Buki update

Buki, for anyone who doesn't know, is our second dog who has some challenging issues. We got her when she was a year old. We don't know what happened to her that first year, but she was very fearful of people. Since then she has gotten much better with people, but has become aggressive with other dogs. About a year ago she got in a big fight with our first dog. A lot of people thought we should get rid of her. Instead we have used closed doors, the crate, the backyard and a muzzle as tools to keep the dogs apart. So for the past year, like Sarah Palin and a coherent sentence, the two of them have seen each other across the room but never actually come into contact.

In the past month a lot of people have asked us about our adoption and Buki, so here is the update. The first thing we have done is to fatten Buki up. This has made a big difference. Even though the vets always complimented us on her weight, they said it's possible she was cranky because she was hungry. We gave her a deworming just in case, increased her food, and even temporarily switched her to puppy food. The second thing is that we put her on Prozac. That has definitely helped her anxiety without affecting her energy too much. We've also gotten on a waiting list for the superfancy experts at the veterinary hospital. And finally this past week we felt that things had improved to the point where we could reintroduce the dogs to each other. We are doing this in the evenings, when they are at their calmest, and it has gone very smoothly. We just let them be in a room together with plenty of space around them and both of us nearby but not hovering. Last night they were up to two hours together and they spent most of the time passed out on the floor snoring. We're pleased and hopeful.

The goal right now is to just have a smooth visit with the social worker during our homestudy. We haven't yet decided what to do when it's time to bring a child into the house. That's something we will be thinking about a lot during this next year.