Pookie

POOKIE (now Blitz) WAS ADOPTED JANUARY 26, 2002!

UPDATE:

My children so enjoyed having their picture on the internet - I printed out a copy of the "I'm Adopted" page and the kids are taking turns bringing it into school. My 10 year old took your web page address to school so everyone in his class could see his new pup and our family on the web during his technology class today. My 9 year old son, called his best friend to announce our new family member and started the conversation with "My dream came true". My daughter brought friends home after school to meet him and play with him. And we are now a walking family - we walk to get bagels and to the dry cleaners so Blizzard can come with us.

Blizzard is so sweet; however, it's as if he doesn't expect anyone to spend that much time with him. He seems to attach himself to a person and stay with him or her, not asking for anything except their presence. He is a bit of a loner, and at night, he had a hard time relaxing with me. I am hoping we can change this around so he begins to trust us and know that he is loved and are happy with him. He fits in so well that it seems as if he has been with us for more than a few days. Our cats are scared and cranky - we're working out a routine for feeding them so they don't feel displaced. I am sure it will be better with time - we just will continue to give each of them time and care.

I feel blessed that he is ours - thank you so very much for listening to our hearts in our application and choosing us to care for him! Now I know why we were never successful in adopting for 3-4 months - we were waiting for Blizzard!

Update 2/5/02:

It's so amazing that we have had Blizzard with us for a little more than a week. He seems to have easily become a member of our family very quickly. He plays with a tennis ball specifically for dogs - it has a minty scent to it and claims it is good for dogs. He runs around our kitchen growling with the ball in his mouth, and then drops it at your feet so you can roll it across the room, and of course, he'll run and get it, over and over again. At first the kids were a bit scared when they heard him growl, but then they understood that it was his way to play. He is also chews on rawhide chewies.

Katie is teaching him to sit, and Matt is working on teaching him to stay. Greg loves to pet him and play with him and walk him. He is eating his dog biscuits - we found if you tease him for 3 seconds with it and then throw it a few feet away, he races to get it and eats it. He is in the carrier when we are not at home and also at night. We are hoping that he soon comes to the stage where we can trust him more.

At night the carrier goes into one of our 3 bedrooms - Katie, Greg and Matt enjoy having him in their rooms at night. Blizzard slept in the boys' room last night - both boys woke up at 6:20am - Blizzard was still asleep so the boys got a few blankets and their pillows and lay down on the floor near the front of his cage so they could let him out the moment he woke up. Blizzard enjoys waking the kids up for school - he runs upstairs and jumps on their beds, giving them licks. He is really a sweetheart - we are so very lucky to have him - thank you so very much!

UPDATE 3/4/2002

Blizzard/Blitz - he has been with us for 5 weeks now. Gosh, it seems so much longer! In that time, he has become a much loved member of our family. He is sweet and lovable, and though he is with us most of the time we are at home, he feels secure enough that he'll go into his carrier in another room to nap. I feel so good about that!

We all take turns walking him, and the kids have taught him to sit, stay (for up to a minute - pretty good!), down, and also to give them his paw. For that he gets pieces of Milkbone biscuits. They enjoy when he runs through our house at top speed barking and growling - he keeps it up for a

few minutes, and then runs to get water and a quick rest. The children were nervous when he did this at first, but they laugh when they see him do this regularly. He'll run after a tennis ball, bring it back and nudge it to the person who threw it. The kids get a kick out of this!

He loves to lay next to someone on the floor or bed, or to lay at their feet, and loves to be brushed or petted. He sleeps in one of our bedrooms each night in his carrier, and we just started to leave the gate of the carrier unlocked. He'll awaken early, nudge open the carrier door, and jump into someone's bed, cuddle up and go back to sleep. I plan to start leaving his carrier door shut but unlocked when we go out for short periods of time - we can confine him in the kitchen, and see what happens.

Our cats, Comet and Sabrina, are slowly coming to accept him, and he them. He'll still bark when he spies them through the storm door, and they run away, but if I hold Blitz in my arms, the cats will enter the house. The 3 of them are fed together in the kitchen and they watch each other less each day. At least 1 or 2 of us are on the floor during their dinner to calm one of the cats and to sit petting Blitz. They eat within 3 to 5 feet of each other. We still have a ways to go, but at least this is a positive start.

I picked the boys up from school last week and brought Blitz to school with me. Both Greg and Matt proudly introduced him to their teachers and friends. Blitz loves to awaken Katie in the morning and to snuggle in her bed with her, and he also wakes up the boys with licks. He is nervous riding in the car, and so I take him with me for very short rides - 4 blocks to get Joe at the train and 1/4 mile to the boys' school - he is better now than he was 5 weeks ago.

After our experience with adopting, all of us have spoken highly about it. We also as a family have spoken about being responsible pet owners, from having a dog neutered/spayed to giving a home to an unwanted animal rather than purchasing one. Hopefully we'll give potential pet owners food for thought.

My daughter Katie discovered a new web site called neopets. They are creatures who resemble Pokemon characters from the tv show - you are to choose a pet and then take care of it and have adventures with it. Katie went in and so far has "rescued" 8 of them . Now all 3 of my kids have rescued neopets. I thought that was pretty cool, and perfect that this was done not too long after we rescued our little one.

Thank you again for Blitz - he is so personable and friendly and sweet, a very welcomed addition to our family - we love him very much!

UPDATE: April 30, 2002

A picture of Matt, our 9 year old, with Blitz - 2 happy guys who love each other!

POOKIE'S STORY:

How is this for a twist? We always hear that dogs are surrendered to the shelter because the landlord made the tenants get rid of the dog. In Pookie's case, the tenants convinced the landlord to give the dog up. Not that Pookie was being disruptive or anything, just that they were leaving him confined in a crate for 10-14 hours a day and the tenants felt so sorry for him. No food, no water, no blanket, no toys. Just a sheet of newspaper to sleep on. In fact, Pookie doesn't even know what to do with toys or chew bones and has no interest in them at all. He just wants to roll over in a lap and get belly rubs. Pookie is 2 years old and had been living with children. When he sees a child, his tail wags furiously and he wants to go and say hello. His favorite activity is going for walks. He is very friendly and spunky, gets along with other dogs and cats and was excellent during his bath. Although Pookie's previous owners claim he is housebroken, there was evidence that he had been soiling his crate from being left confined too long. He may need a little refresher to reinforce housebreaking although he has been good in his foster home so far where he is crated for appropriate amounts of time or gated in the kitchen and is being let outside very frequently. Pookie would love a home where he would get the attention every dog deserves.