A Mellow Interlude: Meet Lady

After the adventure of having Star for a few months, my friends at the shelter were hoping to give me a little break by setting me up with a nice mellow foster dog. Maybe one with a bit of shyness that needed to be worked on, someone who needed socialization or was stressed at the shelter.

Enter Lady. 

Lady was surrendered to the shelter with another dog, by someone who wanted both dogs to be euthanized because of "extreme human aggression." The shelter will only come to a property to pick up a dog in cases where the person making the call is requesting euthanasia, but fortunately the shelter staff can do something else with the dog if they decide euthanasia is not called for.

Neither Lady nor her companion really seemed to fit the bill of "extreme human aggression," so both were spared. Lady was an "office dog" at the shelter for a week or so, since staff didn't think that at her age--probably around 7--and with her calm demeanor, she would enjoy being out on the shelter floor with all the wild young adolescents bouncing around.  

So they gave her to me.




First step, a bath.







Then some cuddling and relaxing.

And not too much food. Poor Lady has a bit of a weight problem, and has difficulty moving. When I first saw her at the shelter and saw her struggling to get up, I asked if she had hip dysplasia. But now that I've gotten a good look, I'm pretty sure it is just a case of incredibly long nails. 

I tried to cut them right after her bath, but she wasn't having any of it. So we've been doing some slow desensitization with the clippers. I am hoping that when she gets spayed, her nails can be clipped way down while she is under. 

And as for her extreme human aggression? 

People say the darnedest things. Suffice it to say that we're not too worried.