March 13, 2003
Running through the snow...it's going to melt soon,
then it will be 'running through the mud.'
9:00 p.m.
Dusty, who in 'dog-years' is a pre-teen, seems to be going through a brand new phase. We seem to go through a new phase every week. ;-) This week, she's afraid of absolutely everything.
This started after I brought her back from the Vet on Monday, so it's not a huge surprise. What *does* surprise me is how frightened Dusty is of things she thought were perfectly okay just last week.
She's now afraid of our next door neighbour. She's afraid of pedestrians. She's afraid of the dog park. She's afraid of the front door - yes, the door!!!
She was afraid of my friend Jen today, which is okay since she had never met Jen before. But she was afraid of Jen even with food in her hand and usually a bribe is sufficient to induce Dusty to warm up to someone.
All of these new fears couldn't have come at a worse time. I have a seminar tomorrow and I'll be gone all day. Dusty will be at home alone, in her crate, with two breaks provided by the Cookie Lady, our local dog walker.
The Cookie Lady came to visit this evening, to pick up the key. Coincidentally, someone else was at the door for me when she arrived, so I encouraged her to go on down and say hello to Dusty.
When I walked into the apartment, I found the Cookie Lady on her belly in the living room, trying to coax Dusty out from under the desk.
Tomorrow should be very interesting.