"fixed"

Poor Finn. I dropped him off early this morning to get neutered. I left work early to pick up the sad little case of a dog. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for getting my pets altered and it's required at the shelter, but it's been a doozey for him. It may have to do with his age I'm guessing, because all of my other pets were in the 6-8 month range when they had their surgery and we're thinking Finn is 1-2. I had them give me an e-collar before we left the waiting room because I couldn't distract him long enough to stop licking his incision site. I DO NOT want a repeat of Andy in this department. For those of you I haven't shared the lovely story with...Andy licked his stitches out the day after he was neutered. I came downstairs on Saturday morning and he rolled over to show me his skin hanging wide open. So so so so gross. I would prefer Finn keep it together, especially because the boyfriend and I are supposed to go away tomorrow night for our anniversary (it's already been put off for 3 weeks) . I'm hoping he'll be good enough, and my mom will be confident enough that she can keep him for 24 hours. His ears were pretty bad off according to the vet so we have some drops to give him for the next 10 days and a follow-up appointment on them. The best part about fostering: The bill isn't mine! I do have to listen to the little cries that break your heart and hope that the soft e-collar they gave me is Finn proof! He's already gotten his foot stuck inside the collar of it and because of his disproportionately short legs, he trips on the thing with every step.

we're getting the hang of things

Finn is doing awesome! We are really starting to figure each other out at this point and fall into some sort of routine. I actually just ran him home from the b/f's and put him to bed for the night. Eventually, he'll be able to sleep here, but I decided today is not the day. He is used to going to bed earlier than we do here and he has his neuter surgery tomorrow, so I figure I might as well keep life normal up to then. He's off food and water for the night, so I also wouldn't be able to give him his beloved Kong with peanut butter for the night. It really keeps him quiet :)

I finally busted out the good camera and had a quick photo shoot with him in the back yard. There was some nice warm lighting, some overgrown grass, and a little tail wagging.

weekends wipe me out

I tried to get Finn geared up for the weekend by starting off with a therapy session at my dad's. He made it in the house this trip, paced around the downstairs for a while, then found the loft upstairs and put himself in a corner for the rest of the evening. He's so scared of my dad and what makes it worse is that he said he would adopt him. I have a feeling it was a tall guy like my dad beating on him at one point. My dad's house is also very open and it probably doesn't feel very safe to him.
Satuurday we headed to the shelter to get his ears cleaned out by the staff, who all can't get over how cute he is. After we were good to go and got our instructions for taking him to the vet on Friday, we headed up to my dad's again. I know I shouldn't let him hide in the corner and be scared, but I did. There were 6 adults roaming around and 2 very young kids. It was a lot for a timid dog, but Dad insisted that I bring him and not leave him alone in the crate. Big news from yesterday: Harper and Finn touched noses! Finn is very submissive to the cats which is definitely going to make them becoming friends much easier.
I thought about just letting the little guy chill out at home today, but when the b/f's mom asked if I was going to bring him over to meet her, I couldn't say no. I also wanted to watch some Dogtown to get some guidance from the episodes where they are dealing with very shy dogs. The afternoon turned out to be much more than that...before your mind wanders too far: Finn did great! He did hide behind the couch a little bit and took shelter in a few nooks, but he also followed b/f's dog Wrigley around as well as his mom from time to time. He didn't quite understand Wrigley's energy. They tugged on some toys together and seemed to have a pretty good time observing each other. Here's a few picks from our afternoon:

Nature was against us this afternoon while we were at the b/f's. To start off, Finn lifted his leg on my foot. Then Wrigley ran through a yellow jacket nest while playing fetch so he was covered with the nasty little things. B/f's mom is smacking them off a safe distance away, then SHE goes back to get his ball that he dropped next to the nest. Of course she gets stung in the legs about 10-15 times. She has never really been stung in her life, so she wasn't aware of how nasty and aggressive they can be. I made up a baking soda/water paste and covered up all of the stings. A little while later, we took the dogs out front for a potty break and there was a huge black snake next to my car. Oh, and somewhere in there, Finn threw up. Thankfully, our bad luck ended there and we're having a quiet evening at home before bed. We forgot the Kong, aka magic sleeping tool, at dad's last night, so hopefully some raw-hides will work as a substitute tonight. I have a feeling they won't be as effective, but I couldn't bare to spend $9 on something I already have at Target tonight and I don't feel like driving all the way to dad's for a 3rd day in a row.

I didn't want to jinx it

I didn't post last night on my "get Finn to bed" strategy because I was scared to speak too soon. I didn't spend much time with him yesterday (b/f is leaving til Monday) and I knew this would make getting him to bed quietly a true challenge. I loaded up a kong with our dogs only peanut butter and stuck it in the freezer for as long as I could. We call it dogs only because, after about the 2nd or 3rd time I loaded up my kong for Andy, I decided it was really pretty gross that a knife that touched the inside of there was contaminating all of the PB in the jar. Bring in the Sharpie to condemn the jar for human use. The little thing worked pretty well! He was interested, went in the crate, and I gave his hind end a little help getting in all the way, even though that's probably breaking some rule. He was QUIET...at least for a little while. When he was finished, I did hear a little of the usual digging and a little more howling than past nights, but it ended pretty quickly I think because I was asleep in no time.

A few excitements from yesterday: 1. Finn starting running, I mean big time running! He was tearing circles with me around the backyard. 2. That means I started taking him out without a leash because you couldn't pay him enough, even in treats to leave my side. 3. He's getting so much better about going on his own and sniffing for a place to use the bathroom. Before, he was afraid to venture even just a few feet away. He did his business yesterday and I got down to praise him and he didn't shudder, he ran over, tail going in circles and jumped up to lick my face. 4. Finn's going to get some relief for his ears tomorrow finally! I called the shelter yesterday and they still have not made him a vet appt, but they suggested I bring him by the shelter and they will clean him up.

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone following Finn's story. I don't know who you are, but Blogger tells me how many people read each post and the number grows every time I check it out. Thanks to my b.f.f.s Ashley and Steph, my brother John, and my friend/co-worker Mike for anxiously awaiting the next post! Everyone else, leave a comment so I'll know who's stalking me..J/K.

Take your dog to work day...kinda

Sorry for the lack of posting yesterday. It was a busy day that didn't involve a lot of Finn time and I paid for it. He would not settle down in his crate last night. I think part of it may have been that I forgot to turn on the nightlight. The plan for tonight is to go outside in a few minutes, take a few laps around the backyard and put him in the crate with a fresh clean towel and a shirt I slept in last night that I left to marinade in my bed so maybe he'll feel like I'm not too far away. (Fingers crossed)

Today, we got to do something else to push him out of his comfort zone. I got off work much earlier than normal and came home to get Finn and head right back to the bank. He was a little shaky at first, but once he wasn't standing out in the open, he kind of approached strangers anxious to meet him. One of my co-workers said while we were all huddled around, "alright guys, someone here has got to take this dog home!" We headed home about an hour laster and then my cousin stopped by to meet him. He was pretty nervous at that point, which I don't understand. He was on his familiar territory with a person that is almost identical to me. The only thing I can guess was all of the previous excitement was overwhelming enough for one day.

I can't wait to get him to a vet, but since I don't own him, the shelter has to call and make the appointment, that probably won't even fit with my schedule. He started with one ear infection and I think that they are now both infected and I feel terrible for him. We'll give the shelter another buzz tomorrow and hope that we have an appointment very soon.

This day may not have been the best in my life, but two really awesome things did happen:
1. Harper (cat) came into my room while Finn was already there and proceeded to jump on my bed. I'm ignoring the fact that it was because his food bowl was empty and I'm calling it amazing progress.
2. I had to go back to the bank later in the evening for 2 hours. I assumed Finn would go where my mom did, but when I returned home, I learned that he went in my room and wouldn't come out. EEEEK. I had a lot of shoes laying all over the place. Finn didn't touch one pair. When I went in my room to find him, he was laying in a crate with the door open.

Finn hiding under my desk

Finn "hiding" behind one of the stools

Sylvia giving him some high quality attention

I had to include this one just because this woman hates dogs. It was
absolutely necessary to document this interaction, although she wasn't too
happy that I have proof that she has a soft spot. lol

Monday Funday!

What a hectic start to the week. I got up early to get to the point where I could feel prepared. First on the list was taking Harper to the vet. This of course involved keeping Finn far enough away from the cat so that he wouldn't hid. Not feeding him breakfast made the task of keeping him close dang easy. I put a fresh towel in Finn's carrier and Harper got curious and I trapped the little sucker in a few minutes before we needed to leave. Vet appt. went very quick and easy, aside from the horrible howls that made me feel awful. Once we were home, Harp completely forgot about the whole experience because he got BREAKFAST.

Next, get to work and get Chick-Fil-A for a co-worker's b-day. That was the easy part of the day.

Home to Finn dog after work and we did some good cuddling. He showed his first smile while laying on his back and getting a good belly scratch. Too bad my phone was too far away to snap a pic. I was going to take him to a park, but it got dark way too early so we went for a trip to Petsmart. It went GREAT! He was excited to get out in the parking lot, not afraid of the cars or the automatic doors. A few people approached him as well as a few dogs. The only sign of his distress was when he tried to hide on the bottom shelf of the treat isle, but who could blame him? I'm very proud of him and I hope that he we find him a forever home before I get too attached to his cute little face. It really is so much fun getting to watch him experience different aspects of the world for the first time. The little things like helping him master the stairs or seeing him wag his tail around in circles and show his little pearly whites during a belly rub make the extra time he takes up so worth it.

Oh, and here is poor Harper on he exam table before the vet pried him out of the carrier...lol

sundays are our day of rest

Not too much excitement today other than Finn went UP AND DOWN the stairs without hesitation! Thank goodness because my back was not going to be able to take too much more. I also found out that rawhides are a good snooze button so I can stay in bed just a little bit longer. Today, on his morning walk, he spotted our other dog, Molly roaming across the backyard. He ducked down in the grass and then took off bounding towards her. Good thing he was on a leash because I don't think Molly would have been as excited to find a playmate (she's 12). Later this week though, we'll be meeting the b/f's year old lab and I'm sure he will be up for playtime. This afternoon, we cleaned all of the brown hairs out of the tub from yesterday's bath. He apparently wasn't phased by bath-time because he laid right next to the tub while I scrubbed. Molly won't even come in the bathroom voluntarily ever since she got her first bath there. These past 2 days, Finn has started wagging his tail at full mast over all kinds of things, food, toys, me arriving home. He also is really into giving kisses. He's such a sweet little guy and is going to make someone an awesome, loving companion.