Gem is our newest family member. She is a Second Chance League dog that has been in foster care for many years. She has been a hard one to place in a forever home because of her timidity.
Her foster home is making a drastic move and leaving Alaska. So Gem has come to our house. We loved her from the very beginning. She has lived most of her life on a chain. Here, she is never chained up. It took her awhile to get used to running around the yard with many other dogs that are free. She is unusual in the manner that she doesn’t have any dog friends (yet). I think with her years of being shy plus being chained up, she has never learned how to play.
She is getting more open with us, but very slowly. Over the years of having many shy dogs we realize that it is a long process to be able to gain that dogs trust. She has already come a long way with following us around the yard and has even come up and licked my hand when I wasn’t looking at her! She does love to come inside when it is storming or there are loud noises. She goes into the bathroom closet and curls up on her dog bed. It is there where we can sit and pet her. She seems to really like that! She has fallen asleep with her head in my hand as I am petting her. It will take her time to transfer that quietude to outside with other dogs running around. But I know she will!
We are anxious to skijor with her this winter. She does love to run and pull so that will help the transition to our household. Although she is still in the SCL “adoptable” column, we don’t see her going anywhere soon.