Rescue Blu

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.