I'm not slacking! It's just tough to post pictures of what we did until we get done with everything and get home.
Thanks for the Gotcha Day wishes, guys.
It's hard to believe 2 years ago today, I brought Risa home. Looking back, I was totally not ready for a dog with 'issues.' I didn't know what I was getting into. However, she has taught me as much if not more than what I taught her. It's amazing the transformation she has undergone. She is no longer so fearful of people, other dogs, and novel objects. Her confidence level has increased tenfold (if not more). We finally got her CGC this year and she is doing so much better not being reactive to other dogs. She has been a gift and I love her more than words can say.
She came to me so skinny and scared (7/15/06):
It seemed to take forever to put weight on her (8/6/06):
And today we celebrated the wonderful bond we've created!! I made her a little 'cake':
Can I eat it now?
Mmmmmmm cake!
I figured today would be an excellent day to take her down to the lake to swim. She really enjoys swimming and I like that she can keep going and going without overheating.
First we posed for a picture:
Then we hit the water. "Come on, Mom. Throw it!"
When I was trying to take photos of her swimming towards the toy, if I didn't tell her to 'wait' along the shoreline she decided she would swim out with me! I was shocked to see her right alongside me paddling away.
She was exhausted and passed out in the car on the way home. Note how she has stretched her seatbelt to the max so that she could lay on the opposite side of the car:
When we got home, I dryed her off and she entertained me with some zoomies:
After some rest, I took Risa down to get some ice cream (though I have a feeling it may not have been a great idea with her GI issues
):
We wrapped up our evening by going to Rally class. Despite not having practiced much, she did extremely well. I was also pleased with her behavior during our downtimes between runs. The other dogs could walk within a couple feet of her and she barely gave them a glance. WTG, Ris.