I am adopting a new dog, today!

[Proots]

She's three years old and has been severely abused. They found her wandering around on her own, so the shelter thinks she as neglected/abused and then just thrown away or whatever.

I have never adopted a dog from Animal Friends before, the the adoption process was pretty intense and crazy, considering you're just there to get a dog/cat/rabbit/whatever. Anyways, I had to explain my living situation to them, I had to provide proof that I own my house outright (not leasing or renting) and they went through a list of potential dogs that would be good for just a single guy, who lives in an extremely quiet home.

Anyways, her name is "Baelee" and she appears to be some sort of terrier mix, they really aren't sure. She's terrified of everything and I do mean everything. She could only come see me with one of the people that worked there, since she wouldn't come out from under a chair if any of the other shelter workers were in the room.

I figure that with a lot of patience and time, I can teach her how to be assertive and confident again. I told them I would be back for her today, they wrote me up a 24 hour "hold" slip on her and when I got home from the shelter, they had already taken her off their website. So, I guess that means she's as good as mine. The lady at the shelter even said that another family looked at her, but the husband wasn't very understanding of why she's afraid of everything - and, she feels that my home would be a better fit since it'll be one on one, quiet and relaxed.

So, wish me luck! I have a few things to do today, but I could hardly sleep last night. I'm gonna head down there in the late afternoon once traffic dies down and bring her home. This will be a nice project to focus on when I'm not working.

[Rizzo in a box]

Awesome! Best of luck, I'm sure you'll treat her well. You'd better post some pix

[millionsofdeadcats]

About half of my pets throughout my life were former strays or 'rescue' animals.  Being a pet owner is nice, but knowing that you gave the animal another chance makes it even better. 

[Infinityshock]

Good for u but I could never have a dog that acted like that.

Dont expect it to be much of a watch dog if its that skittish

[millionsofdeadcats]

A lot of my dogs were like that for the first day or two, even purebreds that I paid 500$ for.  It will get used to its surroundings.

[Proots]

Awesome! Best of luck, I'm sure you'll treat her well. You'd better post some pix

I certainly will on both of those counts. When I bring her home later today, I will either upload pictures tonight or tomorrow.

About half of my pets throughout my life were former strays or 'rescue' animals.  Being a pet owner is nice, but knowing that you gave the animal another chance makes it even better.

It really does. My first dog was a purebred purchased from a breeder and I loved her to death. However, I decided as I got older that any other dog I got subsequent to that one, would have to be a rescue dog.

Good for u but I could never have a dog that acted like that.

Dont expect it to be much of a watch dog if its that skittish

Well, she's relatively small - so, I'm not getting her for home defense purposes or anything like that. And, "skittish" isn't even the word for it. She was abused so badly that she is downright TERRIFIED of everything. And, I do mean TERRIFIED. When I met her, all she did was quake underneath a chair.

A lot of my dogs were like that for the first day or two, even purebreds that I paid 500$ for.  It will get used to its surroundings.

This is what I am counting on. They are creatures of habit, so as soon as she realizes that nothing bad is going to happen to her on my watch, I imagine she'll be just fine. I have all the time and patience in the world.

[Michael Myers]

Good luck, Proots! Love what you're doing. Are you going to provide us any pictures of Baelee anytime soon? I mean, like you said, she's afraid of everything so I'm sure you wouldn't want to take a picture just yet.

[Proots]

Good luck, Proots! Love what you're doing. Are you going to provide us any pictures of Baelee anytime soon? I mean, like you said, she's afraid of everything so I'm sure you wouldn't want to take a picture just yet.

Well, like I said - I'm going to bring her home in the early evening/later tonight, so when she's all settled in I'll either upload pictures later today or perhaps tomorrow.

[Michael Myers]

Alright, cool, cool! I'll be looking out for those pictures!

[unbreakable matter]

Good man Proots. Not everyone has the heart and dedication to get a used sog, glad  thee are people like you in the world

[Proots]

Good man Proots. Not everyone has the heart and dedication to get a used sog, glad  thee are people like you in the world

Yeah, man - like Millionsofdeadcats said, it's nice knowing you're giving an animal a second chance. The way I see it, the majority of responsible breeders are going to find homes for their litters. These are the ones that no one wants. If this goes well, I might even go back a while later and adopt a cat.

[jerome]

dude that is awesomeeee proots! you're gunna be such a badass buddy for your dog.

n' i know what you mean man about the terrified thing. my dog charlie used to be like that when we first adopted him too, we still have high suspicions he used to be abused. one of his ribs were broken (the bone sticks out of his body ) and when you pick up large items he freaks out. anyways he used to be so freaked out by everything, just curled in a ball and wanted to hide. he was especially freaked out when you tried to get him to walk.

i think this is my fourth or fifth year with him and he's changed soooo much. he's not perfect lol, but it's crazy how confident he is now compared to back then. i think it wasn't until the third year he kinda started to changing a lot, i guess it was a patience game for my family and i, but it's so easy to be patient when dogs can be so cute you know lol. good luck with yours!

[Proots]

dude that is awesomeeee proots! you're gunna be such a badass buddy for your dog.

n' i know what you mean man about the terrified thing. my dog charlie used to be like that when we first adopted him too, we still have high suspicions he used to be abused. one of his ribs were broken (the bone sticks out of his body ) and when you pick up large items he freaks out. anyways he used to be so freaked out by everything, just curled in a ball and wanted to hide. he was especially freaked out when you tried to get him to walk.

i think this is my fourth or fifth year with him and he's changed soooo much. he's not perfect lol, but it's crazy how confident he is now compared to back then. i think it wasn't until the third year he kinda started to changing a lot, i guess it was a patience game for my family and i, but it's so easy to be patient when dogs can be so cute you know lol. good luck with yours!

Well, this Baelee here, with all her theatrics...I'm suspecting her of being a drama queen. When I took her home, I thought she would just cower in her little kennel and not come out or at least want some time away from me. You know, what with the over stimulation of the car ride and everything. Nope. She's the very opposite of scared and terrified now. Jumping everywhere, following me around, coming when I call her, going for runs, looking out the window ledge that I carpeted for her...she's great.

Now, these aren't the best pictures because I only have a built in webcam on my computer and, she likes to run around a lot so catching her while she's still is difficult.

[DaGuru]

Way to go Proots!

While I'm not a dog person at all, this is just further indication of the altruistic and very generous heart you possess, towards people and all creatures on the planet.

And its a great sign to see her looking so inquisitively out the window in these pics and not just cowering in a corner like when you first met her. Seems to be a good match already....good luck!

[Michael Myers]

She's cute, Proots! I don't know how but I figured it would be that breed!