Today

Of course I couldn't leave her there. She was terrified and I knew that she most likely needed to go into a foster situation instead of being adopted out. I must be nuts -- I have 3 dogs of my own and they are very insecure whenever I bring other dogs home.

It occured to me as I was driving home that she probably has some very bad associations with the name "Keena". I needed to change it, and gave it a lot of thought.

We have her down as being a papillion x american eskimo. But she is most likely a sheltie mix. (I actually think she looks quite like a very chubby Belyaev fox... But there's no way she could be one. http://8e.devbio.com/image.php?id=477 ) I wanted something Scottish and Bonnie seems to fit her.

I put her in the backyard when I got home and then let the dogs out to meet her. She was a bit overwhelmed and a tiny bit afraid -- although not nearly as afraid as when people try to approach her. She ran to the far end of the yard after the greetings and watched as my dogs chased each other through the snow. Several times she started to chase after them.

I had taken some things from the car and brought them into the house. So when I let the dogs in I opened the back door. My dogs came in. Bonnie remained in the shadows at the far end of the yard. I finally got my jacket and boots on and went out to get her.

I knew she wouldn't let me handle her - I wasn't even going to try. I hoped that she would follow me. In the end I finally got behind her and herded her to the back door. She actually seemed relieved when I opened the back door and she was able to get into the warmth of the kitchen.

Initially she was a busy little thing -- checking everything out, poking her nose into all the corners of the downstairs. I see this as a good sign -- I think it means that she still has curiousity and a willingness to explore. Somewhere in there is a dog who is ready to learn how to be happy again.

Finally she settled herself around the corner of the couch. She's in the same room as the rest of us -- but out of sight. Every now and then I see her peek over the arm of the couch at us -- checking us out? Making sure she knows where we are?

She seems to be housetrained -- once she got up and went to the back door whining. She was happy when I opened it for her and she ran right out. She also came back in when I opened it a few minutes later.

I haven't forced her to interact with me at all. Right now Bonnie needs to know that she is safe here and that no one will hurt her. Maybe soon she will want to interact with me, but I need to build some trust with her first -- trust in people is something that was taken away from her. Those former owners certainly gave her no reason at all to want to trust anyone. I just hope that tonight -- maybe for the first time in 7 months, Bonnie is able to truly relax.