Guardianship.
Oracle, our adopted greyhound, arrived yesterday morning. She's as loving and beautiful an animal as we remembered her, and we're very happy to include her in our lives and act as her caretaker and de facto pack leader. She has a healthy appetite and an insatiable curiosity even for the areas of the house she's explored fifteen times now.
All of the literature and verbal guidance we've received has told us that the first week is going to be vital in determining the sort of relationship we'll have with our dog. Thus far, that relationship has been one of mutual adoration, coupled with moments of anxiety and frustration--that is, Love. She still has trouble with staircases; her legs wobble and she freezes in mild panic halfway up the flight, often requiring lifts, shoves, or even us picking up her feet and moving them individually. She's learning very slowly, and she's actually quite adept at going down the stairs...it's just "up" that gets to her.
Beyond that, the poor thing has had to struggle for the past two days with the difficult acclimation process to living in a city, with its thousand tiny noises. Every footstep upstairs, every distant police siren, even these keystrokes as I type this entry are one more new sound happening simultaneously to her, and it stresses her out. Greyhounds typically sleep 18 hours a day, Oracle has barely slept in the past two days, perking up and preparing to go crazy with the tension--"what is it? what does it do? Does it feed me, pet me, or hurt me?" We're hoping that within the week she'll at least get used to the ambient sound enough that it no longer bothers her.
We're still taking our time introducing her to other people and other dogs. Yesterday, loosestrudel and whatsinasurname stopped by briefly, and Oracle ended up having a sudden bladder accident and then leaving us alone for the next twenty minutes. Tonight on her evening walk an excitable half-Lab puppy managed to tangle her up in the leash, leading to a similar reaction, albeit outside on the sidewalk. Everything frightens her right now; we can only hope that she figures out that the vast majority of world events are unlikely to do anything to her at all.
She's a wonderful creature. We hope to do right by her.
All of the literature and verbal guidance we've received has told us that the first week is going to be vital in determining the sort of relationship we'll have with our dog. Thus far, that relationship has been one of mutual adoration, coupled with moments of anxiety and frustration--that is, Love. She still has trouble with staircases; her legs wobble and she freezes in mild panic halfway up the flight, often requiring lifts, shoves, or even us picking up her feet and moving them individually. She's learning very slowly, and she's actually quite adept at going down the stairs...it's just "up" that gets to her.
Beyond that, the poor thing has had to struggle for the past two days with the difficult acclimation process to living in a city, with its thousand tiny noises. Every footstep upstairs, every distant police siren, even these keystrokes as I type this entry are one more new sound happening simultaneously to her, and it stresses her out. Greyhounds typically sleep 18 hours a day, Oracle has barely slept in the past two days, perking up and preparing to go crazy with the tension--"what is it? what does it do? Does it feed me, pet me, or hurt me?" We're hoping that within the week she'll at least get used to the ambient sound enough that it no longer bothers her.
We're still taking our time introducing her to other people and other dogs. Yesterday, loosestrudel and whatsinasurname stopped by briefly, and Oracle ended up having a sudden bladder accident and then leaving us alone for the next twenty minutes. Tonight on her evening walk an excitable half-Lab puppy managed to tangle her up in the leash, leading to a similar reaction, albeit outside on the sidewalk. Everything frightens her right now; we can only hope that she figures out that the vast majority of world events are unlikely to do anything to her at all.
She's a wonderful creature. We hope to do right by her.