There is no greater joy then seeing a dog (who may not be alive) join his or her family and live a fulfilled life as a cherished family member. Many of you will remember Minshik – the poodle mix rescued from S Korea who flew to Chicago about a month ago to find his home. He was shy and unsure. There was little joy in his eyes. Not anymore! This is what keeps us rescuers going and restores our faith in humanity. Miracles do happen and can happen and we all can make a difference. I thought I would share this update on Minshik from his mom Karen. I have read it many times and it has brought me so much joy. I hope it will for you too.
Attached is a picture of Mins surveying his domain, our side yard, after
his haircut last week. He knows his yard, and is a very keen squirrel
chaser. He isn’t fast, but determined. It can be funny,
watching Mins clearing his yard.
I’ve noticed on our walks, Mins really tracks scents. Trails the scent
across the path, Mins doesn’t mind going into the undergrowth or pushing
his head into a grassy clump or a pile of leaves. I think he has a
Poodle sense of smell. I think he is esp keen on tracking rabbits.
We’ve walked several times at Van Patten Woods, and once at Lyons Woods
in Wkgn. He likes checking out his yard, and in the morning before I go
to work and at night when I get home we walk around the neighborhood,
checking things. He always goes over to our neighbor’s yard and stands
on the culvert on their side of the street, and, standing on top, peers
down into it. I’m fairly sure some critters use it as a tunnel. He also
likes playing with Mitzi, our neighbor’s terrier. They are both close
to the same size.
Mins clearly has the Poodle intelligence. Except that he thinks he can
hide treats for later by hiding them in the pattern of our Oriental rug.
He is such a good dog. I am so glad we are able to have him living with
us. Totally house broken, it only took him about 2 days to learn to go
into the back yard without his leash and to stay with us. Mins clearly
has a taste for people food. I’m sure he is a little puzzled I don’t
set a plate for him at the dinner table. He does eat his dog chow,
after dinner while we are doing the dishes. The other day he had a nice
time playing with a box of Kleenex, pulling them out sheet by sheet. I
was surprised, he really doesn’t play much. But he is coming around.
He still isn’t keen on walking at night. On still nights without wind
we somethings get to the mailbox, mostly we don’t get all the way down
the driveway. On night like tonight (windy) we will just wander out
into the backyard. He sleeps either on our bed, or on his doggie bed
next to our bed.
I knew he was feeling secure when, one evening, I was eating a bowl of
tapioca in the living room. I set it on the end table by my chair and
picked up the book I was reading. I then noticed Mins stretched out as
far as he was able, with his little tongue just able to lick the rim of
the bowl. I told him he was lucky he was such a cute little thing and
move the bowl back. He really did look cute.
He is still exploring the house. He can be wary, and a few times I’ve
heard him whimper when he is asleep, having bad dreams. Just breaks my
heart. We pet him and hold him a lot.
He had no trouble at the Groomers. We use At Your Bark and Call in
Winthrop Harbor. Wally stayed while he was being groomed, out of sight
but close by in case Mins got scared. We weren’t sure what he would
think of the clippers. He doesn’t like the sound of the clippers Wally
uses to trim his beard. The one and only time I’ve seen Mins jump up on
the sofa by himself was the day I was vacuuming and came down the
hallway and headed into the living room I startled Mins, who ran and
leapt up on the sofa. Now, I make sure he is in a different part of the
house when I vacuum, moving him from room to room if I have to. He
often figures it out by himself. If the vac is off, he has no trouble
walking past it.
I made him 2 new coats, we will send pictures of him wearing them one of
these days.
Again, thank you for letting us adopt Mins. He is a great little guy.
Best Regards, Karen