The Hound with a Home: Adventures of Tilly

The hound is coming along, but it's a slow go, and she reminds me of Drew Barrymore's character on 50 First Dates. Our life with her starts over every day, sometimes several times a day. She is getting more comfortable here, and she loves the other dogs. They are really where she is consistently comfortable, which is what I suspected would happen in the beginning of our relationship together. 

It has become real obvious to The Nurse and I that this girl will not be able to live in a normal pet home at this point, and I'm not sure that she ever will be "normal". She requires a lot of life modification to survive, and I don't know too many "pet people" who would know how to do this without losing patience and making her worse than she is, if that's even possible. 

In my last life, I was fine with having many dogs, but as life has progressed, I can say I don't enjoy having a bunch of dogs anymore, but sometimes God gives you what He wants not what you want, and I feel like it was no accident this girl entered The Nurse and I's life. After a lot of discussion and being honest with what this girl needs, The Nurse and I have decided to adopt Tilly the Hound.

I don't know that she will be a permanent member of our family, but I do know that we are going to continue on with her rehab as part of our pack. My prayer is that she will eventually recover enough to be a pet in someone else's home, but now there is no pressure for when that has to happen. She can take her time, and move at her pace. It's said that it takes the average rescue dog a year to feel 100% comfortable in their new home, and I imagine we are going to need every bit of that time frame with Tilly. 

We found a veterinarian who has been gracious enough to spay her on a Saturday so their clinic is quieter, we can drop her off at the last minute, and wait for her to be done, so she doesn't have to be without people she knows for very long, and so we minimize anyone handling her who might not be as dog savvy as she requires. It's another step towards being an "owned" dog in this house, and we are happy to give her that opportunity. 

I needed to know her future was wide open, and we have secured that for her this weekend.