JENNA WAS ADOPTED NOVEMBER 11, 2006!
UPDATE November 15, 2006
Just wanted to let you know that Lulu (formerly Jenna) is doing great. She's feeling much more comfortable here and only gets sweeter and sweeter. She hit paydirt because I fell on Sun and hurt my foot badly so I haven't been to work yet this week. We've been keeping each other company on the sofa. I knit and she looks out the back window watching the leaves fall.
At first she was very unhappy about the idea of coming upstairs and I think maybe she was confined in a bedroom, but we've worked through that and now she comes up happily to see what's going on. I think Ben would like her to sleep in bed with him but she's been getting better and better about going in her crate at night, so we'll stick with that. Today I went out for a little while and she seemed fine in her crate while I was gone.
She is incredibly fast and loves to go outside and watch the birds and just sniff the air. Yesterday I let her out in the back yard and before I knew it she had caught a live squirrel! I heard it squeal and yelled her name and she dropped it and let it get away. Yuck! She definitely has some hunting dog in her.
I wish I had a digital camera so I could show you how cute she looks sitting backwards on the sofa. Sarah will be home for Thanksgiving next week and can't wait to meet her new sister.
JENNA'S STORY:
People don't realize how traumatic it is for a dog when they "get rid" of it. They hand over the dog, leave, and don't see the repercussions. We sure did see it when Jenna's owner left her. And make no doubt about it, Jenna knew what was happening and that she was being left. For good. This took place at our adoption event and we saw Jenna, for several hours, scanning the parking lot, straining to see each car passing by, hoping each one was her owner coming back for her but knowing deep in her heart it was not going to happen. It was truly heartbreaking.
Jenna came to her foster home where she relaxed in a quiet crate for a while. A few hours later she emerged with her tail held high, wagging happily for her foster mom and giving kisses. As confused and stressed as Jenna had been, she never acted out her fear. She's a very sweet girl who just wants to feel safe in a stable home and never be left behind again.
Jenna is a 4-year-old, 31 pound mixed breed who looks like a larger Jack Russell Terrier, but certainly does not act like one. She's a mellow girl who likes other dogs. After she settles in a little more, we will expose her to the cats to get an idea of how she feels about them. For the time being, however, she is sharing a room with a couple of 6-week-old kittens in another crate and Jenna seems to enjoy watching them romp around.
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