Introducing: Blue Belle.

Opal, or White Thunder as we sometimes call her, surprised me a little when I first started introducing her to the other pets in our home. As standard procedure, when I brought Opal home from the Humane Society, she needed to be quarantined. This is to ensure that if she was incubating any parasites, or any bacterial or viral infections, that the rest of the house would not be exposed and create a bigger problem. Often when shelter animals come into their forever homes, they've been exposed to a plethora of diseases. This is by the sheer fact that a lot of pets who find their way into a shelter, come because of an illness that their owners could not afford to treat, or were strays for a period of time and exposed to the many diseases that the outdoors can carry.

There are many reasons why a pet is surrendered to a shelter, and many reasons why a pet becomes lost and finds themselves dropped off at a shelter. As I talked a little about in Opals introduction post, after trying to find her owners, I myself took her to the Humane Society. I hoped that perhaps her owners would come forward and look for her there, but they did not.

Opal was not fond of her quarantine period, and I had opted for a 4 week quarantine, versus the traditional two week. Well after about day 16, Opal wasn't having it anymore. She is a social creature, and did not want to be alone, and took it out on our carpet. We rented at the time, and I wasn't going to have her destroying anymore carpet, so at day 18 I decided to introduce Opal to Blue, our dog. Blue gets along with any cat, and quite adores cats. She had shared her space with Knight Night and Hope already for just over a year, and had briefly shared her space with Felix before he moved home to live with my parents. So I know she'd be happy as a clam with another cat in her life, but what did Opal think?

Opal thought the world of Blue, that's what she thought. I brought Blue into our bedroom, then ushered Opal in shortly after and immediately she began to rub her cheeks on Blue's muzzle. The two have been inseparable ever since.

But how did Blue find herself in our lives?

In September 2013, my boyfriend and I moved to a townhome in Nepean, Ontario. A nice ground level place, with three bedrooms, a basement and a small, fenced-in patio in the back. It had been 6 years since I had a dog of my own, my dog Watson having died in May of 2008 before I went to tech school, and I was really considering a dog. However, I knew from my experience in veterinary practice that having a dog was not an inexpensive endeavor. There was also the commitment of having a dog, they require a little bit more care than cats do, and aren't as independent, but I really missed having a dog. To bridge the gap, and after a small conversation with my boyfriend, we decided to foster.

Working with a wonderful rescue called, Sit With Me Dog Rescue, we took on a lovely little Pitbull who we were allowed to name. I named her Starr. She was suited to her name, and was an absolute sweetheart. Due to Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) in Ontario, she needed to be adopted out of the province, but would need a place to lay her head until the right family came along. She entered our lives April 2014.

Things were going very well, however in early May 2014, my boyfriend was contacted by someone he knew, who was no longer going to be able to keep her dog. Life can be difficult, and things come up that make it challenging to care for everyone in our lives. It's a difficult decision to give up a furry family member, but it takes great courage to acknowledge that they might not be the best home for that pet. This person contacted my boyfriend, asking if he would like to take her dog, knowing that he would give her a good life. After a short discussion with me, we decided to take her on.

This meant we now had two dogs in our lives, Blue and Starr. Blue was two and a half at the time, and already came with a couple of warnings of potentially destructive behaviour, but with reassurance that she got along with children, small animals and other dogs. After a walk together with Starr, Blue happily shared her environment, and eventually the two would play and play and play. Roughly the same size, the two of them were well suited to each other, and kept each other busy.

Admittedly though, together they were a bit much for me. After a walk that resulted in a shoulder injury, I conceded that I was not able to take care of both dogs and Starr was moved to a new foster home late June 2014. It was hard to see her go, she was a wonderful pup. She didn't stay in foster long either, and was adopted October 2014 to a lovely family in the US. Thing was, there were things Blue needed, and it had been so long since I had one dog, that two were too much for me. As it has now been almost three years since, I am hoping that the experience I have gained working with Blue, will help with being able to foster again in the near future, as it is a rewarding experience.

Blue has been a fantastic introduction for me to the world of the reactive, nervous, undersocialized dog. As I talk more about my experience with Blue, what she's taught me and the trials and tribulations we've gone through to get her where she is today, I'll share with you what we've tried, where we've failed, where we've succeeded, and the change we've created for our beautiful Blue Belle. Remember, Blue came from a busy family and had needs that unfortunately were not met. This did not mean she wasn't loved, she's very much loved, but it is yet another indicator of how much work a dog needs to be the best they can be, and how much catch up needs to be done to make up for lost training time.

Stay tuned for more of Blue's adventures! Happy Sunday!

~Blue's Mom