That Dog is Our Dog

Parts of  Gypsy's story would resonate with anyone who has adopted a dog with an abusive past. After Rick came home on New Years Eve, 2011, the day I brought Gypsy home, she tried hard to avoid him, but didn't want to let me out of her sight. She followed me everywhere unless he was close by. If he entered a room she was in, she got up and walked quickly out of it, tail between her legs. I knew that if anyone could win her over, my husband could, and by the next day she was starting to relax around him.

It took her longer to warm up to our son, Paul, who is single and spends a lot of time at our house, but eventually she decided he might be safe too. They were both patient with her and learned to wait for her to come to them. For a long time she cowered when either of them raised their voice just to be heard from another room or in excitement over a sports play on TV. She did the same if one of them moved toward her abruptly. Sometimes if they lifted a hand  in her direction she cringed and yelped in anticipation of pain that didn't come.

She became completely comfortable with both of them in time, with Rick first, of course. Now she loves to play "rough and tumble" with  him  and knows he can always be counted on for a treat.

She was afraid of any situation that presented no way of escape. She liked to rest in the crate I had put her in the day I brought her home, as long as the door stayed open, that is. The first time I latched the crate door and left the room, she panicked, crying, jumping and pawing frantically against the wires.

If I wasn't around, she was comforted by anything with my scent. She would pull my bathrobe off the bed and lie down on it, or snuggle up with one of my shoes.

Our home was the only place she felt safe and it was a struggle to even get her out the front door. She pulled hard on her leash to turn around and go back in. We would start out the door for a walk with all three dogs, but couldn't get Gypsy to venture past the middle of the front yard, so I'd bring her back in while Rick walked Penny and Zoe. We kept working at it, coaxing her a little farther each day, until we could finally go all the way around the block.
 
Still she was afraid of everyone she saw. One day Rick was ahead of us with Penny and Zoe when a neighbor came out of his house, talking in a loud, but friendly voice. Gypsy stopped in her tracks as I tried to coax her forward. She pulled back hard, jerked her head, slipped her collar and ran in the opposite direction, leaving me holding the leash and empty collar. Rick gave chase and caught her as she headed around the block back in the direction of our house. I took her home while he finished the walk with the other two dogs.

Now she eagerly anticipates her walk and will allow the neighbors to pet her, although not as enthusiastically as Penny and Zoe do. The neighborhood children have been more than happy to help us socialize her.

She is still wary of anyone new coming into our house and she's so afraid of going anywhere new that I often have to carry her out of the car and inside the vet's office or pet supply store, which must look ridiculous. Once inside, she plants her feet and I have to coax her forward step by step. She's making progress though.

Through all this, we've never seen her fear take the form of aggression.

There's so much we'll never know about her old life, but let me show you a little of her new one:

She gets along quite well with her new big sisters, Penny and Zoe.

She loves to chase Luna, who likes Gypsy better when she's sleeping. I found them both at the shelter on the same day and since they're the youngest animals in the household, I hope they'll grow old together.

She likes to lick Sasha's bowl clean, but knows better than to mess with her. Nobody chases Sasha.

Although she likes to cuddle with my tennis shoes, she prefers sandals for chewing.

She likes to steal bubble wrap and run out the dog door with it so she can have it to herself as long as possible before she gets caught.

 She loves store bought chew toys but is also perfectly happy to find her own in the backyard and haul them in the dog door.









       If sweet friendly children want to pet her and walk her, she's okay with that now.

 She sleeps quite soundly like this...

        or like this.













When she wakes up in the morning, she comes and paws gently at my side of the bed. If I don't respond she pushes her face close to mine. If that doesn't work, she'll plant her front paws and upper body on the bed until I say good morning to her and stroke her head. Only then is she ready to start her day, even if that means going back to sleep for awhile.

I think "that dog" is happy to be our dog now.