. I thought it was a lot of fun. I can’t wait to go back.

I have to tell you, I really love people. And while I probably am a bunch of different breeds, somewhere in me in definitely hound. Rebecca laughs because I like to talk to my people. I have a hound howl when people come home. I have a hound howl when people leave. I even have a hound howl when I get silly. Each of my howls sounds a little different, but I use them everyday. I do not like to be left, and my “I am left alone” howl is quite sad sounding. This is really common in a lot of dogs. We are social animals, so we don’t like when we are alone. Shelter dogs like me often develop a fear of being abandoned again, so separation anxiety can develop. It can be pretty serious. The most common behaviors that are seen in a dog that suffers from separation anxiety are:

• digging, chewing, and scratching at doors or windows in an attempt to escape and reunite with their owners.
• Howling, barking, and crying in an attempt to get their owner to return.
• Urination and defecation (even with housetrained dogs) as a result of distress

I must admit that I howl when the people leave, but as soon as they are out of my sight I stop. No sense to go on and on. I normally just nap until they come back, so while separation anxiety is not an issue with me, it could be a problem. I have been spending most of my time with Rebecca, so when she leaves me I do show some signs of stress, but luckily for me I have been surrounded by people that are doing all the right things. There are no energetic hellos or goodbyes here. People come and go, and sometimes don’t even acknowledge me with much more than a “Hello big guy.” This helps. I also have a safe place. Rebecca calls it “Blu’s room.” It is a spare bedroom, and while I prefer to lay on the floor in the living room, in my bedroom is my crate and my blanket. I go there to rest sometimes. Dogs need a safe place. Another thing my people are doing to help avoid separation anxiety is I am also being socialized. This is a team effort by all the people at Narnia. I go to class, and I go on walks. Once I feel a little better, I am going to start going out in the community for more outings. Positive socialization ( meaning meeting nice dogs and people) helps create a friendly confident dog. One of the best things that my people are doing is when they come back and I have done something they view as “naughty,” they don’t get mad and yell at me. For me to understand not to repeat a behavior, they MUST catch me in the act. If they did correct me after I misbehaved, I would associate my people returning after an absence with being in trouble. The next time they leave I would become anxious, therefore chewing on whatever item is handy to help relieve the stress and anxiety. Thus a pattern begins and separation anxiety rears its ugly head!

Luckily, my people understand that separation anxiety is sometimes a concern for a shelter dog, so they just need to clear and consistent when helping transition to my new home. I do like to give them a sad howl good bye or a happy howl hello. I want my people to know that I love and appreciate them!

Rebecca took me for a nice walk this morning, and I was so happy that I did a silly little dance.

Then, she put me in the car and drove to a place she calls Narnia. I think that’s the place she came back from smelling like liver, so I was ready to go. There was a great big room with lots and lots of new smells. While I was sniffing around the room, I met a new person, Kathie. She said lots of nice things to me and offered me some treats – so I wagged my tail. Wow, more liver! Because it was a new place, I was a little nervous, so I stayed close to Rebecca at first. Then, I got a little more brave, and even climbed up the stairs. Rebecca, Kathie and Bonnie said they were really proud of me. While I was at Narnia, I met really nice person named Joy, who also gave me some treats. When Joy was talking to me, my tail wagged even more.

This is my second bath. Really.

Kathie, Rebecca and Bonnie picked a blue harness, and they put it on me to see how it fit. I guess it’s for me to wear when we go for walks. They also put a blue tag on my collar with Narnia’s phone number, and said it was just in case I got lost again. Then, Rebecca and Bonnie put me in the car, and started driving.

About 25 minutes later, we stopped at another new building. Inside, one wall had shelves with bags of something that smelled good – like food. There also were some kittens playing in a crate. I was kind of sniffing them and watching what they were doing, but I guess I got a little too close because one of them swatted me on the nose. I decided it was safer to watch the kittens from farther away.

Rebecca and Bonnie said they had brought me to see Therese, who is a veterinarian. They also had brought a tightly sealed container with some of my poop, which I thought was a little weird. I guess they check it to make sure I’m healthy. We went into an exam room with Therese, and I got up on this metal table. Rebecca and Therese hooked my collar to a leash on the table, and then they made the table taller. I wasn’t super happy it was moving, but Rebecca put lots of little treats right in front of me. Then Therese started my exam. She checked my teeth, and said I was about 2 years old. After that, she looked in my eyes and ears, and I guess I had some gross stuff in my ears, maybe from chronic ear infections. Therese looked at the rest of my ears, and she pulled a yucky tick off the edge of one of them. She found at least five more, mostly on my ears. Pulling them off felt a little funny, but my ears felt much better once they were gone. No more little things biting me. Therese also felt my whole body and listened to my heart and lungs. Then she came back with a needle to draw some blood. I guess Rebecca and Bonnie wanted to check to make sure I don’t have heartworms or Lyme disease. I was a little scared of getting poked with the needle, but Bonnie kept feeding me more treats and telling me I was a good boy for standing still. After the test, I got a shot.

After all the poking and prodding, Rebecca, Bonnie and Therese took me into a different room with a big metal sink. Therese squirted something into my ear – she said it was ear cleaner. She rubbed my ear around, and then she did the other ear. This wasn’t much fun at all, but Rebecca gave me some treats for being a good boy. Then Therese wiped all the gunk out of my ears. Then they turned on a water sprayer and started getting me wet. Honestly, I wasn’t too happy. I really wanted to get out of the tub. But I waited as Therese rubbed some soap all over me. It was kind of like a massage. Then she rinsed me off and soaped me up again with a different shampoo. She rinsed me off, and I tried to shake all the water off. Then she dried me off – using this machine that blew air at me. When Therese was using the dryer, she also checked to make sure I didn’t have any other injuries. Therese, Rebecca and Bonnie pulled grass seeds and burrs out of my coat, which made me more comfortable. Therese sent me home with some medicine.

I got to meet Tippy at the vet's office.

I also got to meet two dogs, Daisy and Tippy. They both live with Therese. Tippy seems like she’s a fun girl, but I think she wants to play a lot. Daisy didn’t like it when I sniffed while she was in her bed because she was cornered. She barked at me, and backed up. I was so tired that I tried to take a nap while Rebecca drove us home.

I’m so tired from the baths and all that tail wagging.

UPDATE: Blu is heartworm negative! Hurray! We are waiting to hear about the other tests. He does have hook worms, so we have given him a dewormer.

This morning I woke up to the sound of the door opening. I sighed and looked up. It was a little over a week ago when I was out wandering the countryside and I walked into the yard that had a dog in it. I assumed the the dog would be friendly, but before I knew it, I was turning to run and I got bit on the behind! Ouch! Not only that, but the owner caught me and brought me to Edgar County Animal Control. Let me tell you, it makes me sad. No humans to play with, no sunshine, no playing with other dogs… just a little cell. I must admit this morning was different, though. Here comes one of those nice ladies. She stops at my cell starts talking to me. She promises me a couch and a bed, a 10 year kid to play with, and a forever home. I not really sure what she is talking about, but it is obvious I am leaving this place! For the first time in over a week, I wag my tale. Gosh is that lady nice. She helps me in a van FILLED with dog crates and lots of barking dogs. I get into my crate and wonder what this is all about.

Two hours later the van comes to a stop. I can hear people talking and dogs are starting to unload. Eventually, another nice lady comes and opens my crate and puts a leash on me. She hands the leash to another lady, and they talk for a couple of minutes. The driver of the van I came in tells her that the warden said I was one of the nicest dogs he has seen at that place. I sniff around and just enjoy the beautiful sunshine. I breathe in the smells. I’m liking this. My tail starts to wag again. I notice I am being led away by three people: Kelly, Sara, and Rebecca. They brought me cheese; therefore, I like them right away. They talk real nicely to me and pet me. I like that, too. The tail wags more. They help me up into Kelly’s car. I stick my head out the back window and smile. I am not sure where I am going now, but I hope there is more cheese.

20 minutes later we are at Rebecca’s house. I have a crate, a blanket, a squeaky sunshine toy, and a Kong. I am not sure what to do with the Kong. I lick a little of the food out of it, but quite honestly, I’d rather have some petting and more of that nice talking. I really like when people talk to me in that nice voice. My tail wags as I follow them around the side of the house, then… the water turns on. Feeling slightly betrayed, they give me a bath. I am not going to lie and say I enjoyed it, and personally I thought I smelled fine, but Sara fed me this AMAZING food called McDonald’s Cheeseburger. For that, I was willing to have Kelly and Rebecca bathe me.

While taking a quick snooze, I got another visitor named Amy. She gave me some treats for sitting and she walked around with me. Her car door was open, so started to climb in because I figured that is what we have been doing today. “Not this time,” she laughs. “You are staying here for awhile.”

After taking a really long nap, I wake up to find Rebecca coming home from work. I am not sure where the Narnia place is, but Rebecca smells like liver, so I definitely want to go there one of these days. She talks nicely to me while she puts together an even bigger crate. She then grabs the leash and off we go on a walk. I loved this. My happy tail was it full wag. Every once in awhile, I would just stop and sniff. It is great to be me right now. Here is the other really cool thing. If I walk next to her and give her my happy face, she gives me treats. I like this “going for a walk” thing. We come back home, and she fills a food bowl with kibble. She then asks me to sit and feeds me a small handful of food. It is kind of fun. She asks me to “sit, down, and stand” which I had learned while we were out walking. Now I get handfuls of my dinner by doing these things. Pretty cool, hu? After we are done, she talks to me some more, and then tells me she is going to take care of her other dogs. She says good night and leaves. Once she is gone, I climb onto my blanket. Wow, this has been the greatest day. I am going to sleep. My tail is tired.

Hello all, I’m Blu.  Nice to meet you.