Stairy Conundrum

Stairs.

Love 'em or hate 'em, they've become a regular part of Molly's life.

The first couple days, Molly was excited but nervous to do what the people were doing. She would hesitantly go up three quarters of the stairs, get bold, decide she'd mastered this feat, and attempt to rush the last few stairs (every time), resulting in her tripping herself. Hmm, stairs *can* hurt.

Then, the third or fourth day, she gave up. I went to lead her up the stairs, and she planted her butt and muled on me, refusing to go. Even a stern look and a sharp word didn't break her out of it, but she wasn't spooked, just being stubborn. She got picked up off the ground entirely. That tactic will not work for her. I was careful not to hold her in a way that would be painful, but I didn't coddle her, either, so she couldn't think of it as an improvement. I clearly wasn't happy, and when we reached the top of the stairs she apologized to me in her doggy way.

Now we've come to the point where we can see a conundrum in her head. She *wants* to go up/down the stairs, but she vaguely recalls not liking something about them. It's a scary stair conundrum. Say that quickly ten times.

After picking her up and being unhappy with her, she compromised the very next time. We may have to change it on her later, but for the moment it works. If we walk with her, side by side, she'll slowly go up or down the stairs (more worried about up, but she's still dainty about down, too). If we get ahead of her, we become The Big Person On The Stair, and she puts on the brakes, and if she starts up the stairs but we're not walking with her, she'll gladly stop and wait. For now, it's, "We'll do this together."

Silly dog!

Adoption Adventure

Little Miss Mollykins doesn't know just how much trouble we went through to adopt her, but if you'll sit for a spell, I'll share the tale.

We had already had our phone interviews with her foster people, Denise and Chan, and her rescue owner, Kathy. We knew she would be a good fit. We bought supplies (dog food and treats - check, water and food bowls - check, pet bed that the cat hadn't claimed - check). We prepared our home. We prepared the van (cleaned, seats removed, emergency supplies). We were ready, and we took off.

We didn't actually get onto the road until near midnight. That was alright, though, because we had blocked off the whole weekend. Then we reached Boonville Missouri, just west of Columbia. Kay was driving, and we stopped for gas and breakfast. As we pulled into the gas station, slowing down, the transmission shifted to a lower gear... and we heard a terrible rattling begin. Uh oh.

She pulled up to the pump and stopped, and the rattling stopped, too. Phew! The engine might not explode. She tried revving the engine, and no rattle. She put it in park, and we filled the tank. Start it back up... still no rattle. Good! Put it in drive to leave... the rattle was back. No no, this isn't good. Maybe it'll fix itself... after all, the shift timing problem I experienced before went away when they fixed the power steering, so let's just cross the street to McDonald's. It's not far, and puts just a little work on the engine. Rattle rattle Rattle Rattle RATTLE RATTLE. Nope... not going to fix itself. Begin cursing like a sailor.

One call to AAA and a tow later, and we were at the nearest good auto shop, Midwest Autoworx. James, the very friendly and knowledgeable owner, and Valerie at the front desk (who is, oddly enough, from Indy, too) provided information, comfy couches in the lounge, free WiFi, and offered us coffee while we waited. It's a pretty decent way to bite your nails, waiting for bad news, but they're really good and we didn't have to wait long. It was a loose ball bearing. The transmission would need to be replaced. $2500 on short notice. Great... just great. Repeat curses silently in my head, but it could be so much worse. At least we weren't trapped in a snow-storm. At least we weren't hours from the nearest town. At least we had the whole weekend!

James was quite kind, and gave us a lift to Enterprise in Columbia, Missouri. Along the way he picked our brains about which iPad to buy for his wife. I hope she loves your choice, James, and thanks again for the ride! Enterprise may boast that they'll pick you up, but understandably they only mean within the city in which they're located. We still had a day and a half left in the weekend... and the van wouldn't be ready for up to a week, so a rental was just what the doctor ordered. We could have given up and flown back, but Molly was waiting for us, and we were already so close, and we'd have to come back again anyway.

At Enterprise, we met Ashley, who helped us pick a vehicle. Kay and I joked around a little. Ashley said I was being facetious. I really appreciate a wider vocabulary. She found us a brand new Dodge Grand Caravan with only 2000 miles on it. I love my van, but wow was this a nice vehicle. The stow-and-go seating was particularly appreciated, since we were on our way to get Molly.

All told, this expensive set-back took us through lunch. I didn't originally have plans for the weekend following the adoption. Now I did, and if Molly was good in a car (which she is), she'd have two road trips in her near future. So we resumed our trip, and soon we were meeting Molly for the first time.

We met Denise and Chan for the first time that evening, and shortly afterward Molly joined us. She was a little wary at first, but warmer than they expected. When they took all the dogs out to play in the back yard, I started playing ball with another dog, Josie, and Molly decided she wanted in on that. I also got my first happy pounce when I started playing with the puppies that she liked to protect, and she saw that they were happy with me and that I treated them well.

Even though she has a piercing bark, K was in love, too. We got a hotel for the night because we were exhausted, but went back the next morning and adopted her, and the rest is history.

Squirrel!

Molly went for a short walk during lunch yesterday. As we were waking down the sidewalk in a cul-de-sac, she suddenly stopped and pointed, tugging hard on the leash. I followed her line of sight, and across the way there was...

A squirrel!

Boy was she excited. I wish I had a video of her behavior to share. She looked at me questioningly, wanting permission to give chase. After confirming there was no traffic as far as I could see, no other people or scary dogs, and nothing else obviously harmful, I looked at her mischievously and said, "Go get it!" I let go of the leash, and she was off!

That poor squirrel probably was telling its kids how it out-smarted a big, hairy beast today. There was a very small, dry stream bed with a bunch of trees around it. Molly chased the squirrel to the edge of the stream, and it darted behind a tree. From there it crossed the stream, then ran up a tree. Poor Molly lost it when it went behind the first tree, since she tracks visually. She ran up to the tree and started trying to figure out where it went in the branches.

When I reclaimed her, she was pumped, and at first didn't want to resume walking. It was so comical watching her walk a few paces, freeze, and whip her head about, tracking for motion, trying to find the squirrel again. Maybe in time we'll see enough squirrels that she'll learn the word for them.

Silly Goggie

Molly likes to take the lead when walking, but when Jason jumps ahead of her, she's quite happy to follow in his footsteps... literally. Even when he walks in circles... along a narrow path of concrete!

A Couple of Thank You's

Kathy: Thank you for having the website, applications, photos and descriptions of Molly that allowed us to find our perfect doggy. Also, thank you for putting us in touch with Denise. She's a wonderful foster mommy.

Denise: Thank you for your hospitality and supplies. You helped make Molly's transition a smooth, happy experience. Thank you for being a great trainer (that's obvious through Molly's behavior). And most importantly, thanks so much for letting us take Molly home. I know putting so much time and energy into making Molly what she is today, would make anyone attached.

I keep telling Jason how shocked I am that no one swept her up sooner. She's a good dog.

What a boring ride

Her first drive to her new home seemed to bore Molly. Vehicle noises, vibration, scenery... but there was one perk. She was living with several other dogs at her foster home, and always ended up at the bottom of the pack. Now she can claim top-dog rights, and have the front seat! (Well... when her people aren't using it anyway)

Sleepy Molly

A photo of Molly snoozing before the big day of travels to Indiana. She misses her foster parents and is learning a whole new apartment with stairs, new doggies and strange people.

Mine! All Mine!

"No hooman! You will NOT get a goggie! This bed is for me!"

At least, that's what I imagine was going through Ana's head when she laid claim to the dog's new bed:

Mine. End of discussion.

I did a bad, bad thing...

Kay and I have been looking for the Right dog for us for some time. We haven't been in any rush. During an idle moment at work one day, I had the strange urge to look at Corgi rescues online. "Corgi rescue," I said to the oracle Google. The very first response was: Forpaws Corgi and Corgi Mix rescue dogs. I took a look at the main page to get a feel for the site, then went directly to the dogs up for adoption. Scroll past some puppies (sorry cuties, we don't want a destructive puppy), and *BAM* there was Molly, staring back at me:

How can you not love that face? I didn't want to jump to a hasty conclusion, but I already knew that she fit, and not just from her photo. Kathy and Denise did an excellent job describing her personality and history. So back to Google to look at a few more sites, just to make sure I wasn't in a fall-in-love-easily mood, and sure enough, no other dogs felt right, not even remotely.

So after a little bit, trying very hard not to get myself worked up or excited, I messaged Kay. "I did a bad, bad thing," I said.

"What did you do," she asked. She thought I had perhaps indulged in an unhealthy lunch, or purchased some bit of technology that I really don't need.

"I went looking," I said, and explained who I found. I sent her the link. She melted, and we decided to attempt to adopt her if she was still available. Boy are we glad that she was!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, here are the rest of the photos from the adoption ad: