what a terribly sad life she must have led. :( kudos for you for taking her in! one of my rescue dane girls was a very fearful dog when she came to me. for the first couple of weeks, i pretty much ignored her. it took that long before she did something (other than pottying outside) that warranted my praise. she kept her distance from me although unlike your dog, she did want to be in the same room with me. however, any attempt to interact with her would result in her cowering away from me and putting her paws over her eyes as if thinking "if i can't see her, she can't see me!" it will take lots of slow work with your pup. if you find that she absolutely refuses to eat, try adding a little ground beef to whatever you are feeding her. raw or cooked, either way. if you can find any canned tripe, even better! unless she is totally 100% shut down, she won't starve herself. i assume you live alone so this will make it easier. she will associate only YOU with the good things and eventually, she will come 'round. get down on her level as much as possible, sit on the floor whenever you can. if and when she approaches you, don't reach out to pet her. let her get close enough to sniff around. you can talk quietly to her (no eye contact, just whispering), just don't reach for her. she will let you know when she is ready for contact by becoming a little more insistent that you pay attention to her. a lady i know just recently took in a 3 month old pup that was so covered in mange and open sores, she did not have a single bit of fur on her body. she was curled up in a ball at the shelter, very near death. lana took her home and in less than 2 weeks, the transformation has been absolutely miraculous. she is growing fur, has learned to trust her human, seeks her out for attention and has just recently begun to actually play with toys. every time i get an update on her, i almost burst into happy tears! good luck with her. take it slow, let her trust you on her own time. you won't be sorry. my dane girl is now a velcro dog, loves my attention but is also totally confident to venture out and about herself and every person who comes in my house gets greeted by 165# of pure wiggle with a stuffy in her mouth. :)

I love that email... i have it saved in my "saved" mail folder. that email came with pictures..soo funny!!! so true if you have a dog and cat!!!! the first time i read it i was laughing so hard...it is great!!!!!! love the video alphaba...my dog and cat would never tolerate that, either way. although i wish they would, but they do get along very nicely most of the time. the cat tortures the dog alot which is hysterical. he is long gone and she is still wondering what the H**L just happened! they make us laugh every day...what a joy they are. thanks again for the video!

thanks Kay...it's hard. I hear a noise in the middle of the night, and think it's him. 3 o'clock rolls around, and I get up to feed him..... I look to make sure I don't step on him when I get up off the couch. This is the first time in oh so many years I can't even count that I haven't had a pet. S.O. suggested last night, that we get a goldfish or gerbil, or SOMETHING. He's at a loss too. I vacuumed, and thought...I'm vacuuming up the last of the dog hair......oh my...... I wiped dog slobber off the front of a cabinet yesterday........and just started crying. I ran errands today, and when I got home......well, you know. He wasn't there waiting for me. I'll never have to clean up the trash in the kitchen again......and I feel foolish for feeling sad about it! OK...enough....yeah, it's been pretty tough.

I am active on our neighborhood nextdoor forum. We just had a horrible situation. A lady had her black lab and her little terrier dog escape her fenced yard when someone didn't close the gate properly. The both had red collars full tags and identification and chips. Very well cared for loved family dogs, the children adore them. As soon as she realized they were missing she posted it on nextdoor so we could be on the lookout. She was out searching. They were spotted a few times. Everyone was helping look for them. One person heard gunshots in the neighborhood way back in a less desirable area. Multiple gunshots out into the streets! They shot and killed Rocko the black lab in the street! Poor Geo the little terrier laid there with his dying friend and would not leave. The owner was notified and had to go get them. The neighborhood is in turmoil and uproar. Those shots could have hit a person or house. The dog was very gentle and was at the street not hurting anyone. It made me physically ill. Just imagining if it was my baby that had accidentally escaped. Our neighborhood is so great about helping to find lost pets or rescuing those they see lost. It's just horrible. I don't know what is going to happen about it. I hope the person is held accountable. That lady had to break the news to her children.