"Aria came to us March 16, 2019. She was a year old and at the time heart worm positive. She was very skittish the first day and would not come in from outside when we called her.
I would prop the door open and she would run in, and then out again. We didn't want to leave her out overnight or when we went out, so when she came in we would run and close the door. She was just scared. One night she was counter surfing and stepped on a spoon rest. It broke making a loud noise. She freaked out. My daughter thought she was growling at the doxies and was apprehensive about us keeping her. We always raised our dogs from puppies, so didn't have to deal with old habits. My daughter wanted her to be returned. I had a Borzoi in the past, but she was very different. I was talking to one of the doctors that I work with. He had German Shepherds and some were rescue. He told me that it would take about 3 months for everyone to get used to each other. He was right. I do crate her in a very large crate when we aren't here. She had a very good response to her slow kill heart worm treatment. I am an RN and was on top of giving her meds as lined out by the NRBF. My vet said he only saw the slow kill method work once. Now he has seen it twice. One of the other strange things about Aria is her ability to notice change in the environment. If something is new or moved, she knows. If she isn't sure about it, she will walk the long way around it. She is a very anxious dog and prefers to stay at home. She just shakes and drools when she goes out and loud noises - the 4th of July - is just brutal for her.
Now my daughter loves her and is so glad that we kept her."
Only what they can do. It is all we can ask of them; only what they can do. To provide a safe, loving environment with every comfort, knowing that this is what makes them happy, that allows them to be who they are... That is priceless. Thank you, Linda and family for giving Aria her safe place! What a beautiful picture of two good friends.
