She chews on rocks like I chew on ice.
She flips her doggy bed upside-down and lays atop the dirty bottom, piling her stuffies around her.
She's surprised that something is coming out of her tush every single time she poops.
She is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
But my foster pup Martha is adorable. And full of love. And I'm amazed that, at 9 years old and just five pounds, she still can and does learn "new tricks."
Martha came to live with us about six weeks ago from the Humane Society for the Pikes Peak Region. You can read more about her history in an earlier post here.
When she arrived, she only used an indoor puppy pad for pottying. She'd bark for a very long time when we tried to crate her at night. Couldn't climb any stairs. Couldn't jump off a couch (though regularly jumped up, and then barked to be let down). Had no interest in walking on a leash.
In six short weeks, she's learned to do her business outside (though she still uses a puppy pad if nature calls and I don't respond fast enough). She curls up in her crate when it's time for bed. She climbs up our staircases like a pro (though we're still working on down — the wood floors are slippery). She still prefers to be lifted off the couch, but she's jumping down on her own about 50 percent of the time.
I imagine she lived a very different life before she arrived as a stray at HSPPR. And I admit, I've sort of taken to carrying her around in a bag — she loves to watch the world go by from up high. But I do hope her new life skills will make her only that much more successful in her future home with her yet-to-be-determined forever family.
I will, however, leave this stubborn sitter's leash training to them.