stranger in the house

 We have a guest for a little while

    This is Ranger.

    He is a 3 year old terrier mix mutt.

    Ranger was in a kill shelter in Oklahoma.  He had been diagnosed with heartworm and was going to be put down.

    A rescue group saved him and he is currently being treated for the heartworm.

    He was being fostered in a home with cats, and does not get along with them.  We met Ranger and another dog with the possibility of adopting, but for now we are just fostering Ranger.

    He seems to be a well behaved young man, except for when he peed on my leg while we were doing a yard walk this morning!  

    He has warmed up to me.  Maybe that is too weak a term.  He follows me everywhere.  He licks my face when I put his leash on to walk him and he licks it even more when I bring him in the house.  I have not had to wash my face for two days.

    He has also taken ownership of my recliner and sits in it and watches me when I read the morning paper on line.

    Jackie....not so much.

    He is a about 26 pounds, which is a little heavy for Jackie to have on her lap.  It's only been one day, but he has shown little interest in interacting with her.  I think part of that is her inability to be physically active with him.

    He is fine with Julia, following her downstairs when she is working.  Again, she can move around and interact with the dog while Jackie is limited.

    We do have him in a diaper.  He is house trained, but we figure for the first few days we need to keep him diapered up until he gets used to us.

    He came Sunday, and as of 8 p.m. tonight has not pooped.  That concerns me.  I know he is still getting used to us, but if nothing passes tomorrow I will call someone.

    The first time I took him out for a walk, he bolted through the door...damn quick dog!  Now we are extra careful in opening the door, making sure he has a leash on and holding on to the leash firmly.

    But he seems to learn quickly.  

    We circle the house, going all the way out to the back, and when we come to the front he goes right to the front door, just like he has been doing it all his life.

    Although we are fostering, we do have the option of adopting.  

    I just hope he warms up to Jackie during the next 2 months.

Peace and Love