In fairy tales, dogs live in the now. As soon as dogs in these stories are rescued by caring owners and start living in a loving home with a warm bed, plenty of good food and lots of love and attention, they immediately become part of the family and live happily ever after. Like "Air Bud," who went on to win basketball games. If only that were true...

The way it happens in real life is that with some dogs, especially PMs, it takes a long time and a tremendous amount of courage for them to trust a human. It's hard to watch any dog who is so afraid that they cower and run from a friendly hand, but the reason why it's especially heartbreaking to see a Golden Retriever whose spirit has been damaged is that their true personality is to be friendly to everyone, eager to please, and tail-waggin' cheerful.

Guess I forgot to mention that Sinda lost her tail sometime during her seven year confinement at the PM (puppy mill) so I've never been able to use that method to gauge whether she's happy (tail straight out and waggin') or when she's scared and sad (tail down and tucked).

The good news is that in the last few days, I found out that Sinda's character is super resilient...she took a huge leap of faith and decided to take a chance on me. After only looking at the floor unless I lifted her chin, she now looks up shyly with those big beautiful brown eyes when I say her name, she sniffs at the back of my legs and does a little prancy-dancey (very cute) when I'm fixing her food, she moves into my outstretched hand for pets, she gently takes a treat in the middle of the day (graham crackers are her fave), she loves her body massages or belly rubs before bedtime, and she'll lay down to relax next to the resident Labrador.

Today, I lifted her into the van (getting into a car is scary, but rides are okay) and went to the vet for a wellness check. Found out that Sinda still has a slight ear infection and a skin condition that is probably due to poor nutrition. Both are being treated with antibiotics.

And tomorrow, Sinda will start the next and even more exciting chapter of her life when she goes to live with a fellow foster. We believe this move is important so that Sinda can watch and develop her socialization and "dog skills" from the resident and foster Golden Retrievers at new foster mom's home.

So let me end my part of Sinda's story by saying that athough her physical beauty was visible from the start, her spiritual beauty was buried deep within her. Slowly and surely, that spirit is coming alive for the first time in her life.

Like you, I'll be anxious to read new chapters of Sinda-rella's story...how she's growing, step by step, into the outgoing but non-tail waggin', social, loving, loyal family member that she was always meant to be. She deserves nothing less.

As a foster mom, I've had the privilege of caring for many Goldens. They all take a piece of my heart when they leave and this time will be no different. It will take every ounce of courage that I have to pull on my big girl pants again and kiss sweet Sinda good-bye. But this is rescue...the "what we do and why we do it" is and always will be for the good of the dog.