February 17, 2022:

Aurora has found her forever home.

January 10, 2022:

Miss Aurora is scheduled to be spayed on February 7th. Until then, we continue to learn about this beauty. She is coming out of her shell and proving to be a feisty little sister to her foster brother…she plays pretty hard with her much taller and much bigger foster brother and anyone in the vicinity needs to be aware they do not stop before or after running into you. She is gentler with the other dogs but she would still benefit greatly from a young, energetic playmate in her future home.

Aurora has taken a considerable interest in the pigeons on the farm and has managed to catch and kill one so it’s debatable whether a farm with chickens/ducks/turkeys/etc would be a good fit for her. She is reminded often that we don’t hurt the kitties and she’s doing well there, but does take notice of them (predominantly barn cats but one has been in the house with her as well). Winter doesn’t provide a lot of exposure to other wildlife but given her seemingly successful living on the lam, a very keen nose, and being so very quick, I suspect she is a hunter if she needs to be. House training has gone slowly…she doesn’t signal she needs to go out but we are beginning to find a rhythm for her and hope to put away potty pads soon. She remains very timid about being approached, even with the household members that she sees all the time. It is getting better. We had overnight guests and they needed to let her approach them vs approaching her…but they found her to be so very sweet when they could interact with her. She is no doubt a gem just needing a little bit of polish.

January 3, 2022:

Sweet Aurora was found as a stray and has been hanging out at a volunteer’s farm for the last few days. She is estimated to be about 3-4 years old and has not been spayed. She saw the vet yesterday and in spite of living on the street for a week or more is a healthy little girl.

She is a great dog but does need some time. Her biggest challenge is that she appears to have had very negative experiences with collar/harness/leash … lays as flat as she can while you try to put them on – she will retreat if she’s able. It is getting better .. I think she really has a lot of potential. But the fear of that transfers into not peeing and pooping on leash and not really walking well on leash (more under your feet than anything else…like she’s afraid to make a mistake). Again, she’s improving leaps and bounds. 

She loves to be brushed, no problems touching her ears or looking at her teeth (we are pretty sure she has a small lower front one broke off but it doesn’t seem to be an issue…just missing), trims nails like a champ, jumped up on the bed like she knew what it was, snuggles, gives kisses, takes treats VERY gently, eats a little quickly but we’re using a puzzle feeder now. But then that intense submissiveness when you approach her and the thing with the collar/leash/harness. Probably/possibly not house trained. She’s super quiet…even other dogs barking at things, she hasn’t said a peep. She is going to make someone a very nice pup.