The Big Visit!!!! 6.27.09

It was wonderful to see Schroeder on Saturday!!! He looks JUST like Cheetah, only prettier (don't tell Cheetah I said that). His markings are more bright and defined. And he is almost as big as she is!


He was feeling slightly under the weather on Saturday, so he wasn't as bouncy as he can be apparently, but he still managed to give Cheetah a run for her money! She was out cold after he left. It was hard to tell if he recognized her or not, because he is a friendly little guy anyway.

As promised I took little videos and pictures so you can all share in the visit.

When they arrived I put Cheetah in my bedroom to keep her out of the initial excitement. I wasn't sure how she'd react to visitors since she usually threatens to eat whoever tries to come in the house. I met Schroeder and owners in the driveway and it was really hard not to run right up to him and shower him with affection. But I didn't want to overwhelm him so I let him sniff me and I bent down with my side to him and let him approach me. Then we went in the house and he immediately found Cheetah's big goofy yellow flower. He walked around with that for quite a while - he really took a liking to it.

After we got acquainted, we all went out in the back yard and I went and got Cheetah out of the bedroom. I won't lie that I wasn't nervous about her attacking either Schroeder or his owners. So I brought her out on lead - she practically dragged me across the yard! First she ran up to Schroeder with no incident, and then as I held my breath, she ran up to his owners. Now, they are very savvy dog people so I am sure that helped. They did not make eye contact or any move to reach for her. In fact, Mrs. Owner kept her hands behind her back... and Cheetah licked them!!

So I let Cheetah off the lead and started filming. I suspect she recognized Schroeder because since having the puppies, there has not been ONE TIME where someone (including my own mom) has come onto our property without her having something to say about it. I can also hope that maybe she is getting better about this.

So they had a grand time. They spent quite a bit of time under the big bush by our deck, because it was very hot. I also refilled the water bowl twice. Of course Schroeder decided to play in the third bowl :-) That was pretty cute.

Then we went into the house. Once again I held my breath because I wasn't sure if being inside the house would change the dynamic. It did a little, but not enough to cause concern. Cheetah was still very friendly to Mr. and Mrs. Owner. While she initially played with Schroeder with a new toy that the Owners brought for her (that was so thoughtful!), she became possessive of her stuff pretty quickly. Schroeder was a little nonplussed by this, but did finally go find another toy to play with. Actually he found Cheetah's bone, which she eventually commandeered as well. Poor Schroeder.

I really want to thank Mr. & Mrs. Owner for offering to bring Schroeder to see me. It really meant a lot to me and did a lot to get me out of my funk. He is every bit the dog I could have hoped and it is clear he is extremely well loved and cared for. Cheetah would also like to say thank you for the great toys they brought to her. She loves them and brought a couple of them with her while she visited another Rescue Angels foster on Sunday when we had our housewarming party. More on that later.

Schroeder will be having his last set of shots on Thursday so I'll be thinking about him. I hope he doesn't have any more reactions.