Madden

We started Fostering Kahlua on June 7th, 2007. She was SO petite, weighing in at 38 pounds!! Teddi, Casper and I picked her up after work and we went for a long walk so that everyone could get acquainted and I asked my girls if she could come to our house and stay for a while. She was SO shy! She would hide behind me if a strange dog came up to her and she did the same when people tried to pet her. She didn’t like the dog park much at all and would not leave my side!! Shawn told her after the first night that she could stay with us if SHE wanted to!! Kahlua was renamed Madden to keep with our Raider theme and she picked up on her new name fairly quickly, and everything was going good for the first month, or so I thought. However, since she had been an only dog in her previous home, she didn’t know about waiting her turn and letting the “senior” dogs go first, and since I wasn’t doing anything to “teach” Madden the correct way to do things, Casper took it upon herself to show Madden who’s the boss!! I realized the error in my ways and started making sure that Teddi and Casper got petted first and left the house before Madden and things have calmed down a LOT!! At the end of September, Madden grabbed her first toy EVER!! Her previous family said that she never liked toys, so we were VERY thrilled!! We praised her and praised her and told her what a good girl she was!! And then 2 days before Madden’s 6th birthday in October, she started chasing after Teddi and Casper as they ran through the house!! What a sight that was!! She’s still not sure what to do with them once she catches them, but at least she’s joining in and trying!! Madden is letting her personality show more and more and she is a LOVE!! She loves to snuggle. She loves going on hikes, either on-leash or off-leash!! She’s got to meet some cows and horses up in Garin Park and has become quite a bird dog, loving to chase after birds of all sizes!! Oh, and she’s up to 48 pounds at the last vet check!! The girl LOVES her treats (as long as they’re not green beans!!)!! J Adopting Madden has been such a blessing and we look forward to many, many years together!! ~Gwen & Shawn Dossey- Slave to Teddi, Casper and Madden~