Foster Swap

I did my best to find foster puppy Xena a home, but she wasn't doing very well here. She made a lot of progress mentally, adjusting well to city life and getting brave enough to walk with me near traffic. Physically though, she was slowly going downhill. She had always dragged her back toes a bit, but it became more and more noticeable. She seemed to be losing stability and muscle tone in her back end. To top it off, she was also constantly itchy and began to lose hair.

Photo by Erin Koski

I had a few potential adopters come to meet Xena, one family even took her home for a couple of days. They returned her though, and each adopter said she was too shy around new people, too slow to warm up, needed too much work. On top of this, her somewhat odd gait and toe dragging had some potential adopters concerned that she may have an underlying health problem. I didn't have the money to get her checked out on my own, and the rescue didn't want to pay for a vet's opinion.

I finally took Xena back to the friend who had been fostering her since she was a little baby puppy. Within a week or two her hair started to grow back and her movement got more steady and less worrisome. I'm not sure what exactly is wrong with Xena, so I can't assure a potential adopter that she won't have a shortened lifespan or expensive medical issues.

In her last week with me, Xena began running into very solid and easily visible obstacles, often without slowing down. I let her original foster know that I wasn't entirely comfortable trying to place her with so many unknowns, and that friend asked if I would take one of her remaining Australian Cattledog puppies instead.

Photo by Erin Koski

So now I have an 8-month-old red heeler puppy who is significantly happier at my house where there aren't a bunch of young dogs perpetually crashing around. Xena is significantly happier smashing around over there with her buddies, and so far this seems to be a much better fit for everyone.

A Xena Update

Foster puppy Xena has been here for about six weeks now. She has adjusted rather well and continues to improve. Her last stay with us lasted two weeks, and she was basically too frightened to do anything at all. This time around she is gradually getting used to the sights and sounds of town.

Xena goes to doggy daycare with me every day, and she plays very well with other silly puppies. She knows how to swim, I even have pictures of her swimming with Brisbane. However, she sometimes forgets. She keeps falling in the swimming pool and work and forgetting how to swim, and after fishing her out a couple of times we have stopped letting her play near the pool.

I am now absolutely certain that Xena's vision is compromised, but getting her eyes checked is not a priority for the rescue, and not something I can afford to do on my own. I have been letting potential adopters know that she doesn't see perfectly, but it's obvious that she can see fairly well.

Xena spins in circles when she is excited, stressed, or confused. She always, always, always spins to the right, which makes me think there is a neurological component to the behavior. I have a theory that she may have been hit by a car or suffered some other major trauma when she was very young. That would account for the marked behavioral difference between Xena and her sisters, as well as her imperfect vision and tendency to move in circles.

In the last six weeks, Xena has learned to walk on a bungee leash with the help of a Thundershirt. She feels confident enough to walk instead of freezing, even in a busy parking lot, or while crossing a high-traffic street. She is still a little bit nervous when meeting new people, but is all wags once she gets a sniff. It takes her a while to warm up to new places, so I have been taking her on plenty of outings so that seeing new things because normal.

I have had several people ask how Xena is with kids, and until today I did not have a satisfactory answer. She was socialized with them quite a bit as a baby puppy, and she is less spooky about them than she is about big people. I don't have kids though, and none of my friends do either, so I haven't been able to see how she reacts. Her previous foster mom just told me today that her best buddy over there was the neighbor's four-year-old granddaughter. Knowing that she has spent many hours playing with a preschooler really helps.

Does your dog like kids?

Xena, Warrior Princess

This is Xena, she is Darla and Hellin's sister. Hellin got adopted last week, Darla went back to her original foster home, and Xena came home with me.

Xena is, to be honest, a really strange little dog. At six months old, she has been in rescue since the age of four weeks. She has had the same individual socialization and foundational training as her sisters. Unlike her happy, outgoing, well-adjusted littermates, Xena is extremely nervous and terrified of everything. She has been learning to walk on a leash for months, but still doesn't really get the concept and turns into a flat pull-toy every few steps.

When they first arrived, Darla marched triumphantly into the house and went to wiggle and lick at the kitties. Hellin took about a day to adjust to the hardwood floors and decide they were safe to walk on. Xena has been here over a week and still freaks out a little about the slippery floors.

Xena is terrified of cars while walking on the sidewalk or through a parking lot. Unfortunately I live in the middle of town and cars are everywhere at all times.

For over a week I've been watching Xena slink along on her belly with her tail tucked, so far over threshold she wouldn't even take treats. Today we went to a new swimming spot in the river, and once we were away from the road and general city life she really perked up.

She loved following Brisbane into the water, though she had zero interest in retrieving toys. She did  lot of bouncing and splashing and was generally a happy, if serious,
puppy.
Based on her behavior and sound sensitivity, I am beginning to suspect that Xena can't see very well. She can navigate a somewhat novel room in the dark, but loses track of treats once they are more than a couple of feet from her face. She crosses her eyes when looking up at me, and occasionally bonks into things for no reason.

At the river today I watched her explore and got the distinct impression that sometimes she was moving as if she wasn't entirely certain what she was walking into. Hopefully we can get her eyes checked out soon and see if Xena is seeing properly.