Daisy's Gotcha Day

7.24.2010

Thursday, July 22, 2010, was Daisy’s Gotcha Day.  In the adoption world (people and pets), Gotcha Day is the day your adoptee comes home.
I had planned out Daisy’s Gotcha Day very carefully.  My IG-Min Pin mix, Guido, is not the most social little dog in the world so we had a visit with the behaviorist and a visit to Daisy’s foster home a few weeks ago.  So you can see that I wanted to be very intentional about how Guido was introduced to his forever sister.  I was going to leave a bit early from work, run to the apartment to get Guido, drop him off at my mom’s apartment, and then drive up to St. Joe for little Daisy.  When I got back into town, I planned to go straight to my mom’s place so Guido could meet Daisy in a somewhat neutral but familiar setting.
I didn’t get a chance to leave work early.  I got to the apartment, switched out the big work bag for a more manageable purse, loaded up Guido, and headed to my mom’s place.  It wasn’t until I pulled into her place that I realized my key to her apartment...was in my work bag!!
My mom was a savior.  I called her at work in a mild panic.  It was a few minutes before she was off the clock, but I knew she had a doctor appointment after work.  I knew I didn’t have the time to wait for her to get home and let me in.  Besides, we are currently in the midst of a heat wave, and my choices would be to wait in the car or to wait outside.  At this point, I was all set to throw my thoughtful plan out the door and take Guido up to St. Joe with me.  However, my mom very generously offered to skip the doctor appointment and come straight home from work.
When she arrived at the apartment, I apologized for her missed appointment.  She said it was okay, she’d just tell the doc she had a “family emergency.”  After all, she said, we were adding a new member to the family tonight!!
All in all, I was only a half hour behind schedule when I arrived at Daisy’s foster home.
Daisy was a little shy, but gave me lots of kisses.  I think she remembered me from my visit a couple of weeks ago.  She also gave her foster mom lots of kisses.  I could tell they would miss each other very much.
Daisy was (and so far, still is) the quietest, calmest dog I’ve ever seen in a car ride!  She cried a little bit on the ride home.  After all, I imagine she was very confused.  But she was quiet overall.  Every once in a while I’d look back and I'd see these huge, dark, iggie eyes peering at me from the crate.   She was so precious I just wanted to pull the car over and give her big hugs!  But at this point, it was already about 8:00 in the evening.  It was time to be home.
We got to my mom’s apartment around 8:30.  Guido came outside, smelled Daisy, and decided he would be okay if she came inside.  My little Guido was so good with Daisy!  It only took about half an hour before I was comfortable letting them both off-leash and wander around the apartment at will.
That first night was a late one.  We got home around 10:00.  By bedtime, Guido had decided he’d had enough of this new dog, and spent the night sleeping on the floor under the bed (in a location that I’ve come to call his “safe spot”).  Poor guy.  Unless he is not feeling well, he always sleeps under the covers at the foot of the bed.  Daisy, however, wasted no time in making herself at home.  She immediately burrowed under the covers and claimed my body pillow for her own.  Guido came to join us a few times in the middle of the night.  However, once he realized Daisy was still there, he’d jump off the bed and go back to his safe spot.  He did join us around 5:00 in the morning, but was careful to sleep far far away from Daisy.

Daisy's first evening at home went by very quickly.  However, I don't think I could have asked for a better transition for her.  I already feel so lucky to be Daisy's mom.  I think that she will have a lot to teach Guido and me.

A New Direction

It's been a while since I last posted.  Okay, it's been a LONG time since I last posted.

Fear not, friends.  I have new inspiration!  I recently (like, two days ago) added a new dog to the family.  A Carefree Mind of My Own will now be a place to share stories, the ups and downs, of adding a rescue dog to the family. 

You can read a little bit about Daisy in the profile at the right.

 
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