Today is Abby's freedom from staples and stitches! Since my last update, Abby had more staple activity. She managed to pull out all of the staples in her belly incision while wearing her NoBite collar. After that bit of work, I changed her to an inflatable Kong collar, Tshirt and Thundershirt.

This combination kept her away from her belly staples, but she was still able to pull out the stitches on her back leg. Luckily, the leg incision had already healed, so that did not cause any problem.

Now that we have survived the staples/stitches period we are both very relieved. She also got a clean reading on the two masses that were removed, so that is great news. 

We have taken a few walks with my other dogs and it is obvious that she is more comfortable when she has dog companions along. She walks pretty calmly and follows their cues. When I take her to the vet where she is without her dog friends, she weaves back and forth and is much more unpredictable in her movements. 

She continues to slowly gain confidence and improve in behavior. I get up in the middle of the night to let her outside. This has reduced the number of accidents that she has. Now it is about one per week. 

She has become more of an attention sponge than ever. If I am petting any other dog, she comes right over and needs to get loving, too. She is a very loving girl.

This week I have some pictures of Abby outside and showing more activity. She continues to gain confidence.

I took her for a short walk a few days ago. She met two new people and approached them closely. She does a belly crawl when approaching people, showing her submission and timidity. I was pleased that she approached them on her own. She is a crazy walker, zig zagging all over the place!

She still has an accident from time to time. She does not have a clear signal that she wants to go out, so I just put her out frequently. I also get up once during the night to let her out. 

Abby will get be getting the mass on her leg removed next week. The vet will also remove the mass in her mammary area. We hope that both masses are benign. 

She continues to be super sweet and loves to spend time close to me. She loves to be petted and belly rubbed. Abby is also super happy about all of the snow (wish I shared her feelings).

Abby and I are back together—yeah! We thank Abby’s foster aunt for giving her the best care and for her three dogs and two cats who showed Abby what it was like to be able to PLAY!

I can’t tell you what a great feeling I had when I saw Abby wagging her tail and coming right to me after our three weeks away. I was afraid she would forget me. And then the sad looks on her three new dog friends faces' when she left. Thanks again, Auntie!

Since we have been back together, the routine has returned to the first days Abby arrived at our house in November. She spends most of the time in her wire kennel with all her stuffed animals (babies). I have to tell you the story about her babies.

The second night she was at our home, we left a basket of dog stuffed animals in the room with her. The next morning they were all in her kennel, tucked in the back corners. I thought, wow, she came out of her kennel! Let’s try this again.

The next three nights we left a toy outside her kennel and she again grabbed it and rearranged her kennel. We all looked at each other and said, wow, she thinks those are her babies. Being a mother for so many years, she wants to comfort them. It’s pretty amazing! What a sweet girl!

But back to her routine. Although she spends most of her time in her kennel, as soon as you're in another room and say "Abby, let’s go outside" or she sees me with my coat on, she runs to the front door. She loves to go outside, but we don’t have a fenced yard. We will run and play in the yard (on leash) where she feels safe, but she still doesn’t like to go on walks unless it is dark out. 

Now to the break-my-heart part. After talking with her aunt (who was able to spend three weeks with her), I have decided Abby does indeed need a confident resident dog with her to continue her progress. My love and cuddling isn’t enough for her. I want her to be able to grow and have a yard to run in.

While away from me for three weeks, with confident resident dogs, she would bring toys to her auntie and get on the couch for belly rubs. She even showed puppy-like play energy. That never happened in my home.

If your home has a confident dog and you want a sweet girl, Abby is for you! Again, our family just wants the best for her and we have enjoyed every minute.

I just want to add that my college-age girls and I had no problem gaining her trust, but she is still shy around my husband. Now that the girls are back at school, Abby is alone for eight hours with free roam in our mud room and has never had an accident.