We were scheduled to pick up Colt on Saturday-September 4, 2010. We arrived at a park & ride off a major highway in Connecticut feeling beside ourselves. Cory was very excited, and I of course was nervous. They assured us the trailer would be arriving at 12 noon, however they didn't arrive with him until 1:30. The anticipation of that trailer pulling up at any minute was unbearable because we were not aware that they would be over an hour and a half late. When the trailer finally arrived the dozens of other people waiting scurried to greet their new additions. Colt was the third petrified dog to come off the roaring truck. As soon as we got Colt off the truck he was shaking uncontrollably. Cory started walking to the car and Colt pooped right there in the middle of the parking lot. How embarrassing! He was so scared and had no idea who the heck we were so in turn he tried to hide behind a guard rail in the parking lot and wouldn't come out. This is when my tears started coming. I felt so bad taking him from the only home that he ever knew. I cried for the first 30 minutes of the ride back home. It truly was one of the most emotionally traumatizing experiences for me. I'm a huge animal lover, and I just felt so terrible knowing that he was on a trailer for 2 days with minimal food and water just to get to us. I felt so selfish doing this, but Cory kept reassuring me that we were giving him a loving home and that it was okay.
The trailer that Colt came on
First picture of Mr. Colt scared as can be
Hiding from Daddy
Colt did a little better when we got home, but he was still very unsure of us. The first day/night all Colt did was hide in his crate. We finally figured out that he felt as though the crate was his "safe place" due to the fact that was all he really knew back in GA. The first 4 days were the most difficult ones, because he was still so scared of Cory and I we couldn't get him to do anything all he did was lie down with this depressing "lost puppy" look on his face. A quick little back story on Colt: His foster mother found him and his siblings abandoned at 9 weeks old. This particular woman rescues labs and has over 40 dogs on her small farm in Georgia. He was not exposed to any real life situations while living with her. He was basically left in a crate, and was let outside to run and do his business a few times a day. This woman very rarely had visitors at her home so in turn Colt didn't meet people. Also, he had never been for a walk on a leash before. This is just a touch of the little things that we spoil our dogs with that Colt didn't receive in his foster home.
The first three weeks that we had him he got progressively better, but he was still petrified of being outside. He would do his business and run straight for the door immediately. He had no idea how to go for a walk, and he would pull us in every direction. We bought him toys, but he had no idea what they were because he had never had them where he came from. We essentially had to teach him to be a puppy. As the weeks went on, Colt got better and better each day. He began to slowly come out of his shell. He was running around the house and playing like a puppy should, he was giving kisses to us every chance he got. The fourth week he was with us I introduced basic commands (Sit, Paw, Come). He is a very quick learner and picked up on these incredibly quickly. Now each week I'm trying to add another trick/command to his repertoire. Currently, we have had Colt for 5 1/2 weeks, and I can't even begin to tell you how much he has grown and improved since that very emotional day that we picked him up in CT. We are so blessed to have such a sweet, lovable dog, and even in the short time that we have had him we can't imagine what our lives would be like without him. We are very proud pet parents. Finally, we are very excited to grow in our marriage and expand our family with Colt by our side.
Week 4 Colt Pictures
Kym he is so cute!! I want a dog so bad :(
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