This is Bangles (I call her Darla) and she is a special girl who will need a special family. Darla is an adult rescue from a puppy mill where she spent her life in a cage just making babies. She was not trained, socialized, or loved and because of this she is not a typical dog.  She has a sweet and curious personality and, so far, she has been adjusting to her new life much faster than I expected. When I first got her she stayed almost exclusively in the back corner of her crate and only came out at night to explore and use her potty pads after I went to bed. It seemed each day she got a little bolder and now her favorite place to be is on the sofa with me and my other 2 dogs. She loves to lay next to me and be pet! The one typical dog/ human interaction she figured out immediately was the hand nudge for more pets and scratches. She is still awkward about being held and doesn’t really know how to position her body if I try to hold her for a cuddle. She does like to play, but not so much when I’m around. I can hear her at night running around the living room and playing with her toys. I work from home and am usually in the same room with her crate. She is always watching me and when she’s not on the sofa she’s in or by her crate. If I walk to the side of the room with the crate she will run to the other side. Then when I move closer to that side of the room she’ll run back to her crate. She does this all day. She is still very skittish and Does Not like sudden movements or loud noises. She will let me handle her as much as I need to for grooming and giving meds, but it’s out of fear and probably a behavior she was forced into by her previous owners. She is never aggressive and barks very little. She Loves other dogs and is happiest when my Terrier is paying attention to her. She is still learning how to play with him. She doesn’t quite know what to do when he gets the ‘zoomies’ and wants her to play chase. Physically she is a perfect example of her breed. She is absolutely adorable!  She has a healthy coat and a beautiful little body. Her eyes are clear and she makes good eye contact, which can be a concern with puppy mill rescues. We are working on potty training. Winter is a hard time to train a dog who’s almost never been outdoors. I’ve not brought her outside much because she gets so afraid and is very good about using her puppy pads. When I do take her out I use a leash even though I have a fence because she might startle and run and hide. She is a good girl and once spring arrives I know she will be easy to train. The same goes for walking. She will not walk anywhere in the cold and snow, but she is naturally curious and when it’s sunny and green I’m sure she will get used to and love the outdoors. As of this writing we are working on her coming to me and taking food from my hand.

Helping Darla recover from her horrible past life and watching her slowly blossom into a family dog has been wonderful and rewarding. She was treated like an object her whole life, but she knows she’s a dog and that’s how she wants to live. And she definitely wants to be loved. Darla would do best in a quiet home without small children and with another dog(s). She can NEVER be yelled at or scolded harshly. She will need a crate always available to her for a safe space. It was a small milestone when I got her to sit and relax on the sofa with me. I feel it would be unfair to her if she went to a home where she couldn’t sit on a least one piece of furniture and cuddle with her person. A good website for learning about dogs rescued from a mill is https://resources.bestfriends.org/. This is a quote from them: Eight words to live by. These eight words will characterize your life with your puppy mill dog: patience, love, understanding, compassion, for­giveness, calmness, empathy and perseverance. Write them on a piece of paper and post it on your refrigerator so you will see it every day.