Settling In

It was a busy, busy weekend so Ellsworth is still feeling a little shell shocked from all the change in the last few days. He's been bathed, met the house dogs from a distance and even spent yesterday at the vet getting neutered. Now that we've got some of that stuff out of the way we can start to settle into everyday life and give him a chance to see that he's safe and can relax.

He's pretty overwhelmed and still doing lots of pacing but occasionally he'll kick back and rest. At bedtime he is sad to be in his crate and lets out long, mournful howls to let the rest of us know he is not happy with the crate situation. Lucky he gives up on the whining after a few minutes and then starts back up at 5am to let us know he still would like to be out of his crate. Happily the sleep pattern seems to adjust quickly for new foster dogs so we're hoping he'll wait until 6 tomorrow.

But even with his stress level being high he was able to finally kick back and rest on a dog bed we have in our rec room while we watched TV. Even better, he came over to the couch and jumped up to be next to me, falling asleep with his head resting on my leg. Not bad for just two days into a new home!

For now we are waiting to introduce Ells to Salinas and Chima since his current pacing and stressiness will make them uneasy and I want introductions to be a positive thing. He's met Frodo already and they are fine with each other and he and Tilly have sniffed each other approvingly through the gate.

We'll keep you posted as we learn more about this stunningly handsome guy.

Lots of sniffing and peeing going on in the backyard

Meeting tiny Tilly

Hanging out on a dog bed in the family room

And finally, snoozing on the couch with Troy, Frodo and me