Three O'Clock Comes Early

So, we decided to leave the door to our bedroom open and put Maddie's crate right at the edge of the door last night. It worked great for both puppy and husband, as she was close enough to see us but far enough away to keep Matt's allergies from flaring up. We think the allergy problem was just because she was so dirty. He has been doing much better today.

So, one of us have been getting up to take her outside at 3:30 all three nights she's been with us so far. Since Matt took her the first two nights, I volunteered to take her last night. She was so adorable! She was so happy that I let her out of the crate in the middle of the night, but she seemed disoriented. She took care of business quickly when we got outside because she was obviously just as tired as I was. After letting her outside again when Matt went to work, I laid down for about an hour more and she let me with no problem. She's such a good puppy. The only time she cries is when she can't see one of us. As long as she knows we are nearby, she is fine. Our 7 o'clock trip to the yard was an interesting one because Maddie likes to chase bees and mommy likes to run away from them.

She seems to be getting increasingly more comfortable with her crate. I have been putting toys inside of it, but it's only been since late yesterday that she has wanted to play with them. Prior to that, she just wanted to find a way to break out of the crate.

She met her Uncle Murray and Uncle Dexter today. She did so well with them! She barked a lot at first because she was uncomfortable, but she was wagging her tail the whole time. They were more scared of her than she was of them. My mom and I took her for a walk with Dexter and Murray (my parents' dogs, in case you didn't pick that up earlier), and I found out that she seems to already know how to walk properly. She pulls against the leash big time when she gets excited about seeing something, but other than that, she walks right beside you. She even walked to the far side of the road when she spotted a car coming. It's so fun to discover things she already knows.

This puppy absolutely loves car rides. She started off on my lap on the way home, tried to eat stuff in the cupholder, crawled over to the passenger seat, looked out the window there, leaned forward into the air conditioner, opened the cupholder with her paw, tried to eat stuff out of it again, and then finally snuggled in for the rest of the ride on my lap.

She is sitting nicely in her crate now chewing on a sock. I am so glad she is getting so much more comfortable with her crate and our house. She's running around now like she's been here for weeks.

I forgot to mention that she met the neighbor's Jack Russell yesterday. I call him Wishbone, but that isn't his real name. Anyway, he was so excited to meet her, but she was very scared of him. She just kept barking until finally I took her inside. I think if I would have given her a few more minutes, she would've warmed up to him and would've really liked him. He is such a friendly guy. People say Jack Russells can be snippy and aggressive, but this little guy just proves that dog stereotypes are totally inaccurate. He does have a very short attention span like most Jack Russells, but he is such a sweetheart. I hope he comes back to visit so he and Maddie can be friends.

I called the humane society today to confirm that we want to finalize our adoption of Maddie. They were so happy she has found a great home, and they told me to give her a hug for them.

I am awed by the dedication and service of the humane society workers, and thankful that they gave my Maddie a second chance. If it weren't for the humane society taking Maddie's mom, Madison, in when she was pregnant, Maddie would've probably never made it to this world, let alone to us. Thank you, animal rescue workers, for saving animals' lives.