Just got back from meeting Storm's new mom and aunt!

Just got back from meeting Storm's new mom and aunt!  I feel sure that he remembers his aunt because he gave her a boop on her nose with his nose.  I love it when he does that.  🙂  I bet he's never been so doted on in his whole life!  ❤  He got a new collar and halter, both of which look great on him.  He and mom will depart for home tomorrow morning!

Gotta tell you - all that loving must have worn him out.  I don't know if you saw this, Carol... I know you were trying to get Dutchess in the car, but he was so exhausted that he couldn't even get in the car by himself!  LOL  He put his front paws up in the back seat, then pitifully looked over his shoulder at me and waited for a boost.  😃

This kid cracks me up so much!  I'm definitely going to miss him, but I know he's going to a great home and I couldn't be happier for him.  He deserves all the love and spoiling in the whole world.  I'll be a wreck tomorrow up until the very moment I've heard that they've made it home safe.  But then I'll be a thousand happy.  🙂

Thank you, Jim, for not giving up on him.  I'm sorry it has taken so long for this day to come, but it's finally almost here!  🙂

Apparently, I'm so white...

Apparently, I'm so white that my skin tone doesn't change when Shadow wears the glasses. LOL But he has noticed a difference in Shaun and everyone else.

Also, his new favorite color is periwinkle blue. 🙂

I'm really loving that this evening has been punctuated with phrases like "Wow, that's so pretty!" and "I love these glasses." and "This is awesome!"

GrandMeta, you've made his summer. 😃

Shadow's EnChroma glasses came in.

Shadow's EnChroma glasses came in.  I have several minutes-long videos, but they probably aren't all that interesting to anyone who isn't us.  LOL  The glasses can take some time to adjust to, so unfortunately, not everyone has that crazy, emotional "HOLY WOW" moment full of tears and all that.  We would fall into the less exciting group of people on this as his transition seemed to be pretty gradual, but none the less interesting.

Shortly after putting them on we went into the house from the porch to see if he could play his video games without colorblind mode.  He definitely could, so that was awesome.  After playing around and looking at different colors on the TV screen we decided to go and eat.  Had Los Arcos for dinner and checked out the menus and the light fixtures (stained glass).  Then came the real fun:  Brightly-lit, full of color, WAL-MART.

I can honestly say that I've never been more happy to spend an hour walking around in Wal-Mart.  He said that things were really "popping out" in there.  (His glasses are almost as dark as sunglasses; they are meant to be able to be worn both indoors and outdoors, but the more brightly-lit indoors works best.)  So, the brightly-colored summer clothing, the nail polish, the yarn, the flowers, the cereal aisle - we hit them all.  😃

When we went in he was still confusing some colors (keep in mind that he's having to re-learn colors now, basically), but by the time we left he was doing pretty well at telling blue and purple apart, which seemed to be giving him the most trouble at first.  At one point he said that he felt a little overwhelmed, but he likes his glasses so much that he said he never wanted to take them off.  It's definitely made a difference for him.  He said that everything looks less drab and flat with them on.  I'm so excited that he finally got a pair.  I really can't thank GrandMeta enough.

I CANNOT WAIT TO GET HOME TODAY!

I CANNOT WAIT TO GET HOME TODAY!  Shadow's EnChroma glasses will be arriving!  Super thanks to GrandMeta for making it happen.  😃😃😃  Really hoping that they make a difference for my Man-Cub.  ❤

Storm Summary:

He was a neglect case that was finally surrendered to Cheaha after a few good neighbors made a stink and wouldn't let his mistreatment go. He'd been put in the yard with no human contact for I think 3 years. He didn't always have food, water, or shelter, and he was sick with a horrible ear infection when he was turned in. He wasn't doing well in the shelter. He was shutting down, and getting aggressive with the staff when they tried to treat his ears.

When he came here, Shaun and I had to drug him in order to muzzle him in order to treat his ears. That was twice a day, every day. The problem was that he was so smart and he didn't like being drugged, so he started to pick everything we tried to feed him apart. Thankfully, he started to realize that we didn't want to hurt him, so we started being able to hold a treat in front of him, treat his ears, and then give it to him, no drugs or muzzle needed. He never liked it, but started tolerating it.

He's been a work in progress. I wasn't too sure about him at first. His face isn't as expressive as my dogs, and he doesn't have a tail, so he was hard to read at first. He also can't hear well due to damage from his ear infection, and I'm honestly not sure he can see well, either. So he's a weird one, but he's come a long way in 6 months. We just take precautions when doing new things to him.

He would honestly be a foster failure for me, but one of the people who were involved in his initial rescue wants him, and they went through a lot to find me, check on him, and arrange the adoption. Since I have so much going on between school and work, it would be nothing short of wrong to deprive this dog of the good life that is waiting for him in Virginia. The wife is flying in Tuesday and driving him home on Wednesday, if that tells you how badly they want him.

I feel accomplished. Shaun and I bathed Storm.

I feel accomplished.  Shaun and I bathed Storm.

Unfortunately, since he's so strange sometimes (hey, if you were neglected of most human contact for 3 years you might be strange and sometimes a little wary, too), that we weren't too keen on picking him up without a muzzle.  Decided that it might be better to bathe him out front with no muzzle (it's plenty warm enough), rather than lifting him into the dog tub.  That was a big, fat, NOPE from him.  🙁

Since we had him leashed (easy to do because that means he's going somewhere, usually, which he enjoys), we marched the half-wet, angry dog back through the house and muzzled him.  Shaun put him in the raised dog tub and he promptly started thrashing, so then I tied him at the collar for safety.  Once we got started he settled down.  I guess "wet petting" isn't as horrible as he thought.  🙂  He got plenty of treats and love afterwards, so maybe he won't hate being bathed forever.

To avoid freaking him out further, and because he was muzzled, and because I didn't want to risk getting water in his easily-bothered ears - I did not wash his face.  Maybe I'll go and pet him with a baby wipe later.  LOL

Turns out he was plenty dirty, which is not surprising to me.  Cheaha bathed him for me the day he came here (back in January), and he hasn't been washed since.  We had other issues to work out with him, so what he smelled like was the least of our worries.  Anyway, I guess since he was left alone outside for so long he's very comfortable being outdoors, keeping an eye on things.  Since we have a doggie door, he comes and goes as he pleases.  He's more than happy to spend time with us if we're around, but when I'm at work and school all the time he's got plenty of long days to lay around in the dirt.  Maybe he won't get too funky before his mom picks him up in a few days.  🙂

I am up WAYYY too early for it to be a Saturday.

I am up WAYYY too early for it to be a Saturday.  I should still be asleep until at least noon.  LOL  I had to take Shadow to Crystal Springs for a birthday party, though, so I'm awake!

I think I'm going to give some reptiles new dirt today.  And maybe give Storm a bath if he'll let me.  LOL  I might have to call in Shaun on that one.  And then I think I will do my nails.  😃  Sounds like a good day to me!