Day one...

After much discussion, and the realization that our dog doesn't respond to the name he came with, we have decided to re-name him Finnegan. it was the name we had picked out before when we thought we were going to adopt, and we already had a tag with it engraved on it. plus, he looked like a Finnegan!

He did very well last night. We put up chair barricades to keep him in the living room. He had a big bed to sleep on and food and water. Since we hadn't finished the fence yet, and he wasn't sure of us, we kept him on the leash and walked him for all his potty breaks.

Since he didn't come with a collar, after work I stopped at Petsmart and did some shopping. Collar, bowls, etc. For now we were putting his bowls on the fireplace, but they still weren't quite high enough. Larger dogs like IW need to have their food and water bowls set up so they can reach them without crouching.

Not that that mattered as Finn wasn't eating. He was nervous, stressed, and frantically obedient. Walking him, he never strayed from your side, barely even to take care of business. There was no sniffing of mailboxes, etc., and if we met someone, he held back. His tail had been tucked since we got him. The only time we saw his tail wag was when my son came home from work last night. Finn jumped up, stepped in front of me. I held my son's hand for Finn to sniff, and his tail actually wagged a few times. Only time we have seen it.

All evening long, Finn has stood by my chair and panted. I tempted him to eat a bit by giving him leftover buttermilk biscuits. Tonight, as we put him in his 'area,' he whined for a while before quieting down.



I have to believe he is pretty bewildered. We did find out he has his shots, he is neutered, and vet records will be coming. He was being kept in a kennel outside, when he was picked up, who knows what happened. Perhaps the family wasn't prepared for his size, maybe there was deployment or divorce, we will never know. He will never know. All dogs bond with their people, but wolfhounds are known for being particularly loyal. Even though he wasn't with the family on a daily basis, they were still the only family he knew. Every time we have walked him, he has searched. Sniffing the air, looking down the street. He is particularly interested in small children, almost frantic to get to them and sniff. Once he does, he knows they aren't his family, and he just droops, and starts looking again.

How could someone ignore, or give up such a wonderful dog? I don't understand!