rescue dog
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People often ask, “How do dogs show affection?” The answers are as varied as the dogs themselves. Some lean. Some lick. Some follow you from room to room. In our home? My dog hugs me. Most people will tell you dogs don’t like hugs. Especially not dogs with trauma histories. Hugs, after all, mimic restraint…
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Some dogs grow up too fast. But what if they get a second chance to grow up again—this time with joy? A happy puppyhood for rescue dogs is possible, even when they’re already grown. Lady Priscilla didn’t come to us as a floppy-eared baby with a waggy tail and a teething ring. She was two…
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Lady Priscilla Earns Her AKC Trick Novice Dog Title and Conquers the Tunnel We weren’t expecting a breakthrough. Honestly, we thought it would just be a solid private lesson: some confidence-building, a few laughs, maybe a little agility. But in 30 minutes, Lady Priscilla didn’t just meet expectations—she shattered them. First came the tricks. Jenny,…
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How to protect dog paws from hot pavement without the bootie battles We adopted Lady Priscilla in the spring, when hot pavement wasn’t yet a major concern. But Florida warms up fast, especially here in Orlando, and we knew we needed a plan before summer hit. So, like any good dog parents, we bought booties.…
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After a two-week break, Lady Priscilla walked back into the Zoom Room Winter Park for agility class like she owned the place. No barking, no pulling, just calm focus and a handful of high-value treats. If you’ve been following our journey, you know that training a rescue dog for agility hasn’t exactly been a smooth…
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CGC Training: A Turning Point We had been in CGC training for exactly two sessions. Just seven short days between “Is she even ready for this?” and “Wait…did she really just do that?” Lady Priscilla came in hot. Her training had been going well at home and in public, but performing her skills in a…
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The Long and Winding Road to Finding the Right Vet When we first adopted Lady Priscilla, we chose her vet the way a lot of people do—based on convenience. The clinic was just down the street, open late, and even offered boarding. It seemed like a no-brainer at the time, but finding the right vet…
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Sometimes, when Lady Priscilla leaps onto the agility table and stands tall, we’re struck by an uncanny vision. A beloved teacher in an old film, perched on a desk to challenge his students’ perspectives. Or the students at the end of Dead Poets Society, standing on their desks chanting “O Captain, My Captain” in solidarity.…
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When we first brought Lady Priscilla home, the shelter described her as “shy but sweet.” That was accurate. What we didn’t realize—what we couldn’t have realized—was how deeply shut down she truly was, or how much patience rescue dog recovery would require. She spent the entire ride home curled into a tight ball in the…
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Before she was a service dog in training, Lady Priscilla was a 48-pound ball of anxiety. This is her origin story—and what we learned about bringing home a rescue dog. I really, really wanted a dog. Growing up, we always had animals—lizards, rats, cats, even a rabbit at one point—but my childhood dog, Trapper, was…