353 Days Ago

353 days ago I met Athena, and 354 days ago I walked her little brindle bum out of the shelter and took her home.  As Athena's 365th day with us quickly approaches, I can't help but think back on everything that has happened this year and how far Athena has come.

Every time I think about the day we walked into the shelter and first saw Athena, the image of her laying on the concrete floor with her nose up to the metal door is what I always see.  She was full of fear with urine in the corner of her kennel and dogs jumping and barking all around her.  Among all of the great potential inside each and every other kennel, something drew B to Athena.  

My eyes were flooded with tears when I approached him to say that I had had enough.  I couldn't bare to be at the shelter any longer and see so many dogs begging for us to save them and take them home.  I was about to tell him "let's go home, it's too sad here," but instead I found B sitting on the ground in front of Athena's kennel.  She was a dog that I had passed by on my first walk through because her intake paper said "dog aggressive."  We hadn't gone to the shelter to adopt a dog, just to look, so why fall in love with the one who may be the hardest for us to help.

Just as I was ready to walk out the door, B asked a shelter worker to see Athena out of her kennel.  As the woman pulled the rope over Athena's head, a part of me was terrified.  It was my first real encounter with a pit bull and even though I believed that pit bulls were good dogs from everything that I'd read online, I had never met one in person to see for myself.

Athena's leash was removed in the play yard as she showed us her love for the ball.  She brought it back and forth to B to throw and I was able to pet her a few times.  As we continued to play with Athena, something inside of me just knew that she was a special dog.  We hadn't gone to the shelter to adopt, but I started to feel anxious that if we didn't put in paperwork for her, she might not be at the shelter the next day.

Of course the shelter worker thought that we were serious potential adopters, so she gathered more information about Athena's "dog aggressive" label.  We learned that Athena originally got to the shelter as a stray and then was adopted by a family who returned her after two weeks because she was aggressive towards their other dog.  We were assured that Athena showed no signs of aggression during shelter play groups and that there may have been something else that caused the family to return her.  Being new to dog ownership, I was still a bit hesitant about the aggressive label, but of course B assured me that everything would be alright.

Even with all of my jitters and feelings of "OMG--we're going to adopt a pit bull-- maybe TODAY!" it was me who begged B to put in an application for Athena.  I was so nervous that if we didn't make our decision right then and there (which happened to be 30 minutes before the shelter closed), we wouldn't get Athena.  The shelter told us that they would consider our application among any other applicants and would give us a call the next day.  Of course I figured that we had a slim chance seeing as we were first time dog owners, let alone being first time pit bull owners.

I remember calling my mom as soon as we got in the car and breaking the news to her that we put in an application for a dog...and it was a pit bull.  Being the wonderfully supportive mom that she is, she was happy for B and I and a bit of my worry went away.  The next day B got the call from the shelter saying that Athena was ours and we could pick her up in the afternoon.  We rushed to the nearest Petsmart and followed a kind trainer around the store as she filled our cart with the essentials seeing as we had no idea what we were doing or how to prepare for a new dog.

Once at the shelter, we were given all of the details about Athena's medications, microchipping, kennel cough, vetting, return policy, etc. and I started to freak out again.  I honestly didn't know that adopting a dog would be so official and I had doubts about whether or not we would actually be cut out for dog ownership.

Athena was finally brought out to the lobby and her leash was handed off to us.  I remember a comment made by a shelter worker as we waved them goodbye.  She said, "oh, you've got to watch out for that one, she's alpha."  Such a delicate goodbye that surely added to the knots in my stomach and the feeling that we were in over our heads.

But here we are, 353 days later and I couldn't be happier.  With a lot of love and training, Athena has turned into an amazing dog and friend and I owe it all to B for looking into her sad eyes that day at the shelter and choosing her to be our heart dog.

Six Months and Counting: As Told by Athena

Hi guys!  Athena here.  Did you know that this week I celebrated my six-month adopt-a-versay?  Yep, I sure did!  I think six months is a pretty long time especially for a Thean Bean like me who has been bopped around a few times in my short life.  So, you might ask, what's it like to live in a forever home for six months?  Well, I'll tell you!

Hi Bloggyland, it's me, Thean!

I'm Gettin' Trained:

My parental figures seem to only be concerned with one thing: training, training, training!  I always have to sit for my breakfast, sit for an afternoon snack, sit at the door before I can go outside and use the doggy potty.

Sit, sit, sit!  That's all I do!

Then there's the walking training where they use this funny clicky thingy and squeal "GOOD WALK!"  I mean really, these people should know by now that I'm not really that interested in walking.  Walking is for boring dogs.  I'm a dog filled with curiosity, so clearly I'm only interested in sprinting to a bush or a pole and getting my sniff on.

Reporting for sniffing duty!

I would however like to do a little bragging about myself because I've learned a lot of tricks since I got to my forever home (I only knew sit when I came home from the shelter).  Here's what I know now:

• Sit
• Down
• Stay
• Come
• Treat party (emergency recall)
• Wait
• Heel
• Off
• Up
• Leave it
• Let's go
• Spin
• Jump
• Crate
• Bed
• Touch
• Bring it
• Watch
• Find it
• Hup (I'm still workin' on it!)
• Drop (I'm still workin' on it!)

I've completed Basic Obedience, Beginning C.L.A.S.S., tried out Intro to Nosework, and I'm in my beginning flyball class right now.

I'm Kinda Pop-U-Ler:

One of the best things that has happened in the last six months is that I've started to go to "Crazy."  That's what my mom calls it when we get in the car and drive to my daycare.  I get so excited when I hear her say it that I whine and snort all the way there!  The people at "Crazy" are the nicest and I love my doggy friends too.  My mom gets pictures e-mailed to her all the time of me and my friends playing together.

Me and my buddy, Monty!

I've made some other doggy friends too like my little corgi friend Bingley and my cousin Maya the big yellow lab!  Sometimes I get to play with doggies at the dog park too (that's a rare occurrence though).  I'm so glad that everyone finally figured out that I'm not aggressive, I actually LOVE doggies!

I LOVE friends!

I've Been Eating A Lot:

I looooovvveeee food and my mom and dad have been trying hard to find the best kind of food for me. I've tried Blue Buffalo Wilderness (salmon), Natural Balance L.I.D. (fish, duck, bison, chicken), and NutriSource Pure Vita (bison).  Even though I thought the chicken flavored food was delicious, we found out that I'm actually allergic!  Yep, I got the itchies all over and my belly got lots of red bumps on it.  So no more chickens for me!

I've also discovered the world of TREATS!!!!  I really love them all.  My favorites include my mom's homemade dog biscuits, Leanlix, bully sticks, and banana/peanut butter/blueberry/yogurt filled Kongs.

Mom and dad say these stink, but there's no stoppin' me!

Just because I've been eating a lot doesn't mean that my food comes free.  I have to work for every-single-itty-bitty piece of kibble!  But, I think it's pretty fun when I get to play find it or eat out of one of my food dispensing toys like the Contempo Tessa or the Hol-ee Roller.  My newest favorite toy to eat from is the Magic Mushroom.

Carrying my mushroom around

My Toy Box Has Expanded:

Nowadays I have my very own toy box where I get to keep lots of my favorite things to play with like my Loofa Dental Chew, stuffies, balls, and tug toys.  Whenever I have the urge to play (which is pretty much every 20 minutes) all I have to do is find a toy and fling it up to my mom or dad.  Lots of times they will play with me, but sometimes they say "all done" which I think is suppose to mean that I play by myself.  This Thean Bean will get the hint (sometimes) and zoomie around the house with all of my toys until I get exhausted and have to take a nap.

Meet Alvin- he's no longer alive.

I Need Another Closet to Fit All of my Clothes:

Boy have I accumulated some stylish outfits in the past six months!  I've got my Tiennot Knits Sweater, custom Sirius Republic collars, fleece pullovers, rain poncho, winter coat, and loads of other accessories like Doggles, tutus and collar flowers.  I also have two new favorite accessories that I will be sharing with you next week (Hint: they are both somehow connected to my besties at Our Waldo Bungie!).

Stylin' in my Tiennot Knits!

Overall Experience:

I would say that my overall experience at my forever home has been EXCELLENT!  Even though I have to go in my crate sometimes while my parents leave the house, I know now that they are always going to come back home to play with me (I haven't ruined a crate bed in 5 months!).  They must really love me because they even bought me my very own human bed to sleep on!  They call it a daybed, but I call it a "Thean must be a human if she gets to sleep on this bed- bed."  I also think it's pretty cool that there are so many people out there in the bloggyland who read this blog and follow me on Facebook.  Thanks, guys!  Here's to another fabulous six months!

Celebrating Athena's Two Month Adopt-a-Versary

It is hard to believe that we have had Athena in our lives for two months now (63 days to be exact) while at the same time I keep thinking to myself, "has it really only been two months?!"  Whether or not two months seems like a long or short amount of time, we have enjoyed almost every minute of it!

Week 1:

From the minute we spotted her at the shelter, we knew that Athena was the girl for us.  During her first week at home, she was a very anxious little pittie who paced around the house continuously, had accidents inside, and destroyed her bedding and barked whenever we put her in her crate.

Week 2:

Week two proved to be the most challenging within these past two months.  We even considered taking her back to the shelter, as hard as that is to admit.  Her mouthiness was scaring the bageebees out of me and I thought that maybe we weren't ready to deal with this type of dog behavior.  Thoughts of wanting to return Athena to the shelter made me feel like such a failure.

We just couldn't give her up though.  She had already been returned to the shelter once before we adopted her.  What would happen to her if another family gave her up because they simply didn't understand her and didn't give her the chance to succeed?

Week 3+:

Since that challenging second week, B and I have worked hard to better understand Athena's body language and excitement levels that trigger undesirable behaviors such as jumping up and nipping.  With the help of our dear friend Bitter Apple, we have eliminated Athena's annoying leash biting habit and her nipping behavior has significantly decreased in frequency and severity (she gets a spritz in the mouth and a firm "no bite" if she nips at our body or clothing).

Aside from the challenging behaviors, Athena has been pure joy for us.  She is such a silly girl and I can't help but laugh even when she brings me a used tissue or dirty sock in her mouth.  Her favorite thing is to be close to her people.  She will snuggle with us until we decide to get up, follow us all around the house, watch me as I get ready in the morning, and she provides us with endless kisses whenever we say "kisses."  She also loves to get her belly rubbed and gets upset if we don't scratch and massage her snout after walks (the Gentle Leader makes her itchy).

Training:

When we got Athena from the shelter two months ago, the only command that she knew was 'sit.'  Last night Athena graduated from her seven week Basic Obedience class at Petco (check out her training here, here, here, here) and and we are happy to say that she now knows sit, down, stay, come, wait, leave it, watch, up, heel, bring it, trade, crate, kisses, bathroom, and car.  She has also turned into a very polite walker while on leash.  Within the next few weeks, Athena will also be starting the first level of Canine Life and Social Skills (C.L.A.S.S.) training.

Exploring Portland:

Athena is a pretty lucky pooch because both of her parents currently have a lot of time on their hands.  This means that Athena gets to take lots of car rides (which she loves) to check out different sights around the city such as local pet stores like Personal Beast and Green Dog Pet Supply as well as locations such as Cartlandia Food Carts and downtown Portland.  We even met up with the Portland Pit Bull Parade for our very first pit bull walk this month.

In Other News...

We have taken Athena to the vet three times in the past two months.  Once for her initial checkup, another time for a hot spot, and finally last week we went for Athena's allergies.

We have also been introducing Athena to new objects, experiences, people, and dogs to build her confidence and eliminate some of her fears of things such as men, sprinklers, hoses, garbage cans, orange construction signs, baths, and vacuums.  Athena has yet to meet a dog that she didn't like and she enjoys any opportunity that she gets to play with other dogs.

We have also discovered that Athena needs quite a bit of exercise and mental stimulation on a daily basis (as do most pits).  We take Athena for a morning and evening walk for usually an hour each.  Athena also gets to play fetch in the morning, lick out yumminess from her Kong during the day, engage in mini training sessions, and do regular zoomies around the house and yard.  With this much exercise she is a big couch potato while at home.

Our goals for the coming months are to strengthen Athena's training commands, teach her new commands, and work towards gaining her Canine Good Citizen Certificate.  We also plan to fully crate train her.

This blog came about three weeks into having Athena in our life.  We have enjoyed documenting and sharing Athena's successes and challenges with such a supportive group of dog lovers and pit bull advocates.  Thanks to all of you who read the blog and have encouraged us to keep it going =)

Each and every day we notice Athena making significant strides towards becoming an ambassador for her breed.  We know that the pit bull stereotype is not what defines the dog that Athena is today and the dog that she will become in the future.  She is such a lover and we couldn't imagine our lives without her.

We love you Athena =)