Continued from the previous entry. Originally from the January 2003 Ohio Maltese Rescue newsletter.

Her progress is slow, but over the next few weeks we see quite a bit of weight gain. She has become a permanent member of "the infirmary" in my bedroom, where the old and the creaky can spend their time without being annoyed by the young and the obnoxious. She has this incredible look of surprise on her face, all the time. She is always surprised to find food freely available, and water is always there, clean and cool. We tremendously enjoy watching her go from dog bed to dog bed, always seemingly surprised that ALL the places to sleep are warm and cozy, and she can take her pick. Sometimes she waits for another dog to leave the bed they are in, and then she steals it, just because she can. That look of surprise is so much better than the look of terror she first had.

Weeks become months, and she continues to flourish. Her coat comes in tremendously lush. We put her picture on the website, knowing she is here to stay. She is really good about using the peepads.. Now that she can live clean, she wants to keep it that way. Ruby never does learn to enjoy human contact. We still have to catch her on a regular basis to clean ears and trim toenails, but mostly we leave her alone. That is what she is comfortable with, and we respect that. Sometimes she will get brave and sleep in the dog bed closest to me, right next to my bed. That is progress enough, I know she is telling me in her own way that she trusts me enough to do that. She has friends, and takes to cuddling in the beds with several of the other dogs. Most of the Poms here don't like to share their beds, but Ruby takes great comfort in the slow, easy pace of her new life, with my other beautiful old ones in "the infirmary."

She makes a special friend that surprises us. Connor is a young pom, just a year old, and he is constantly busy. But Ruby takes to him from the start and they even wrestle a bit now and then. Connor makes sure Ruby wins every time, it is sweet to see. I think maybe he reminds her of all the pups she had, but never had a chance to play with.

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