He’s lived here for three months now. In that time he has gone through a revelatory personality transformation unlike anything I would have thought possible. He came here with no trust in anything, fear of all that was new and different, expecting that this chapter in his dog life would likely be the same threatening trial that so much of his young dog life had been before.
Now that he’s settled in and realizes he’s safe and comfortable and cared for, he’s a completely different dog. Literally everything about his day seems to be better than it was five minutes earlier. I would imagine his internal monologue for a typical day would be very much like this:
MORNING:
You’re moving! You’re waking up! I know you aren’t completely awake yet, but it’s close enough for me and I’m so happy! I know I fell asleep in my crate, but I climbed up on the bed with you in the middle of the night and tried so hard to sleep down on the corner of the mattress while I waited for you to wake up, and you’re waking up! I’m so happy about this I have to come and stretch out and lie across your throat and wag my tail furiously so you know that I’m awake too and we can start the day now! Hooray! And now you’re up, and you’re walking down the hallway, and…are we going OUTSIDE? I LOVE outside! It’s my harness! I will sit here on this mat and patiently wait for you to put my harness on because I know it means I can go outside! And we’re outside now! There’s that newspaper I’m not afraid of anymore! There’s the driveway and it’s going to take us to the road and…yes! The road still has all the smells! And new ones! I have to investigate them all because they’re so wonderful! Hey, this is the grass! This is the where all of my neighborhood pals visit so we can leave each other messages! It feels so good for me to go potty in the morning and then I get treats, and then we get to go home and…BREAKFAST!!!! Hurry up, there’s breakfast back in our house and I LOVE breakfast you need to walk faster so I can have delicious breakfast!!!”
Oh my goodness, that was the greatest breakfast in the history of breakfast! It had small pieces of apple on it and I’m just AAAAHHH I’m so happy!!! Here you are on the couch and now I get pets and scratches after breakfast and this is just the best day of my life even if we’ve only been up for 25 minutes! Oh, you’re going to get ready for school now? Hooray! This is a perfect time to get all my favorite toys from my crate and scatter them all over the house! They love being scattered and I love them so much! They’re my best friends!! Wait, you’re leaving to go to school now? I’m sad about that and I’ll miss you but I know if I go wait in my crate you’ll fill my Kong with treats and I LOVE TREATS THEY ARE THE GREATEST EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess now that you’re gone I’ll just listen to the people on the radio talk, and enjoy this wonderfully soft and perfect blanket, and…zzzzzzzzz….
EVENING:
OH MY GOSH THE GARAGE DOOR IS RUMBLING!!!!! YOU’RE HOME AGAIN!!!! Let me out of my crate there’s not enough room in here for me to run and jump and climb and dance!!! Pets and rubs and scratches and pets and hugs and we get to go outside again!!! Oh, as soon as we get outside I’m going potty again because I’m not done welcoming you home yet and plus I know I get more treats!!! It’s so nice and sunny out here, and I know that means it’s sunny on my favorite blanket on the love seat! Yay! We’re back inside! I’m going to grab this here bone and bring it to my favorite blanket so I can play and toss and chew and love my bone!!! Whew, that was fun, but the sun is so warm and I’m getting kind of sleepy again already….SUPPER!!!!!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!?! I GET SUPPER AGAIN?!? SUPPER IS THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME! First you come home, then you let me out, then you give me supper! I am the luckiest dog in all the land! I’m going to sit right here with you so you can pet me some more. Wait, what? You stopped petting me? That’s okay. I’ll just swat you with my front paws a few times to remind you how much you want to be petting me right now. There you go, just keep that up. I’ll wander off to take a nap when I feel there’s been enough pets and scratches for the time being.
Hey, there isn’t as much sun. It’s a little darker!! I know what that means….WALK!!!!!!!!!!!
What in the name of all the dogs that have ever been could be greater than a walk? More chances to go potty, more treats, more smells, more outside, more sunshine! There are so many people out here, and, while I’m not entirely comfortable with that, I’m not afraid of them as much as long as you keep standing close by. Hold on: IS THAT WAGS?????? Wagswagswagswagswagswags!!! Hurry up we have to see Wags! That’s Wags coming this way we have to go see Wags right now Dave is bringing Wags to come and see us we HAVE TO SEE WAGS it’s been almost two days since me and Wags had time to sniff each other and there’s so much to catch up on I have to tell her all about how great breakfast and supper are!!!! Hey, and now we’re by Molly’s house! Where’s Molly? Molly??? I hear you barking but I don’t see you. I see Max watering his flowers but where are you Molly you should come and play with me we could play and sniff while the people are standing and talking about I don’t even care what because you’re inside! Oh well, maybe tomorrow. Wait: TOMORROW!!! I GET TO DO ALL OF THIS AGAIN TOMORROW!!! Oh life, you are pure magnificence!!!
That was a wonderful walk. The best one…yawn…ever…..wha…? It’s so dark in here…do I have to go to bed? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my crate and blanket and toys, but this pile of blankets is so warm and comfortable I really would be fine just sleeping here tonight instead…no, really, it’s fine…Okay, I guess if you’re going to pick me up and bring me into the bedroom it’s out of my paws…hey! There’s my crate! I’ll go in there and curl up again!
NIGHT:
It’s dark. I smell crate smells. It must be night! I should probably hop up on the bed and see if you're awake yet. Hmm. Nope. Okay. I’ll just curl up here and wait….
He’s home now, and he knows it. And nothing could make him happier.
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