2 Days with Poppy

We saw an opportunity we couldn't resist: "Australian Shepherd puppy, 7 months old, female, FREE to a good home."

We have been carefully tiptoeing around the emptiness we all feel since Daisy died (May '09) and have wondered if we could ever have another dog. No one could replace Daisy, but we love dogs, and hoped to find another who needed us as much as we need her!

DH and I went out to have a look at Poppy, and she was so cute. Very lively (we like that) and very loving (she melted at our feet for immediate belly-rubs) and we fell in love. But I could sense that the owners were really not settled on giving her up... they felt that they had to (Poppy was chasing the horses on the farm, and the horses weren't happy!) but they loved her, and it was difficult.

Well, we took her home, surprised the kids...... and the cat (Katie). Poppy thought Katie was a snack, and decided to chase her all over the house, with Katie finally clinging for dear life to the top of the window in my sewing room! Poor Katie...

She then decided the safest spot was the back of our bedroom closet... and stayed there for 2 days, refusing to eat or drink or go to the litter box. We even moved all of her things upstairs, and gated the bottom of the stairs so Poppy couldn't go up, but she was terrified. Uh oh.

Meanwhile, Poppy was getting lots of love and attention, having a great time, and it was interesting having a dog in the house again. But, what about Katie? She was used to our old Daisy-dog, and I was getting worried.

Finally, I asked hubby what he thought, and he agreed this was probably not going to work. He called Poppy's former owners, and asked if we could bring her back (I hated doing that, but, had a feeling....). Sure enough, they were happy to have her back!

They had a little break from her, and had time to realise they really needed that dog... she was part of their family. And Poppy had a 2-day adventure away from home, complete with gifts (I made her a denim bandanna with "Poppy" embroidered on the front) and treats! We were able to see that we are not ready for a new dog... yet...

And Katie is now back to her normal self, and loving her space again.

My migraine from the whole weekend is almost gone... ;-)