The Couch Crew : Adopting Athena

After we saw her picture, we immediately sent an inquiry about her. We also sent in the adoption papers along with a request to meet with her so our dogs could do a meet & sniff.

I spoke to the shelter and one, we were approved to adopt her and two, we were scheduled to meet her and possibly take her home on Saturday April 5, 2015.

In the end, we decided not to bring the other two with us. We knew Athena, would probably be a good dog, Duchess would be the problem. We wanted her to have time with us before introducing her to the dogs.

Besides, it was a 2 1/2 hour drive and did not need the headache of 3 dogs in the vehicle.
It gave us time to bond with her in the car.

We arrived down there around 10:15 AM & they brought her out right away. It was a bit of a shock to see her at first. Even though they tell you right there in the adoption post, seeing it in person was something different.

She has that patch of dry scaly hairless skin along her spine. Additionally the black belly & knees, and the extended teets, were a bit of the surprise.   It wasn't going to change our opinion, it just made us realize that this poor girl has been through much more.
They mentioned she was probably over-bred based on her teets.

Looking at the other spots, it looks like she was kept on her belly or laying down quite often.   It seemed she may have been a puppy mill mom.

While all the dogs were cautious when they met, they're pretty comfortable with each other. In fact, Duchess and Athena have played a little bit.

You can tell Athena was not a house dog nor did she have a good life prior to us. She tends to walk around with her tail down between her legs. She isn't use to going outside. We ask her if she needs to go & she waits at the door with the other 2, but then she goes right there.   We will need to work on the house training.

Athena with her new sisters

She was totally unfamiliar with stairs. She had the hardest time walking up and down them. She still does but she is a bit better with it than yesterday at this time.

She is an absolute sweetheart though. Very affectionate. She also took very well to her new bed.

Sleeping on her new bed next to big sis, Sheba

We made an appointment with the vet to go over her issues, get her shots and schedule a date for surgery (she obviously needs to be spayed). We also need to put some weight on her. She's way too skinny. I'd be happy with 5-10lbs but we'll see what the vet says on Friday.

We adore her so far and we're going to everything to get her healed and feeling safe and happy.

We're going to keep you up to date on her healing & progress.

Below are some pictures of her visible physical issues.