This post is from “Annie’s Second Chance” about Mother’s Day two years ago. It was a turning point for Annie and the best gift ever!
For the last several weeks, our walks were much shorter to accommodate Annie and I had missed my long lake front walks with Maisie. The morning was beautiful, sunny and not too hot, so I grabbed Maisie’s leash and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. Maisie was so excited and followed me out of the room. To my surprise, Annie popped up and wanted to go too. I knew she wouldn’t be able to go the full length, but I couldn’t turn her down when she was showing interest in going for a walk for the very first time! Prior to this she would come to me when I had the leash and I would lead her out the door but she hadn’t yet responded to “would you like to go for a walk” so I turned and grabbed her leash and headed for the door.
Annie really wanted to go, but true to form, she ventured out of her crate a little bit and then turned back around to tag up. Her next attempt she went a little further, tagged up and then tried again, each time going a little further toward the front door. On the 6th attempt, she finally made it out onto the front porch, I clipped them both and we headed out. I was elated that she wanted to come out with us, but I debated whether Annie was ready to head out for a new direction, so far we had only been walking around the same 3 or 4 blocks. I decided to give it a try, so when Maisie and I headed left toward the lake rather than turning right to go around the block, she hesitated only a moment and then trotted right along with both of us. This was the best Mother’s Day gift I could receive; Annie was becoming more confident every day and was overcoming her fears in order to be with us.
We didn’t go all the way to the lake, I assumed it would be very busy with people and dogs, so we went around the neighborhood and came back home about 40 minutes later. She kept a great pace and walked beautifully on leash, it was her best walk ever and we all really enjoyed it.
A couple of hours later we loaded everyone into the car and went to my brother-in-law’s house for Mother’s Day brunch. This would be a big test for Annie, a new house, a new door to go through and meeting new people. When we got there she was very curious about where she was, but she followed Maisie right into the house, sniffed around, greeted the women that were in the kitchen and then headed back out the front door. Chris was with her and followed her back out. She didn’t seem nervous, she just wanted to investigate her surroundings. The house is set on a huge beautiful lot that backs up to a forest preserve. There were lots of good smells, the man next door fosters multiple Golden Retriever rescue dogs and there was a resident dog to get to know. She took all of this in stride, followed Chris around the yard, went up to the fence to greet the loud, barking Golden Retrievers and eventually settled next to me on the deck and went to sleep until it was time to leave. She did keep a safe distance from the men, but otherwise she showed no reluctance and was comfortable enough with her new surroundings to relax and nap. All good signs that she was making significant progress in her recovery! I was so happy.
The rest of the day went like this: we went home after several hours and had a late dinner with my daughter and husband. We decided to eat in the dining room, one of the least used rooms in the house since we usually eat in the kitchen. I think this may have been the first time we ate in there since we brought Annie home and she kept coming around the corner to look at us. After several peeks, she came all the way in and lay down by my chair. It was the first time she ever searched us out and decided to stay with us while we were eating! Usually, she would just come say hello and then go back to her crate. It was another gift on this day.
After dinner we invited our neighbors over to sit by our fire pit. We haven’t spent a lot of time outside since we brought Annie home in January and it was a beautiful evening. I was hoping she would join us but she opted to stay at the top of the deck stairs. She could hear us and keep an eye on us while maintaining a safe distance. Our neighbor has a very loud deep voice and he was conscious of keeping his volume down but she wasn’t ready to greet him. At one point she came down to the yard level and lay down on the other side of the huge oak tree that is situated close to the fire pit. I took this as another sign that she wanted to be close but was keeping a safe barrier and that was fine. If the tree made her feel comfortable, then she should lay by the tree. It was such a good ending to a wonderful day!
Her human mother Sue and I have communicated several times over the last couple of years but we have never met. She was incredibly kind and supportive after Annie died. Precious and Annie shared a similar skin condition. They both used the same medication that brought them relief from constant itching and discomfort so I was happy to send Precious the remainder of Annie’s prescription. When we finally met, I immediately started shedding uncontrollable tears.
The fact that Precious could be at a big event like that is a testament to the love and support she has received from her family. They were very careful with her, letting her meet just a few people at a time and making sure she wasn’t overwhelmed by her surroundings. She really enjoyed meeting other dogs that were there, which makes sense since she came from such a big kennel and she has always found safety and comfort in the company of the dogs in her family, especially Henry. Henry is her rock, she will snuggle up next to him when she needs a little extra boost. He is always with her when she goes outside, she won’t do that by herself. 
Those few minutes with Precious happened right before I packed up the car to head back home and were the perfect way for me to end my first experience at The Newfoundland National. Seeing her reminded me of Annie but unlike the day before, I smiled as I thought of her because I felt so lucky to have had her in my life. Annie was the sweetest dog I’ve ever known and we were meant to be together. I wish she didn’t have that horrible experience before I found her but the last years of her life were her best years and certainly some of my best years as well.
My daughter met me up there to cheer me on and after getting our ribbons, she and I were able to wander around, enjoy many of the other activities and explore the cute town of Frankenmuth. The working events were scheduled at the beginning of the week and we watched friends in the obedience and rally rings and also observed the specialty carting event.
We had a picnic lunch, went to Bronners the World’s Largest Christmas Store and got milkshakes and ice cream to celebrate our success in the ring.
I don’t know a lot about conformation showing, but I really enjoyed watching the puppies in the ring. Who doesn’t love watching puppies?
In between our trials, I walked around with Winn to chat with several of our friends who were there but I also found myself just watching it all in amazement. I met some new people, stopped to watch some grooming in action and spent some time with this beautiful brown boy (who was at Westminster last year) and his owner. There were very few brown Newfoundlands there and she sought us out and introduced herself. She loved Winn and took us around the room to meet her friends and fellow brown Newfoundland lovers.
Winn was great in the hotel. She figured out the elevator really quickly, knew right where our room was and loved to hang out on the balcony and watch everyone coming and going through the parking lot. She ate well and slept hard. We did hear some barking from time to time, but she never made a peep. She was the perfect hotel dog.
On Thursday morning we met up with her breeder. He and his wife arrived late the night before and this was the first time we had seen each other since pick up day when Winn was 10 weeks old. He was showing Winn’s big sister Bertie on Friday and he set up her crate next to Winn’s. The two girls hung out together for a little while. It was so nice to see him with Winn, she’s changed a lot over the past year!
My only regret is that Annie wasn’t with us. My primary interest in going to Newfoundland National was to march in the Rescue Parade with her and I figured if I was there with Annie, I might as well bring Winn along and we could participate in Rally. I also knew that having Winn by her side would make Annie feel more comfortable. It really hurt to be there without her, but I brought the honor flag I made at the Blogpaws conference and attached it to the bag that I carried around with us. While Winn and I were competing, Annie was right there next to Winn’s crate. It did bring a little comfort, feeling like she was there in spirit. I never would have thought about going if it wasn’t for my desire to celebrate Annie and how special she was.
I knew in my heart that we were meant to be together, and I was willing to give her the time and patience that she would need to feel comfortable in our home, but after a few weeks with very little change, I began to suspect that she would never let herself bond with us.
I learned so much from her about resilience and forgiveness. Her demons never fully left her, but she was able push them aside and allow herself to learn about a new way to live.
She loved to eat. She’d come running when she heard sounds in the kitchen. She made so many discoveries and never turned down a taste of whatever we gave her.
She loved to walk along the beside me. At the beach, we would walk up and down the water line while Maisie and then Winn ran around, played and splashed with other dogs and each other. I was never worried about her being off leash, she never left my side when we were out.
She loved to sleep. She would nuzzle up in her crate along the bumper of her bed, rubbing her face and letting out little sighs. That was the first bed she ever had, in her whole life, and she loved it so much. She fell asleep for the final time in that bed and it went with her. It seemed right that she should have her beloved bed for eternity. 
Last year, I wrote a special post for 
maisiethenewfieandcompany 