Buki update #2

It has been about a year since the first Buki update. Buki is our dog who came to us with a lot of fearful aggression. In July of last year we reunited her with Magano, our other dog, after keeping the two of them completely apart for a year following a bad fight.

Buki and Magano are now best buds. They snuggle together every night, take walks together, play together, eat in the same room, even chase the same ball. They have figured out who is in charge (Buki), who licks (Buki) and who gets licked (Magano), who has first dibs on the big, cushy bed (Buki), who gets to catch the ball (surprisingly equal here, with Buki even waiting patiently while Magano gets in a few good chews). The transformation has been pretty amazing. Also in the last few months, Buki has spent time with about six different young children, and she has loved them all. Little kids like to throw balls over and over. Buki likes to chase balls over and over. It's a match made in heaven.

If only I'd written this update last week, that would have been the end of it. Unfortunately this past weekend we took Buki and Magano with us when we went to visit Tabb's parents, who have two dogs. Buki was very anxious the entire time, with continuous panting, whining and barking. Then on Sunday morning she bit Tabb's parents' dog and broke her toe. Poor Bella will be wearing a splint for six to eight weeks.

I guess we had convinced ourselves that Buki was over whatever trauma she had experienced in her early life. She's not. I guess this is a good reminder for us, about trauma in general, and being "over it."

We are now facing the fact that there are certain things Buki will never do again. She will never run off-leash anywhere there may be other dogs. She won't visit any houses where there are other dogs. She won't go for a walk with Magano and me if Tabb is not with us. She loves running off leash and going places in the car, so thinking of her future makes me sad.

Buki has never been aggressive around children. Whether or not we get to keep her when there are children living in our house is still an open question.

Feeling a little sad tonight, thinking of the sweet puppy lying at my feet. Also feeling grateful for everything she's taught me about boundaries and what she needs to feel safe.

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.