Angel

Thursday afternoon was an interesting day as we waited to meet Angel, the 18 month old American Eskimo/Maltese mix. Her handler was running late, adding to our anticipation....what would Angel look like? Would she like us? What if she's awful..then what? And on and on. The girls' anticipation mounted, making their stomachs miserable! Finally, Angel and her handler arrived. The minute she walked in the door, she won our approval. She was so stinkin' cute! Energetic...and growling. She growled at each one of us, letting not one of us get close to her. We sat in the living room, a good distance from her and her handler, and we tossed out bits of treats, trying to coax her to us one at a time. As she took her treat, she would cower, look at us suspiciously, and growl the entire time! It took over an hour, but finally Angel made her way over to Serena and allowed her to pet her. She then accepted me and Natalie. Steve....well, the jury is still out on that one. All she could do was bark whenever Steve would move, walk, talk, breathe, or blink! You get the picture. After talking with her handler/foster mom for several hours, we were all convinced that although Angel clearly had social issues,she belonged with us. She wasn't perfect,but neither are we. She's had several months of upheaval and a lack of a real family with stability. She had puppies at the young age of 14 months. And judging by her reaction to strangers and men, she was mistreated at some point. Angel is surprisingly sweet and loving toward me and the girls and she is slowly warming up to Steve. She is athletic and funny, housebroken and obedient! She has so many great qualities, though we have a huge struggle ahead in introducing her to strangers. Her handler actually kept one of her puppies and we were able to see him. Angel was able to play with her puppy one last time before her handler left for good. I was almost in tears, watching the whole scene, knowing Angel was about to lose her "mom" of four months and her puppy. Sigh....that first night was so rough. I wasn't sure if it was good for Angel or not. She kept crying, looking out where her handler had last been, and cowering each time I tried to comfort her. I didn't sleep much at all that first night, but the last few nights she has curled up in bed beside me, so I guess we're doing well. And now, just five days later, Angel and I are inseparable! I am her mommy, and she is mine. I look in her sweet litte brown eyes and tell her, "I don't know who rescued who here." My heart certainly feels a lot more healed with her around! She absolutely loves the girls and can't wait for them to get home from school. Now if she'd stop growling like a mountain lion at her daddy.... (