Dori the Adorable

It's taken four months, but she's finally done it: the fluffy little pup has gone and stole' my heart.

LOL! Some "pup" she is! She's Eight. In small-dog-years, that's like 34 (she has plenty of puppy bearing years left). When Mom brought her home from the pound, she was sullen and afraid. of. everything. We're nearly certain she was in a puppy mill, as it's obvious that she's had lots of puppies and that she had no idea how to behave like a normal house dog. She's been so clueless! Over time she's learned to trust us (mostly) and together we've weathered her ups and downs, and her stubborn refusal to stop leaving us smelly gifts on the carpet.

...But something has happened to our little girl in the past week. She's developed spontenaity! We knew she was smart, loving and a bit spiteful, but rarely did she do anything fun, bouncy or adorable without prompting. She didn't sniff the kitchen floor for food, or come ask for a petting, or jump in your face for a good rub like other dogs. You could drop a live cricket right in front of her and she'd be bored to death. She doesn't know how to play any normal games, except the ones dogs play together (i.e. "grab the hand"). She's so smart, but there's so much she doesn't know and has been too timid to discover.

Yesterday, feeling ill, I laid down on the floor by her as she rubbed her face in the carpet (her favorite game). Dogs often instinctively know when we're feeling down, and I wanted to see how she would react and if she'd try to cheer me. She did! In the only way she knew how! I heard her walk away, take a running start, and next thing I knew I could feel little teeth on my head. LOL! Not painfully, but playfully: she was treating me like a puppy, trying to get me to play with her dog-style. I don't let her play that game, but I took her sweet sentiment. She then spent a few minutes doing some things she never does, like rubbing her fluffy self against me and smiling and laughing at me. She gave me an open-mouthed doggie grin like the Westie in that Target commercial. Too adorable!!

Yesterday and today again, she's almost a different dog. She explores the floor. She found a tissue, which old-Dori would have left alone. She brought it to me and wanted me to play with it with her! I balled up the one she had and gave her a clean one (where did she find a used kleenex? Ew!) and she proceeded to play "keep away" with me until she ripped it to shreds. I crumble under such cuteness. How could I deny her a good tummy rub? Although I'm home ill with a virus, she singlehandedly suceeded in cheering me up & waking me up. =)

She also rarely looked at us, in the face, for months. She'd been getting progressively better, more trusting, but now suddenly, she shows no compunction about staring at me wide-eyed while I give her a good scratch. And she doesn't race to leave as quickly as she used to. She is still (and will always be) my Mother's dog -- Dori is completely devoted to Mom -- but it's nice to really know that she loves me too. We are Sisters, after all. Ha ha!

=)