Mid-Life Paradise or Mid-Life Crisis?

Zephyr and Jasmine are settling into routine. They both are gentle, loving, quiet dogs who don't ask for much, sometimes anything. A place to lie their heads, fresh water, meals twice a day, a good scratch from time to time, a nice brisk walk at morning, mid-day and before bed -Zephyr REALLY likes his walks. They're sometimes so quiet and unneedy that you lose track of them.

Jasmine is having a harder time of it than Zephyr. Both these dogs have pretty much lived their lives in crates, only getting out when by miracle, volunteers come by. There are over 2,000 dogs in the TUAPA shelter. Zephyr was luckier than Jasmine -he was in a building that had more volunteers come by, and more outings. At least once or twice a day he got supervised time with a caregiver, and once a week he got to go out to 'the playground', a big field where the dogs can let off some steam. Can you imagine only getting to go for a walk once a week :(

Jasmine wasn't quite so lucky. She was in a building of semi-senior to senior dogs, who if they were lucky got out once a week. The kennels weren't painfully small (but not nearly as big as what you think of when you think SPCA). At least Jasmine was lucky -she got to spend her time with some other dogs.

It's taken a toll on her though. Although her body is in really good condition, she's having a hard time adjusting to having space. Although most of the time she's okay and settles, there are a couple times a day when she starts pacing. She doesn't know what to do with herself. If you were about a 50 year old person who had been couped up in 10X12 or so for nearly your whole life, half of a house seems really big. It's almost the opposite of feeling clausterphobic. Jasmine needs time to heal her mind. Physically she is top-notch, but mentally has a ways to go.

So, although I was hoping I wouldn't crate her -she's spent so much of her life in one already-, when she starts to panic, I give her a small massage, and put her away for 10-15 minutes. (And I've started crating her for bed-time, as twice she's startled herself waking up in the middle of the night and doesn't seem to know where she is. She's never worken up not in a kennel. So that is what is safe for her.) Sometimes she instantly goes to sleep in her crate and I just leave her be, there's no point adding more stress to her. Most of the time she comes out again fine. She needs time to transition. The anxiety will lessen with time and patience. Although adult dogs have tons of advantage, the big disadvantage is that usually they take a longer time to transition. She hasn't realized yet her whole life is behind her. This is where she'll get to be Jasmine, to be loved, petted, taken for walks. It's a whole new world. And although a heck of a lot better, that doesn't mean its not scary at times.

Jasmine poses pretty for the camera.

Resting peacefully, with Zephyr to keep watch for his crate.

Zephyr on the other hand continues to be quite confident. He's getting a little bit peeved with puppy play, and likes to retreat to his own crate a lot. However, once things have quieted down, he comes out looking for some attention. He's a very lovely gentlemen who really shouldn't have to put up with the likes of Chow and Lemon. Luckily, Chow plays non-stop at daycare, so when I get home at 7:30 I put her to bed with her supper, and the Tuapas get their loving. Balance.

He can be a bit of a pushy guy sometimes too, but he's a dog that's had to get along for years with very little human intervention. So he can be snarking, lip-curly, sometimes the odd snap, (he was peeved this morning that Jasmine tried to climb in his crate with him), but despite sounding kind of scary, I haven't seen him actually make physical contact yet. He could if pushed too far, but I won't let it get to that point. Still, he's quite happy. Warm blankets, good scritches, nice walks (his FAVORITE, he's figured out the timing fast and seems to know when he should be getting his walk!) and hanging by your feet is what makes him happy. Now, if only he could find a forever home where he could do that without the ruckus of the young and rambunctious crew.

Eventually my sweet middle-aged man.

This one taken an hour after they got here. We kept the leashes on for the first 4-5 hours.

We have a homecheck combo meet+greet with Chowmein out in Sooke on Sunday! A retired couple, one shepherd mix, and 3 fenced in acres. Sounds like fun to me! So we'll see how the two dogs get along -I'm not too worried about Chow, the only dogs she doesn't like are 3 huge shepherd mixes at the daycare who play like absolute idiots and think the proper way to greet dogs is to grab their back legs-. Sometimes, it would be nice to be adopted hey!