Evelyn

Evelyn is settling in really well. She is still learning the layout of the house, but she is doing much better. She is very interested in exploring and even tries to squeeze under the dining room table chairs to check out what’s going on under the table. The downstairs of my house is shaped like a square with ½ wood floor and ½ carpet. She definitely feels more comfortable on the carpet. Once she’s on the wood she’s ok, but she won’t walk from the carpet onto the wood – she needs a little push and help. Hopefully she’ll learn she can do that. She’s finally figured out she can easily walk from the wood to the carpet. She has a pillow and a blanket set up in the kitchen so she can use that as a launch pad to explore the wooded area. In the living room she has her bed and blanket (the ones she came with) as her launch pad. There is 1 step down to the family room and we help her down when she wants to go in there but she’s starting to figure out how to get in there herself. During the day she mostly sleeps in the living room. At night she sleeps with my mom downstairs. She loves to sleep next to someone because she never has to worry about waking up and being alone. So far she has been staying downstairs until my other dog and cat are more adjusted. Right now they can both go upstairs to have their own space if they need it. My dog Bella gets jealous (never in a mean way, more in a makes-a-really-sad-face way), so it’s good for her to have my room upstairs to herself when she wants it. My cat was terrified of Evelyn for about a week but then she realized that Evelyn isn’t a threat. Whenever she’s in the same room as Evelyn, the cat stares at her in amazement. The cat knows something is not right with Evelyn but can’t figure out what it is. Evelyn loves to go outside and she has started to get pretty fast! She’ll even start trotting sometimes and can zip across the yard! She’ll wander around the yard and then all of a sudden bark to ask where I am. Then I run up to her and go “Evelyn, you found me!” She gets really excited and wags her tail and her butt like crazy. She circles between my legs and will even jump on me. Sometimes she barks and then bumps into my other dog, Bella. Once she finds Bella she’s happy with that too. I took Evelyn and Bella to get their nails clipped this weekend. It was pretty funny because I had a blind dog and the most stubborn dog in the world – so it was a bit hard to get from the car to inside the grooming place. Evelyn was a little nervous at the grooming place. Once she got back home she was so happy! She was wagging her tail and rubbing her head all over her pillow. So I think it was good she left the house for a bit and then came back. I want her to know that she’ll always come back. She’s very cute when she gets excited. J On Saturday, my family had a big party at my house. I wasn’t sure how Evelyn would do or if all the people would make her nervous. She was great! My family went out of our way to watch out for her, but I think she felt comforted by all the voices. She got a ton of attention. People are always shocked when they see her and feel really bad, but once they get past that they would pet her and talk to her. So I’d say she had a great time at the party! My family absolutely adores Evelyn. It’s like having a little kid because she needs a lot of special help. It’s definitely more work than having a “normal” dog, but she makes it worth it because she is so sweet. Even my dad (who did not want another dog) is willing to help out with Evelyn. She seems pretty happy and gets very excited when one of her family members comes home.