casshon
Well-known member
We adopted Molly + Bella 5 months ago now, so I thought I would give an update on how they are doing.
I will begin at the beginning! On Thursday 23rd November (Thanksgiving) 2006 my Mam, sister and I all drove, very excitedly, to pick up our new rescue dog. Karlin had told me there was 2 and I had to choose. Both dogs were adorable - a tiny little tri who caught all our hearts from the start by giving us hugs and kisses and a Blenheim who had the deepest brown 'sad Sam' eyes and reminded of us so much of our beloved Cassie (who passed away that summer). How could we possible make that choice? So, after much discussion, a few tears and a quick phone call to Karlin, we decided we just couldn't leave one behind and took them both home!
On the car ride home, the dogs were Christened - Bella (tri) and Molly (Blenheim). They were so good the whole way home, snuggling up to my sister and I.
That night Molly + Bella met their new big sister Honey who was not in the least bit impressed with the new additions! Bella immediately fell in love with Honey and still adores her. The feeling is not quite reciprocated! The next night though, Honey allowed them to sleep next to her (she's such a good girl :luv: ).
Our newbies have certainly livened up our household and are adored by everyone who meets them. Bella is the only one who can disturb my Dad when he's reading the newspaper. She takes a run and jump and dives through the newspaper to sit on his lap. He affectionately calls her 'cheeky' - I think there is a love connection there . Molly loves nothing better than you giving you hug or being cradled in your arms like a baby, she's a real sweetheart
There were a few house training issues when they arrived but thankfully I can say we are 99% of the way now. Bella even rang her poochie bells through the blinds that were closed over the door the other night - I was so proud of her. Molly doesn't ring the bells but she will run up and down the room to let us know she needs to go out
Molly had a few issues with separation anxiety and would howl and cry when she was left on her own. She is much better now and allows me to leave the room without a sound (although they both wait at the door until I return - perfectly normal for cavaliers!). Molly was also quite frightened if you raised your hand or came towards her - it was like she thought you were going to hit her - this has now been resolved and she is very settled and happy. I think the fact that her hearing is not very good also contributed to this. She can hear very loud noises - for example, if a door bangs or glass crashing when I'm doing the recycling. She is very astute though, and her sixth sense kicks in allowing her to never miss a trick!
Their training is also coming along. I have been teaching both of them hand signs (for Mollys benefit) along with voice commands. Molly knows 'come' and 'sit' and is learning 'down'. Bella knows 'come', 'sit', 'down' and is learning 'stay'.
We are so pleased that we were able to take both girls home that Thanksgiving night because they really are best friends. I am so proud of how far they have come and how well they have settled in to our lives (or maybe that should be how well we settled into their lives - they have certainly taught us a few things in the last 5 months
I hope you enjoyed reading about our little adventure and thanks to Karlin for making it all possible.
I will begin at the beginning! On Thursday 23rd November (Thanksgiving) 2006 my Mam, sister and I all drove, very excitedly, to pick up our new rescue dog. Karlin had told me there was 2 and I had to choose. Both dogs were adorable - a tiny little tri who caught all our hearts from the start by giving us hugs and kisses and a Blenheim who had the deepest brown 'sad Sam' eyes and reminded of us so much of our beloved Cassie (who passed away that summer). How could we possible make that choice? So, after much discussion, a few tears and a quick phone call to Karlin, we decided we just couldn't leave one behind and took them both home!
On the car ride home, the dogs were Christened - Bella (tri) and Molly (Blenheim). They were so good the whole way home, snuggling up to my sister and I.
That night Molly + Bella met their new big sister Honey who was not in the least bit impressed with the new additions! Bella immediately fell in love with Honey and still adores her. The feeling is not quite reciprocated! The next night though, Honey allowed them to sleep next to her (she's such a good girl :luv: ).
Our newbies have certainly livened up our household and are adored by everyone who meets them. Bella is the only one who can disturb my Dad when he's reading the newspaper. She takes a run and jump and dives through the newspaper to sit on his lap. He affectionately calls her 'cheeky' - I think there is a love connection there . Molly loves nothing better than you giving you hug or being cradled in your arms like a baby, she's a real sweetheart
There were a few house training issues when they arrived but thankfully I can say we are 99% of the way now. Bella even rang her poochie bells through the blinds that were closed over the door the other night - I was so proud of her. Molly doesn't ring the bells but she will run up and down the room to let us know she needs to go out
Molly had a few issues with separation anxiety and would howl and cry when she was left on her own. She is much better now and allows me to leave the room without a sound (although they both wait at the door until I return - perfectly normal for cavaliers!). Molly was also quite frightened if you raised your hand or came towards her - it was like she thought you were going to hit her - this has now been resolved and she is very settled and happy. I think the fact that her hearing is not very good also contributed to this. She can hear very loud noises - for example, if a door bangs or glass crashing when I'm doing the recycling. She is very astute though, and her sixth sense kicks in allowing her to never miss a trick!
Their training is also coming along. I have been teaching both of them hand signs (for Mollys benefit) along with voice commands. Molly knows 'come' and 'sit' and is learning 'down'. Bella knows 'come', 'sit', 'down' and is learning 'stay'.
We are so pleased that we were able to take both girls home that Thanksgiving night because they really are best friends. I am so proud of how far they have come and how well they have settled in to our lives (or maybe that should be how well we settled into their lives - they have certainly taught us a few things in the last 5 months
I hope you enjoyed reading about our little adventure and thanks to Karlin for making it all possible.