DavidWare, nice set of shots.

James, you're reminding me I desperately need a flash. Love the last one.

ahab, you're right, she did. She arrived from a previous owner, somewhere in the US, extremely fearful. Well, "Extremely Fearful" doesn't do her condition justice. She would be hiding in crates, under beds, in basements, whatever was the deepest, darkest, least likely to be seen place she could find. She wouldn't venture out of her hiding place, even for food or drink. She would have to be forced outside for bathroom breaks, because she sure wasn't going on her own. I have no idea what somebody put her and her sister through, to make them like that. After arriving in town, she went through several foster homes, and even got herself adopted once, and returned. Eventually, she ended up with us.

She wasn't quite as bad when we got her. She would run from basement, to crate, to outside, but she DID go outside willingly, and she ate, and accepted walks, if you could catch her. She loved having Zuni to play with, and Zuni loved having her. After a few months, she (mostly) stopped running away at the sight of us. After another couple months, and she started to snuggle, and poked us with her nose, asking to be petted. She would run and play with other dogs at a local agility club, and bravely visit the other dog's owners. Outside anywhere else though, if she saw a person, or a car, or anything, she would still shut down, going into panic mode. Even if it was us at home, but somehow vaguely out of the ordinary, carrying mail or laundry, she would bolt.

Recently though, she's getting very brave. Trusting us more and more, and even standing in the front window, barking at everything that goes by. She's also turned into the cuddliest, snuggliest dog we've ever had. She has a long way to go, but she's come so very far. She's accepted us, and loves us. I can't imagine how she'd react if we were taken away from her, and she was adopted out to another family. So, yeah, we're slow in making it official, but she did adopt us a while back, and we knew it.