Saying Good Bye to Palin

So, back in October of last year we adopted Palin as our first real family dog. Aside from a dog we had for two weeks when Olivia was a baby, this was the first time we'd had a pet other than a beta fish. Once we got started looking I quickly realized we might be biting off more than we could chew, but honestly, at that point it seemed too late to back out. Looking back I should have just done that, but I just didn't want to break my Lulu's heart and I really thought we might be able to pull it off with her love of animals and Manly's amazing patience.
When we found Palin she had been found in the woods as a puppy who's mother was ran over by a car. She'd never been around humans before, so she was VERY shy and scared of EVERYTHING and EVERYBODY. It was both great and a little hard in the beginning, because we didn't have to worry about her jumping up on the kids or snapping at us, but she would NOT come to us or even hold her head up around us. Olivia was a little sad that Palin wouldn't do "regular dog things," but we told her just to keep loving her and eventually she would start to come out of her shell.

Olivia started going out and sitting with her every day for several hours. She'd take a book out and read it while petting her and talking to her. After a few days Palin would be sitting waiting for her to come. A few weeks into it she started coming off the porch, and after a few months Palin would follow Olivia around the yard and Olivia even leash trained her. When we first got her she couldn't walk on a leash at all. Olivia was such a great trainer; she'd just love on Palin even if she was having a hard time. As time went by Palin decided that the Smittle family wasn't so bad afterall. She fell in LOVE with Brubbs. She'd follow him around and lick him and love on him. He'd lay on her and just talk and play with her. They were such sweet friends! Even Mia warmed up to her.

One day, after a few weeks we were sitting around the school table and Palin was sitting in the living room and she barked for the first time! The kids were SO excited that she did a "regular dog thing!" After that day there was barking at just about anything that could POSSIBLY be a threat.

Palin learned to dig and hide bones. She made LOTS of holes in our yard. She also LOVED to spy on our neighbors. She'd peek at them through the slots in the fence or under the fence. She learned to go for walks with us. She learned to chase after a ball and bring it back. She started getting excited when we'd come outside. This ended up being the start of her knocking the kids down, but it was just because she was a big girl and they weren't ready for that yet.

She learned to come in and sleep in her crate at night.  She learned to scratch at the window if she wanted to come in or wanted Olivia to come out and play.

There were strange things about her. She would not sleep in her dog house. She wouldn't come to Scotty. EVER. She loved leftover veggies. She had to learn to shake off when wet. She loved baths.

Sadly, a few weeks ago, Palin's curiosity started getting the best of her and she started getting out of our fence and going to visit the neighbors. This wouldn't have been that big of a deal, but we live on a REALLY busy street, and I couldn't imagine her getting hit by a car right in front of the kids. She also started killing a LOT of birds and squirrels. This would be totally cool if she lived in a normal home, but for Olivia, our future animal rescuer, it was torture! She would just cry and cry every time she'd kill one and bring it as a trophy to the back door. So sad!
Palin also started pushing down and scratching/biting the kids. While I would have loved to train that out of her I honestly didn't have the time or money for it. It's totally my fault that was an issue, but it also played into our decision.
Anyway, we finally came to the decision that it was time to look and see if there was something we could do. We contacted the shelter we got her from and immediately the lady who originally found Palin contacted us and said her heart and home were always open to Palin and that she'd come meet us and pick her up the next day.

It was the HARDEST thing we've had to do as parents. Olivia actually was the one to finally say she thought Palin needed a new home, but that didn't change the fact that she loved her very much and would miss her terribly! She spent the next 24 hours crying and loving on Palin. We took lots of pictures to put together a photo book. We went through all of Palin's favorite things to get her ready to move. Olivia took her for one last walk, then we said goodbye.

 Olivia sobbed. Ms. Lori(her new owner) cried for Olivia and her sweet heart for animals. She even told Olivia she was welcome to come help at the pet adoption days at our local animal supply store. Olivia was delighted to hear that. Ms. Lori promised to keep us updated on Palin's progress moving back into her home. We got this and several other videos.

It seems like Palin has made herself at home. She's doing great having all the land to run and play on and she gets to swim every day and play with lots of other dogs. We got one video of her chasing another dog. Olivia was so proud to see she was so brave that she would play tag with another dog!Seeing these pictures still gets me all sappy and feeling sad, but we know we made the best choice for our family and Palin. We'll miss you, Palin, but we are so happy for you to be in a safe happy home!

Random Thursday Update

Mia is getting teeth. A LOT of teeth. It took her a while to get any, and now she's making up for lost time. I'm ready for her not to be teething. She's not a very happy camper these days. She's working on 6 teeth right now. That's a lot for a tiny little.

She also has NO hair. She had a baby mullet, but I cut it off because it was just getting longer and thinner and the poor girl was starting to look like Billy Ray Smittle. Once I cut the mullet off it looks a lot thicker but it's just not growing. It seems to be curly, and I've heard sometimes it takes longer for curly hair to grow in. Maybe that's it. Ha! She sure loves hair bows and such, so I hope for her sake that it grows quickly and she's able to wear some hair pretties soon.

Isaiah is such a smart kid. He reminds me so much of Olivia when she was a toddler because he's really inquisitive about things and asks a lot of good questions about how things work and why they work that way. He says the most intelligent hysterical stuff. He's able to properly use words and phrases that most kids his age wouldn't say. Cracks me up.

KK was really having a hard time with school when we started, so I was also having a hard time, but in the last week or so it's been like a light bulb went off in her little brain! She's so close to reading whatever she wants. I've got to get her to slow down a little on handwriting, but I know that will come later. I've just been encouraged that she's finally seeing some improvement. It really helps her to feel better about school and her own abilities. She also earned 88 points at AWANA'S last night and got the Super Duper Sparky award. She was GIDDY with delight over the award. She gets so "sparkly" when she gets any sort of recognition. Such a sweet girl!

Palin is doing good. She's still really shy and nervous, and it's taking some time to get her used to things around here, but we are seeing improvement and she at least wags her tail when she sees us now instead of just putting her head down. We're just trying to be patient with her and let her get to know us. Olivia is so good to take care of her needs and is our pooper scooper champ. She's gotten Palin much more comfortable with the leash too. We're really proud of her.

Manly is doing great with all his jobs. I don't know if I've mentioned, but he works part-time as a college professor with both daytime and night classes. That plus the new practice has been a lot for our family, but he's been so great to keep working on getting everything done and still having time for us. He doesn't work at all from Saturday morning until Sunday evening, so weekends are our favorite time of the week. We are glad to have him home for breakfast every day too. If you think about him, pray that the Lord will bless his efforts and the new practice will continue to grow. We've been so blessed in the last few months, and God is providing our needs.

I'm going to a new study at church that I'm in love with. It's changing my heart in so many ways. If you ever get a chance to read the book "The Other Side of the Garden" I'd highly recommend it. It's been such a great study and I'm learning so much about my role as a "biblical woman." I have plans to start a bookclub up for it in a few months(probably after the baby is here), so be looking for those plans if you are interested. There is also a companion book that I'm LOVING called "Victorious Woman." They are pretty cheap online. A total must read if you are of a female of any adultish age.

I love fall cooking. Chili, crockpots, and pork loins OH MY! Love me some fall soul food. Nothing better, except fall desserts. YUM. Fall really is the most wonderful time of the year!

I just realized I didn't mention my poor little middle child, Addi. She's such a bright girl and so artistic and great with art and writing. She has issues with wanting to be perfect, but I'm slowly getting her to realize that things are never going to be perfect. HER hair is growing like a bunch a weeds in my front yard! It's almost to her waist now and she loves to have it fixed.

Welcome to the Family, Palin

Olivia was finally able to find a dog this past weekend. We've been looking for a while, but just didn't find exactly what we were looking for. We wanted a dog that was comfortable being mostly outside, wouldn't attack our kids, and had a very sweet disposition. Olivia also wanted it to be a girl dog and it HAD to come from a shelter. She has such a heart for animal rescue, and it was so amazing to see her in her element at the shelters just loving on the animals.

Meet Palin(yes, like Sarah) Olivia liked her shelter name, so she decided not to change it. I told her it was a pretty cool name, so Palin it is.

She's a flat coat retriever mix who was found with 5 brothers and sisters alone in the woods after their mother was killed by a car. We adopted her from the Maumelle animal shelter. Her ADORABLE brother Porter is still available and ALMOST came home with us too(until I knocked some sense convinced Manly that we really couldn't handle 6 kids and 2 dogs.). You can get more information on adopting him here though, if you're interested! He was such a doll!

Olivia has been training with the leash(after reading about it in her "Everything You Need to Know About a Puppy" book. She's been sitting with her most of the day, and bonding and loving on her. Palin has already warmed up to her a lot and will follow her on the leash, which is great.

She's so soft and has such an adorable face!

 

She hasn't jumped up on anyone, hasn't barked, and hasn't had an accident since we brought her home. She will let all the kids pet her, and has such a gentle personality. We're looking forward to watching her come out of her shell, and get used to the rest of our family, but for now, she's just right with Lulu.

 

Yes, I'm sure this is a match made in heaven! Looking forward to lots of years of happiness with her. Welcome home, Palin. Welcome home!