And here´s a link to my facebook album of her:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058046&id=46900557&l=ba9271a0ce
She’s cute right??? That picture is from the second day I had her, and now I’ve had her for 12 days, so she’s put on some weight, shed all the fleas and ticks, and is playful and happy. Currently since I’m in Quito I haven’t seen her since yesterday at 6pm, and to be honest I miss her :( my host family is taking care of her while I’m gone, but I like having her around. She’s a good cuddler and so fun to wake up to when she’s so playful. She’s a bit bitey, and I have some cuts on my hand to prove it, but she really likes chewing on her toys when my hand isn’t available. The last week we didn’t have work (vacations) so I was home a lot with her. I taught her some tricks – she now knows sit and ven (come, in Spanish). I also taught her how to fetch (more or less. Sometimes she forgets the ball, or drops the ball on the way back to see me, etc) and am trying to get her used to the Frisbee I bought her so that when she’s bigger she can fetch a Frisbee. She has a lot of energy, so once I’m back from Quito I’m hoping she will like going jogging with me to burn some of that puppy excitement off. Currently, she will play for about 30 minutes, then pass out for an hr, then play again, then pass out again. She eats A LOT. I bought her 2.5kg (about 5.5 lbs and I think she’ll have eaten it all by the time I get home from Quito yikes!
Well, I got her from a community that I work in. One of the mothers I work with, her brother had a bunch of puppies, and they had gotten rid of all but 2. So I mentioned to her I wanted a puppy and she said “okay” and there it was :) I went to pick her up and chose the one I have (out of the remaining 2). She was really really scared to be taken from her mom, didn’t enjoy the mototaxi ride to my house, and was covered with fleas and ticks and lice. So I took her home and gave her a hot bath (which she didn’t’ like either), made her some chicken rice soup, and laid her on a heating pad to sleep. While she slept I picked off the fleas that had survived the bath, ew. She slept like a rock! At first she didn’t eat or drink, but little by little she did. She was really weak and afraid of me for the first couple days. Every time I would walk up to her she would cower and shake, but over time she got used to my presence. I bought her toys and a towel to sleep on, and treats and food, etc. I also took her to the vet, got her some anti-worms medicine, and twice a day vitamin solution (apparently she had anemia? I know..) Now she has put on weight, has a great deal of strength, and even more energy – a good healthy puppy! I’m working on training her and trying to socialize her with other dogs, but unfortunately there aren’t a lot of dogs around that will play or not try to kill her.. Most of the dogs are very aggressive and want to hurt her, and the other dogs like Max (my host family dog) or Dino (my neighbor’s dog) have no interest in playing and just stand there while Dali barks and bites at them. I wish they had a dog park in my town! :) Of course puppies are a pain in the butt sometimes, like when I need to work and she’s so playful, or that she occasionally has an accident in the house (she is more or less potty trained though poop outside woohoo!!), but for now I’m soo happy I have her she’s such a great companion and makes me so happy :)
That’s about all I’m gonna write this time. But I´ll be updating soon as I am travelling to visit my first host family in La Chimba on Wednesday! I´m sure I´ll have lots to update, but unfortunately no photos because I didn´t want to bring my camera to Quito :( 30 days until I’m home! Catch ya again soon!
