FionaBull160


	Age & Sex: 2-3 yr Female Am. Bulldog


UTD: Yes


	Weight: 6 lbs.


Other Dogs: Yes


	Color: Brindle/White


Cats: Unknown


	Ears: Natural


Children: Under 5: Yes Over 5: Yes


	Tail: Natural


Professional Training Required: No


	Neutered Spayed: Yes


Microchipped: No


	Shelter Surrender


Location: Middletown, NY

Adoption Donation $300

4/4/06 Fiona was a wonderful patient for her post-spay staple removal and she weighed in at 62 lbs!! A far cry from what she was when she was rescued..... The vet said she has a good weight right now, we can just work on maintaining her build with plenty of exercise. Speaking of exercise, did we mention this girl loooooves to run? She gets the biggest smile on her face as she runs laps around us in the yard while her tail pumps with each stride. She's a sight to behold and it's great to see her enjoying life so. As we've seen her confidence grow, we've seen her devilish side poke through, too! She can be a stinker and is testing her limits daily to see just where her boundaries are with us. She's started jumping up on us in excitement outside and the first time really caught us by surprise! We're very excited to see her personality blossoming (yeah!!), but we corrected her and made her sit and settle. Manners are very important in an energetic K-9! :o) The weather has been nice and she's been quite frisky. When we first go out it's her job to do her thing before any playtime takes place.....once that's finished, the time is all hers. For inside playtime, our youngest gets a rousing game of tag going with Fiona and they chase and giggle and run silly circles between the dining room, family room and kitchen......They don't stop but for a drink of water or to choose a different toy from the basket. Ahh the joys of youth! We'll check in with you all later this week!

3/31/06 - We apologize for this update being late-----we know everyone out there is waiting with anticipation for news on princess Fiona! ;P It has been a hectic week and this girl has taken everything in stride, we are so proud of her. She has really started coming out of her shell and her antics and pure enjoyment of life keep a smile on everyone's face around here! About 4 days ago, Fi discovered the resident toy basket that we have in the corner of the family room. She was sniffing it with interest, but wouldn't actually touch anything----a far cry from our boys tipping it over and digging for the toy on the very bottom! So we took a toy from the top and gave it to her. She wouldn't take it in her mouth, so we set it on the floor in front of her and stepped back, telling her it was O.K. the whole time. Well, she sniffed it some more, then looked up at us, then sniffed again, and looked up at us. Finally, she looked down at the toy and then just sat down to stare at it....it was the funniest expression on her face and we were at a loss as to how to convey to her that she could have the toy. Thankfully, our male stepped in ( they've become greaaaaaat buddies!) sniffed the toy, looked at her and then reached down, snagged it and walked over to the doggy bed to chew on it. The dumbfounded expression on her face was priceless! I swear we could see a light bulb go off over our dear girlie. Then she was off to the dog bed to take the toy away.............or try at least! She didn't end up with that particular toy, but she got the jest of the basket, so all's well that ends well! Then, yesterday, we were throwing the doggie disk around the back yard and kicking the soccer ball, and Fi decided to surprise us with an impromptu game of fetch. She has never been inclined before to participate , but the mood must have struck her and we were very happy to see her enjoying doggie interactions. We get the impression she hasn't seen much play time with humans, but she's picking up quickly and we see her confidence growing every day. We haven't had anymore fear tinkling, though she will still cower if approached in a certain way----we're working on that and believe in time that she will overcome that habit. She has been very good about pottying outside, however we are still working on her signal for going out. We have an older Boxer, 13 yrs. , that goes out pretty frequently and Fiona is always willing to go along. However when she needs to go and we don't happen to be taking our older guy out, she tends to have an accident. We continue to correct the not-good behavior with a stern voice and an immediate trip outside along with using repetitive cue words and lots and lots of praise for when she does her business outside. We understand it takes a while to get adjusted to all these new things and we're sure it will come in time...... It's off to the vet tomorrow for her staple removal and a weight check. We'll update you all on her progress afterwards....

3/21/06 - Fiona is back to normal----well, maybe even a bit bouncier than normal! :o) She took it easy on Saturday, no running or jumping, and we did a lot of leash/obedience work. As we work with her we can't help but notice how attuned she is to tone of voice. She's very sensitive to the slightest corrective tone whether it's directed at her or not. Because of this we're careful to reprimand mildly (since it gets the job done without any cringing and tinkling) and praise, praise, praise. She gets SO excited when she's done something to make us happy! She continues to get along wonderfully with our boys and has the feeding procedure down to a science. She also sits nicely and waits for "her" cookie, now, too. We know this is especially hard for her, considering the situation she came from, so we are extra proud and touched at her efforts to please us. We've gradually been widening Fiona's access to the house and, as of yesterday, there isn't a room that she hasn't been allowed into. Being that she came with no inside living knowledge, we wanted to address this issue slowly so as not to overwhelm her. This morning she went upstairs with me to wake our youngest child and even hopped up on her bed to say "Good morning". She stayed up there while I changed her crate bedding and came down for breakfast after our daughter was dressed for school. She seems drawn particularly to children and displays a confident, yet careful, nature towards them. She wags like crazy, but does not jump up and doesn't display any fearfulness whatsoever. She is a constant reminder to us of what loving, forgiving creatures these wonderful dogs are.We'll keep everyone posted on Fi's progress!

3/17/06 - Fiona has gained enough weight to be spayed and receive her shots, so we dropped her off early yesterday morning at the vet. She came through her spay wonderfully, was a model patient (the girls at the office just loooooved her!) and we picked her up this afternoon. Her HW test came back negative which was quite a relief and she's up to a whopping 56.2 lbs!! YEAH! She's feeling sore and went right for her crate when we came home, so we'll let her rest and pick up with her education tomorrow when she feels up to it.

3/16/06 - Please meet Fiona, the little lady that came into BAR recently. This little girl has quite obviously had a rough start in life, poor thing. I waited to post on her because there really was not much to tell----she's very timid and the first couple of days she seemed happiest in her crate, observing the goings-on of our household. I'm more than happy to let her set the pace.....she has a lot to absorb and learn! One point I did make the day after she arrived was to give her a bath----most likely the first she's ever received and very necessary as we don't much care for the scent "eau de shelter" here. :o) Our girl didn't even shake her head to get the water off when I washed it. She was petrified. Though scared, her willingness to accept the ministrations of a complete stranger are a testament to her sweet nature. This girl is an absolute love! Come Sunday, Fi was showing more and more interest in where we were and what everyone was doing, so the hubby and I introduced her to our boys. All went smoothly and we're happy to report that she gets along well and responds to the slightest correction from our alpha male. We've taken to pottying them all together and giving Fi the chance to stretch her legs on our extend a leash. She can really run, this one, and it's a wonder my arm is still attached to my torso! That being said, she has responded very quickly to leash training and is coming along wonderfully. In all other respects, Fiona is observant and eager to please. She is unsure of what is expected of her and quite frequently will stop and look to us for guidance, which is a bit of a switch from the normal "I'll do it my way" Boxer attitude... She's giving this new life everything she's got and will make a wonderfully loving addition to some lucky family!