Happy Tail for Sloane!

We take her everywhere with us that we can.  She’s such a good dog and everyone wants to pet her and tells us how beautiful she is!  She’s so smart! She knew some basic commands like sit and stay.  My son has since taught her how to shake, give a high-five, and speak among other things.  We never even hear her bark until we taught her to speak and now she seems to enjoy giving a quiet, little “ruff” from time to time and when you look at her and talk back she just beams and wags her tail. 

 

I was just contemplating the other day the journey we have had with her.  When we first got her she was a sweetheart.  Very obedient but you could tell that trust would need to be established.  She was quiet and not seeking out a whole lot of interaction.  But I knew she had been in several different homes and it would take some time for that trust to show itself.  The first sign came probably a month after we had her.  She sat on the floor near the couch near me.  Inch by inch she backed up until she was touching my legs and then leaning on them turning back to look at me.  It was the first time that she really seemed to initiate the contact.  She wanted attention and wasn’t afraid to make it known.  This became her routine for quite sometime.  She would just come and lean, with almost all her weight, on your legs and that meant she wanted what we call “lovins”.  Pet her and tell her what a good girl she was.  It was really endearing to see that from her and now it is a constant.   

 

The next came about 2 months ago.  She is closest to my teenage son and he is never gone.  My daughter and I took him to a sleepover one night and returned home.  We let Sloane out of her kennel and she looked at us like she realized that 3 left and only 2 came back.  She ran upstairs to his room where she sleeps with him and back downstairs again, looking at me very expectantly.  I talked to her and she again went back to his room and back down.  After about a half-hour she seemed to realize Trevor was gone.  She returned to his room upstairs alone and began to cry.  It was absolutely heart-breaking!  I did my best to console her but all night until she went to bed with me she would come down to see me and then go cry alone in his room for awhile and then come back down and see me.  At that time I realized that she was firmly bonded to us, her family, her pack, and she mourned for the person she probably considers the Alpha Male LOL.

 

Here we are 6 months post-adoption and she is our dog thru and thru.  She tolerates my 6-year-olds wild antics, she knows our routine and hates going in her kennel in the morning before school but goes willingly.  She loves my son and will do anything that he asks….always looking at him so expectantly for praise, attention, tricks or treats.  She gives me a little “ruff” when I’m busy texting on my phone but she would like some attention.  She has become a huge part of the family and my son and I talk frequently about how boring life was before Sloane came into it.  

 

I know you all work on a volunteer basis and I heard that due to your work no adoptable animals were euthanized in the Fargo-Moorhead area.  Keep doing what you are doing because it is good work!  You not only save dogs but you bring families an amazing gift.  Without you we wouldn’t have Sloane and without Sloane we would all be a lot more lonely!  Thanks so much!

 

Sincerely,