We can't trust Bellatrix yet. She's still a puppy, staring nine months in the face but not yet there. While Jeff and Krista were gracious enough to entertain us, we put her in the crate overnight. Said crate was in our room with Draco. We heard Bella whine and whimper for the first few minutes, we would call out to her, comforting her, but I swear, before I fell asleep I thought I heard Draco whimper. It may mean nothing. It might just mean that he cares about her.
Sunday was another challenging day. We didn't know if we had power, we were faced with the unknown, the uncertainty of making a decision and facing it being wrong. Allowing Bella to play with everyone first thing in the morning proved too much to handle for us. We decided that we had to put her back in her crate while the other dogs were allowed to recuperate from the morning activity. Chassie and myself went to get breakfast for Jeff and Krista and ourselves, talking about what we were going to do. We didn't necessarily decide that we were going to go home that afternoon but it was almost a forgone conclusion. We returned to their place with breakfast, let the dogs play for a little while, again deciding Bella was too much for everyone involved...
Ok, you deserve some type of explanation: The foster puppy Jeff and Krista had taken in is seventeen weeks old, his name is Sherman (though I had to dub him the Sherminator), he's a Platt Terrier. He's got some energy, likes to play with Bella, but a little more advanced than she was at that point though. He will hold it to pee outside. Bella loved to play with him. They were two peas in a pod until she started to get a little rough. Kayla, the German Shepard, acting as the momma-dog, would then come over and break things up. It's good to have a schoolyard monitor and that's exactly what Kayla is. Play time is over and we move the dogs inside. Let me say that again, Play time is over. Bella does not understand that. She thinks if another dog is around, they must want to play with her. This is one of our biggest problems with her. She walks around, waiting for something to happen and when nothing happens, she takes it upon herself to make something happen. She walks around, nudging and bumping until someone engages, good or bad. If she makes it through the gauntlet of dogs that are sleeping on the floor, she pursues the issue to those that are on the couch. The couch, guess what... it holds the humans who don't necessarily want puppy breath in their face.
To illustrate the point: Saturday night, she had to be separated from the other dogs. As I arrived at the house, the dogs got a little bit excited. Eventually, they all calmed down, all except Bella. We took a break, going to dinner and returning a few hours later. Most of the dogs only had a little bit of energy left. Except for Bella. She continued to press the play button while the other dogs had turned off for the evening. Jeff and I eventually went downstairs with her to their basement. She was interested in sniffing out the entire basement before she decided she could lay down. When she did lay down it would be for no more than two minutes at a time. I truly think she has ADD for dogs. Finally she laid down between us for fifteen minutes, then we decided it was bed time.
Back to Sunday, we put her in her crate a few times throughout the day. She barked each time we did, something she rarely does when we put her in her crate in the basement of our own house. We put her up in her crate just so we didn't wear out Jeff and Krista, we may need them for another favor later.
At 15:00 we decided we would head back home, wish for the best and brave the elements if the worst remained. We went to some stores in the Leesburg area, hoping to find ice. Three stores down, no ice to be found. It was closing in on 16:30 before we actually left. The hottest part of the day. I'm not going to lie, I was a little concerned.
I took Bella home in my car. I buckled her into the seat belt with one of these pet seat belts, which actually works very well. (Again, if I wrote reviews...) She was in the front seat. She laid down almost the entire time, panting. We made it to the first toll booth on the toll road and as I rolled down the window, she sat up, but quickly returned to her position on my arm rest. She panted the whole way home, but I had the funny feeling that she was happy. Granted, I did sing to her most of the ride... good thing she has no idea what pitch and tone mean.
Chassie had Draco in her car as we pulled up to our house to find that power had been restored. We entered the house to find the A/C and lights on, almost as we had left them on Friday night. It was a surreal moment, finishing the circle we had started. The dogs, while on leash were calm and almost as happy to be home as we were. Maybe, just maybe, they are starting to get it. We want them to be friends, we've been asking them to be friends. She's had her chance in the past couple of days to meet other dogs and annoy them.... it's time for her and Draco to be able to just hang out.
Sunday night they did nothing but sleep. Draco hardly moved from his bed in the upstairs level and Bella alternated between sleeping on the couch next to me and the floor by my feet. It was quite the relaxing evening.
We had already decided to take Bella to Doggie Day Care on Monday. Since I don't have to work until noon on Monday's, we figure it would be perfect to drop her off sometime in the morning and Chassie can pick her up on the way home, this way we get the discounted rate since she's not there for eight hours. We called on Saturday evening, scheduling for me to drop her off at 10 o'clock. The goal was to wear her out. It worked. She slept almost the entire evening again.
Tuesday we kept her normal schedule, which is a walk in the morning, into the crate from about eight thirty until Chassie returns home around four. They then go on a walk and play in the basement before putting her into her playpen until I return home. Normally, she jumps up to greet me, not this time. As I walk up to the gate which confines her, she looks up from the floor, her eyes the only thing moving. The weekend of adventure has completely worn her out.
Wednesday was the big day, the Fourth of July. Preparations were already in place to keep Draco as calm as possible. This basically meant giving a dose of UltraCalm to him in the early afternoon. We then broke out the baby pool and hoped that Bella would learn to play in the water. At first she was again tentative, circling around the outer edges of the pool. Occasionally sticking her muzzle into the water, lapping up a drink or blowing bubbles with her nose. After a few minutes, I decided to press the issue, much like the previous excursion. I picked her up and placed her gently into the baby pool. She stood there for a second, much like last time and then proceeded to walk around the pool. We were able to get her to sit and lay down in the pool. After she laid down, she immediately got up and jumped out of the pool. We put her back in and she again was able to lay down and allow me to gently pour water over her with my hands. It was another improved performance on her part.
Chassie and I then went over to a friend's house for a barbecue around four o'clock. We were there for about three hours and toward the end I started to hear fireworks being set off. It was time to return home and give Draco another dose of UltraCalm. I took Bella out of her crate and she and I hung out in the basement for a while before Draco came downstairs, wanting to be away from the explosions. I could occasionally hear loud bangs, but nothing I would consider a crazy display of fireworks. Bella would perk her head up and wander over to the basement door, as if to say, "What is that noise?"
Draco kept insisting to enter the room, scratching at the baby gate. I allowed him to enter and almost immediately he laid down between the couch and the table. Bella sniffed at him, cleaned his ears like she loves to do and then left him alone. He laid by my feet for the rest of the evening. She laid next to us, not bothering him at all. I was able to pet both of them at the same time.
Now, this may not have been the epic conclusion that you were waiting for or expecting, but it was a monumental step in the progression of these two dogs.
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