Birthday (Continued)

Maggie's "teachers" at "school" were really great and went all out for Mag's birthday. They gave her a birthday girl scarf, some treats and of course - the birthday hat.She clearly had a great day at school today, and was jacked up like usual when we got her home. We took another run at full sprint speed outside. I wish I could get that on video, she's hilarious. Tonight she's working on the tendon her teachers got her - one of her favorite all time treats - next to Kraft singles anyway.

There's more birthday stuff below...

Happy 4th Birthday, Maggie!

Happy Birthday, Maggie!

Today is Maggie’s 4th birthday!! To celebrate her b-day Steve and I have decided to both blog about the big occasion (Steve's post is below).

I have to start by saying, “I CAN’T BELIEVE A YEAR HAS GONE BY!” I remember the early days so clearly that it seems like just yesterday we brought her home. Maggie was so scared, sore from being spayed, and uncomfortable with an ear infection and UTI. She was too afraid to walk, sleep, eat, or go to the bathroom. Those were the days we called her “Stinky Magee” because she had never been bathed.

A lot has changed in a year. Maggie is healthy and clean! She’s still a very reserved dog, but I believe she’s happy. The process of her coming out of her shell has been slow, but when I look back at where we started it’s nothing short of remarkable.

Steve and I have changed a lot, too. Our whole world revolves around Maggie and her happiness. I’m so in love with her I can’t even put it into words.

Speaking of Steve - - he’s so good with Maggie. He spends so much time with her and has never once griped about walking her in the cold and snow. When we first talked about getting a dog I know he really looked forward to a playful dog who could fetch, etc. - - that’s just not Mags - - but he doesn’t mind. It’s very sweet to see the two of them together - - at least it is to me ;-)

So many people ask about Maggie and how she’s doing. There are some questions that get asked a lot so I thought I’d do a little Q & A . . .

Where does Maggie sleep at night?
Maggie has a bed in our bedroom located on my side of the bed. She’s a good sleeper and pretty quiet in general. Her nightmares, which were a daily occurrence, now seem to be a thing of the past. Sometimes she does some late night grooming, but if I just tell her to go back to sleep she will.

Maggie is not a morning dog. She is full of dirty looks when the alarm clock goes off and on the weekends we are usually up before her.

Do you still use the crate?
No, the crate has been packed up and stored away. Before we put it away for good we tried setting it up next to her bed and letting her pick what she wanted. She picked the bed.

What’s with the brown towels I see in every photo?
The day we got Maggie we had nothing and I picked those up at Target because I knew we needed to give her a bath. Since we had nothing those became makeshift beds and blankets and we quickly learned that they were a source of comfort for her - - like a safe spot. I’ve stuck with them because they are easy to clean - - just shake them out and put them in the washing machine.

Does she just walk around your house?
Sadly, no. When called she’ll go “upstairs” or to the “basement”, but she never just gets up and strolls around the house. Her new bed that you’ve probably seen in photos hasn’t helped . . . she loves that couch / bed!

Is she good?
She’s very, very good. She has no behaviors that we need to discipline (which is good because the few times we’ve had to tell her “No” she’s taken it very hard - - she’s very sensitive). All of her good manners are self taught. Maggie has made our life very easy - - she has spoiled us.

Does she bark?
No, she does not bark. She did bark once in her sleep and it scared us all.

How many puppies did she have?
There’s no way to tell how many litters she has had. I would love to meet some of her offspring - - if they got her stubborn streak I bet their owners have their hands full.

Is Maggie stubborn?
Yes. Mags is on her own agenda - - she’s not going to do something she does not want to do (but since she is so good this is rarely an issue).

Have you tried training her by rewarding positive behavior with treats?
Maggie is not food motivated. We tried to train her to overcome her fear of doorways with treats. Even when she’d eventually come in she’d turn her head away and refuse the treat. Maggie takes treats when she wants to take treats (see the question above).

What’s her favorite treat?
Her very favorite treat is Kraft Singles - - which is funny because we’ve spent a lot of time and money to research and purchase the very best dog treats available.

Does she still go to daycare?
Yes, Maggie goes to school two days a week. She runs around and plays and when she sees us in the window at pick-up time she jumps on the fence in excitement. School makes her happy, so it makes us happy.

Does Maggie like going to your place in Michigan?
Yes, Mags loves Michigan. She loves to ride in the car and the general quietness of Harbor Country suits her personality. Plus, she gets lots of walks and trips to the dog park while we’re there.

Do you realize that Maggie is a dog and not a child?
Ha, ha. Yes, we know.

What is Maggie getting for her birthday?
In celebration of Maggie’s birthday we’ve made a donation to the organization that made this all possible - - Animal Education and Rescue (aear.org).

Hey Shorty, It's Your Birthday!

Today is Maggie's "birthday"! Unbelievably, it's been one year since we adopted Maggie. We were reminiscing today about how far she has come - the days of her shaking, being carried everywhere, not going to the bathroom and not eating seem so long ago. We actually can't remember what it was like to not have Maggie in our lives.

She is such a different dog now, especially for those who knew her from the beginning. Besides just being in a safe place, being clean and being fed, her going to "school" is probably the biggest contributor to her new found confidence. We wonder how far she would have come without that - and we owe Carla, Justin (and George, of course) for cluing us in to daycare. She has such a blast every day that she's there and is so jacked up when we pick her up, we just never thought we'd see her so happy.

Maggie actually runs with me when we get home from school, just around the block, but it's a riot. She's definitely the "awkward kid" when it comes to running (well, many things, really). She has an odd gait where her backside kind of swings out, which basically makes her body look like she's at an angle to the direction she's running. She loves it though and is just the embodiment of pure fun when she's like that. We have yet to get her to run on the leash other than right after school, but who knows when or if that may change someday.

Maggie is still stopping traffic and we have random people ask us about her all of the time. A couple of days ago someone up the street, whom I've never met before, asked what breed she was and said that she and her husband have seen us walking her and love her "prance". Today a woman rolled down her window outside Starbucks to ask about her and made her husband, who was less than interested, observe how cute she is.

For all of her improvement, I don't want to give the impression that she's now a "normal" dog and all is fine. We write a lot about the positives, but I also feel like we are in some way letting abusers like JC Heiberg off of the hook by making it sound like everything is good. I don't know that she'll ever be "normal" and she certainly would be different if she had not been so mistreated. Maggie is a very smart dog, and deep down in there you can tell there's a playful dog, but in many ways she's broken. It's just sad to think that people are capable of such mistreatment of animals and that she may never fully enjoy life as much as she may have done otherwise because of them.

Just today we were petting her by the couch and at one point my hand brushed my track pants (we'd gone to the gym) which made a funny noise - Maggie immediately jumped and cringed. Any somewhat unexpected movements around her make her flinch. Sometimes on a walk I'll just scratch my head or nose and if she happens to look up at that moment when my arm is raised she jumps back and pulls away.

She still doesn't walk around the house other than to go from one bed to the next. She lacks the social skills she should have around other dogs, so for the most part at parks they ignore her because they don't understand her. It takes her a really long time to feel safe in a different environment - often when we go the park we have to stay for at least an hour before she'll move more than 10 feet from either of us.

I just have to reiterate to anyone out there who is thinking about getting a dog to go to a rescue or at least a reputable breeder - the pet stores just support and perpetuate puppy mills that in turn create many more Maggie's out there who need help.

Oh, by the way, on the National Geographic Channel there's a relatively new show called "Dog Town" - it's a large rescue organization out in Utah. It's a great show and they rescue and work with many dogs like Mags every day, so check it out.

We (and Maggie) would like to thank her grandma and grandpa for her birthday gift - a leash and collar that lights up at night. This will come in handy up in Michigan for sure where there are no street lights and we often walk in the dark.

Maggie has come a long way and hopefully a year from now we're writing about how much she's changed in '09. We can't wait for the weather to turn and get her back out to the beach and the parks. Hands down, adopting Maggie is the best thing we've ever done. To be able to help her and see her have a great life after such a rough start is really very rewarding and we can't imagine life without her. We just hope she feels safe, happy and knows how much we love her. It's been a great year, and we hope for many, many more with Maggie.

-Steve