Poppy the Therapy Dog: One Month of Poppy

POPPY

Poppy has been with us exactly one month today and she seems to have tripled in size. She is too cute in her little GDA cape. Everyone who sees her has to stop and adore her. Many times the first words people say when they see her are, "I love you."

Chillin' in Lisa's arms

I think that by taking Poppy around with me in my life I am teaching her that the world is a friendly place but actually I am learning how much love people are walking around with in their heart.

Our waiter fell in love with Poppy

We have two twelve year old dogs. A lab named Buddy who is a puppy at heart but is crippled by hip problems. Sally is a territorial Maltese- poodle mix.

Three way tug-o-war with Buddy and Sally

Buddy and Poppy

The first thing Poppy learned when she came to our house was to respect Sally's food and toys. Sally gave poppy the most hostile cold shoulder for about a week until she realized that poppy liked to play. Slowly Sally accepted Poppy as part of the family. Buddy was easy. He accepted Poppy right away even though Sally was thoroughly pissed off at him for it. I'm so grateful because when Poppy wakes up at 5:30am she has too much energy. Buddy and Sally play with her for hours.

My living room is covered with dozens of dog toys. I'm hoping my rugs, furniture and shoes will be spared if I give Poppy enough distractions. She has already chewed the corners of two rugs. :-(
Her favorite thing to chew is Buddy's tail. She is either wrestling with Buddy or rampaging through the living room playing tug-o-war with Sally. They both like to chase Cuddles, our bunny, who lives in the yard. Luckily there is a pen that he can run to which is safe from the dogs.

So far Poppy hasn't shown any interest in the pool. The shower is a different story. She jumped right in the shower with my husband her first day here and she has been curious about it ever since. Luckily she seems to understand what "No" means.

Poppy is cooperative about riding in the car. Sometimes.

Already Poppy is an experienced car rider. She goes with me to drop Haley off for school and to pick her up and many errands in between. Our family goes to restaurants often and Poppy is great about resting under the table while we eat.