Hugs and Kisses from Mabel and an Adoption Progress Update

Apologies for the infrequent updates lately. The humans have been really busy.

Once Mabel knows and trusts you, she can't get enough of you. The very first night she was here, she kept trying to crawl on top of me to sleep instead of sleeping in the dog bed next to me, as she was supposed to. At the time, I thought this was just some manifestation of all that she was feeling that dramatic, traumatic night.

But no, this is something she still gladly does today, now that she's in good health and perfectly happy. If one of us lies down on the floor (i.e., where Mabel can get to us; she knows not to get on beds and couches uninvited), she is on top of us within seconds, crawling all over us and licking our face and neck and chest for as long as we'll let her, and then when we make her stop, she finally settles down--sometimes sprawled out across, hanging over our midsection, and sometimes with her face right next to ours or on our chest, her legs over our shoulders.

Enter today's photo. It may look like Brandi's holding her there, but she isn't (there were dozens of other photos of this in which that was more clear, but I was having a hard time getting rid of the flash-induced red eye in those). What you see here is a combination of Brandi cuddling with her and keeping her from running over to me to lick the camera lens.

In other news, well, there isn't much news. We're still working on Mabel's people-fear but not as steadily as she needs; with all the other animals, work, and family, it's been difficult to find the necessary time. With any luck, we can get back on a schedule and develop a plan for that soon. We're also hoping to capture some video soon of Mabel's recent playful yard antics and to share that with you here; it won't be high-quality video, but hopefully we can come up with something.

Mabel still doesn't have any prospective homes, though she did have a wonderful, loving, huge-hearted family from Indiana interested in her--our very first seriously interested potential adopters--before we all realized that the home just wasn't right for Mabel for various reasons. It was a sad realization, both for us and for the sweet family who wanted so much to be able to give Mabel a happy home. But Mabel's permanent family is still out there somewhere, and that kindhearted Indiana family, I know, is going to find the perfect second dog for their household; they have a lot of love to give, and there is no shortage of dogs in need.

We are nearing the end of week 10 now. Please continue to spread the word about Mabel, friends, especially those of you around St. Louis (or with friends around St. Louis). You never know who might want and need a dog--and who might be just perfect for Mabel. :)