Hi, fans! This is Dakota. I have been here for a week now and I am settling in pretty well. I went to the vet and got all my shots last week and a microchip. My heartworm test was negative and foster mom gave me the first month's preventative. Boy, am I glad I don't have to worry about heartworm disease. I am going to be neutered this week and then I have a family that wants to look at me to see if I am as cute as my pictures. FM says none of my pictures quite capture my charm! Wow, things happen so fast when RAGOM volunteers get together. I might be in my forever home soon!
Another good thing about the vet---she said I have really nice muscles! I am very athletic. Not only am I strong, but I'm agile. I was so excited the first day at my foster home that I jumped from FM's lap up onto the window sill to look outside at the neighborood. It was a nice view for me, and here is a view that FM saw of my backside. She was so surprised that I could balance on the sill, which is exactly 3 7/8 inches wide, that she took pictures, but forgot to come around and take them from the front, which would have been better. Anyway, I balanced there with ease and I could be a circus dog except that I like to cuddle too much to spend life traveling around in a circus. I would love to do something such as agility with my new family.
So far I have met a lot of different people and liked them all. Same goes for dogs. I am, however, beginning to wonder about cats. The 3 that live here have not really given me a fair shot. I'm not certain if they are supposed to be prey (like rabbits, squirrels and birds) or friends like that little rat terrier I've been seeing on walks.
I am very protective of my foster home. I bark very loudly when I hear something that needs to be checked out. I will stop when the humans check and tell me it is okay. I do bark at FD when he comes home, though. He decided the best thing to do is to tell me to come outside and then we have bonding time and go back inside quietly.
FM went out of town for a few days and FD and I were left to fend for ourselves. He lets me lean on him, which I do a lot. He also let me carry FM's socks around. I didn't want to chew them; I just like to have something in my mouth, especially if it reminds me of FM. I did carry her bra around, but it was too long and I kept tripping on it, so I decided on the socks.
I am learning to walk with the Gentle Leader collar. We went down to the lake the other day and it was so nice! I went in the water right away and would probably jump off the dock except that I wasn't sure if it was okay with a leash on.
I do not know any commands yet. I am quite well behaved, considering that. Besides being overly eager to exit the car, FM says I'm not bad. I just don't want to be left behind. Belle, the resident dog (and my best friend!) doesn't either. Here is a picture of us at the top of the stairs, asking to go out. Belle has a pretty bandana. FM put it on me, but I didn't care for it, so Belle's going to wear it for me. FM says we are the best dogs in the world. We are both easy going love bugs!
Have a great Labor Day, RAGOM fans.
