"Gotcha Days" anniversary
Dogs and their personalities
Today, May 13, 2025, signifies the three-month anniversary of Beatrix’s adoption. At the three-month mark, a rescue dog is recognizing that this is indeed her/his real home. I adopted Uša November 11, 2024 , so it’s pretty much his six-month anniversary. What a perfect time to reflect.
Not only have I had Uša longer, but I got him when he was younger; Beatrix (“B”) was one or two years old and Uša was only about five months old on their respective “Gotcha Days.”
When I look at Uša, I know he’s my buddy, a love-bug who will give me limitless kisses and who will let me handle him however: pick up his front half in a half-nelson, pick up one foot at a time, wipe his whole body off with puppy wipes. He’s a dog with few boundaries.
When I look at B, there’s a bit of distance. She gives kisses as well as Uša and yet she has her boundaries and her needs. I like her all the more for demanding that I respect them. It’s not antagonistic, it’s healthy independence. We have accomplished much: puppy wipes may now touch her on the face and head and back. I can hold her back feet while snuggling, but front feet may only be touched briefly.
B also doesn’t know how to express her joy in a most adorable way. I can get her in a silly happy mood by talking to her in a special way and she gets the zoomies, but instead of just running around like a goof, she “dances” on your foot. You better have shoes on. It’s the same pure joy that all dogs experience when she’s told over and over that she is “such a good girl, yes, you are!”
B likes her time on the deck. The deck is on top of the garage and the dogs can survey their backyard, neighbors’ backyards, and the street, but there’s no way off the deck so it’s like a medieval guard tower. B sits by herself and watches the world of critters, barks at all those who require barking at, and comes in when she feels like. Uša will sit out there with her, but he will check on me much more often than she.
Uša hits the bell hanging from the front door when he wants to go out; B prefers to paw the leashes hanging nearby. B absolutely loves to put on her harness; the good people at Paws and Claws obviously did a great job associating the harness with fun, fun, fun for her. Uša puts his harness on more begrudgingly, but still willingly, because he loves to sniff the sniffs on a walk. He won’t, however, pee on a walk unless forced to. B marks key corners on a walk for both of them.
When B first arrived, she was terribly clingy to me. She would sit in my office chair with me and wouldn’t want to lose sight of me. Then she and Uša started fighting a bit (which I wrote about) and the clinginess went away, but within a couple weeks, they worked out a deal. I think the deal is that as long as Uša gets to sleep closest to me at night — he at the pillows and she at my feet — they can wrestle, play-fight, and share all toys. Lately, and maybe this is the sign that the three-month “rule” is true, she has been coming up to me out of the blue, looking for a snuggle and scratches and/or to lay by my feet (as she is right now, as I type this). Relationships evolve and I love these two rescue dogs for their distinct personalities.
My birthday happens to be coming up. If you’ve been thinking about donating to animal rescues but aren’t sure which one(s) deserve your hard-earned funds, please take this as a little nudge from the universe to donate to either of the organizations that rescued Uša and Beatrix.
Uša came to me through Rescue Network and Beatrix through Paws and Claws.
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I've enjoyed learning how the 3-3-3 rule has played out in your home. Thanks for providing the depth and the context.
Such a lovely meditation on the process of bonding for new rescues. I had a similar experience with Pants. She would not allow me to go near her back end at first, but now she begs for butt scratches. She initially lifted her lip when I tried to dry off her paws - now it’s a fun game. Trust and time go a long way.