The Maddie Report

she's a pretty girl, originally uploaded by Amy Risner.

It’s been almost a week since I brought Maddie home. It’s been quite an emotional rollercoaster. She is still getting adjusted to living in a new home and I think overall she’s doing much better. Here is a timeline of what’s been happening to her in the past few weeks.

Feb. 16: Maddie is placed in the shelter from an elderly couple who could no longer take care of her.
Feb. 20: Maddie goes under the knife! (spayed, of course, per the shelter’s requirements).
Feb. 22: I meet Maddie for the first time. She was in a ward that was closed off due to cleaning. I peaked in and noted the frightened, tiny little dog sitting in the cage. I made a mental note to go back and check her out when the ward was reopened. Luckily, I was able to play with her later that day and put a 24 hour hold on her while I went home to think things over. That night, I made up my mind to adopt her and spent over $100 at Meijer on dog stuff. (this stuff ended up costing more than her!)
Feb. 23: Maddie is adopted! She spends all day sleeping and is not very playful. She appears depressed about all of the sudden changes. However, she is incredibly active and playful outside. In fact, she loves to drag me all over the place on her leash. Her personality completely changes when she comes indoors and begins to sulk again. She does not eat or drink much.
Feb. 24: Maddie goes to the vet for her first check up and is given some soft food, which she seems to love. Our vet is awesome and she says Maddie is completely healthy, but it will take her a while to get used to living with me. Later that day I had to leave her alone for the first time while I went to work. I placed her in the kitchen with a baby gate incase she has any accidents. I come home to discover she didn’t have one single accident and she held it all until I took her outside! What a good girl!
Feb. 25: Maddie seems more depressed when I come home from work. I make her sleep in my bed that night.
Feb. 26: Maddie does a 180 and is acting much better. She is eating and drinking a lot more, and she even chews on her snack sticks! She hasn’t had a single accident in the house yet! She even braved the rain when X took her out.
Feb. 27: Last night she somehow managed to crawl under my bed and slept there the majority of the night.
Feb. 28: Well, I called off work because I had really bad asthma last night that kept me up most of the night. Womp womp. Good news for Maddie that she gets to spend more time with me! I’ll probably venture out to the pet store and pick up some things for her. What a spoiled little girl. Oh well, she deserves it.

I just found these photos on my phone. They were taken when she was in the shelter. Look at how pitiful she looks. Poor thing... caged up, sleeping on newspapers, and with loud dogs all around her. No wonder she’s been a wreck.