Hard for us to believe it, but February 13 was Izzy’s (fka Macaw, Freedom Flyer) 1-year “Got-Cha” day! It seems like just a short time ago that we drove to Florida to meet her foster parents at Cracker Barrel and that we first laid eyes on that terrified little gray ball of fur.
The ride home back to South Carolina was accompanied by frequent “what are we getting ourselves into” thoughts. It filled me with tears to look into her eyes and think about what the past 4.5 years had been like for her as a mill-momma. Izzy would flatten-out if someone moved too fast near her, instinctively thinking someone was going to hurt her. She was afraid to walk outside, would not move from one spot in a room to another spot, so we did a lot of dog-toting-around those first few weeks.
Izzy’s “first-time” achievements, when they occurred, made us so happy you would think we’d just won the lottery. Like the first time she walked a few steps across the living room floor. The first time she jumped onto the couch. The first time she licked my face. The first time she walked down the hall alone (she was terrified of halls and doorways for over 6 months). Potty time was a real challenge for months, as it took her a looooong while to relax enough to “go”. When walking outside, she would stop, freeze in her steps, and refuse to move any further. Now she does her business as soon as we take her out, then she uses the rest of the time to smell the yard and visit with the cat.
We had snow for the first time last week and she is a real snow-hound. She ran in it so fast that she was kicking up a snowstorm in front of her, then she would fall over on her side and roll in it. She still does not play with or show any interest in her dog-toys, but in the last few weeks she occasionally will get frisky and start “mouthing” at our hands like she wants to play.
Can’t wait to see what “first-time” achievements are in store for the coming year! Izzy has blessed us so much this last year and we can’t imagine life without her. Thanks to Col. Potter and all the wonderful people of this rescue group that made this possible.
Izzy is Susan B's puppymill girl who is still pretty timid. I brought my CP girls Bea and Neha to visit her overnight. Everyone had a great time. Izzy warmed up to my girls and seemed to love having some other dogs around. Please take a look at some of our photo memories from the trip! Bonnie in SCMom to Bea CP and Neha CPIzzy's Mom Susan reports:Izzy is still sniffing everywhere, taking in the sweet scent of Bea and Neha and missing them. Bea is the cutest little bear I've ever seen and when she rolls over for the smiling tummy rub, you could just melt it is so cute. And the first time I heard her "roo-roo" I couldn't believe a dog could make that noise, lol. Neha is such a cute little waggly-tail doll. I wanted to keep both of them!!! I think having them here did Izzy a world of good; I can tell she is walking around more freely today than she was prior to your visit. Thanks so much for taking the wonderful photos and for sharing these here. It was so wonderful to meet you in person and to spend time with you and your sweeties! Hugs,Susan
Hello from Freedom Flyer IV, Macaw (now Izzy, our gentle Southern Belle)
Izzy's (fka MACAW) one-month "gotcha day" will be this Friday 3/13, so I thought this would be a good time to do my first post here. She is our first Cairn. Izzy, one of the Freedom-Flyer IV puppy mill rescues, is 4.5 years old, female grey brindle. My husband Bubba and I live in Clinton, South Carolina. My husband is 63 and retired; I am 58 and still working.
We have an RV 5th wheel and plan to take Izzy with us camping once the weather gets better when we visit Hilton Head and other campgrounds. We live in the country on 200 acres. Izzy is indoors except for 2-3 daily walks on leash, however, as our yard is not fenced.
Our 7 yr old cat OREO and Izzy adore each other, so I thought this would be the perfect photo for this post. Who says cairns and cats don’t mix?!?
Izzy does great walking on a leash and loves her crate which she sleeps in at night (next to my side of the bed). She doesn't seem to want to use the crate during the day, but if we have to leave her alone for a short while we put her in her crate until we get back and she doesn't seem to mind. Potty training has gone great, only one accident (& I think this was a stress reaction after her first bath last weekend; she pooped on the sofa while we were napping – I also wonder if I might have let out a snore and scared the poop out of her!).
We lost our beloved Prissy 7/3/08 after 16 years (Shih Tzu) and our other cat
Tigger died of a sudden brain-stroke on 8/13/08, so we were hit with a double-whammy last year in just two month's time. Both of these pets were very precious to us and we are still grieving their loss but Izzy is busy working to fill that empty space in our hearts.
Izzy is progressing, but is still very skittish and easily spooked. She does not bark, wag or even hold up her tail, does not play with toys, and is just now accepting treats (she adores cheese!). We want sooooo badly to help IZZY and really want to do everything right and give her a wonderful life and the best forever home possible. Looking forward to seeing what changes we see in the 2nd month and hope the progress continues!
Most recently, I gave Izzy a few bites of cheese (da dog lubs da cheese!!) then while I "had" her attention, I showed her the long stuffingless fox toy. Wasn't expecting much, as she hasn't played with any of her toys yet. Well, after a few taunts, she started chasing the fox around as I was slowly swinging it around her head. I let her catch it and she started playing with it on her own. After a few minutes, she stopped and rested her head on it. So I acted like I was gonna steal it and she started playing again, started making it squeek all by herself. And here's the big surprise. She grabbed it by the tail and dragged it behind her and went into her crate (she never goes into her crate during the day) to play fox. How cool is THAT?!?!?
Thank you, Col. Potter's Network – what an awesome team of folks and a wonderful thing you are doing for these furkids! A special thanks to Izzy's awesome Foster Parents John and Wendy W (hope we can get together this summer and RV!!) , our very-patient Matchmaker Liz R, our Post-Adoption Coordinator Mary N, our HSI's Edythe and Kristen who we really enjoyed meeting and hope to see again soon, as well as Cathy A, Joanne S, Donna B, and all the other many,many wonderful folks who worked to make this possible for us!
Group-Hug from Susan, Bubba, Oreo, and Izzy-Macaw!
