Jane and Milo

 Jane helped me with a work project by posing with my new 'coworker', Milo, who joined my team as the 'Principal Payroll Primate'.  She also may have grabbed Milo and carried him around when I accidentally left him on the floor and she thought he was one of her new toys.  😁😂  It worked out though, because it inspired a new idea for the photo challenge I am doing with Milo.  Haha!

Jane does not like leaving my side.  She always goes wherever I go.  It's both sweet and sometimes annoying when I'm trying not to trip over her when I walk or when I just want a bit of privacy in the bathroom.  Ahhhahaha!  Aussies really are class 1 clingers.  

Silliness

As Jane is getting more comfortable with us, we are seeing more of her belly and her silliness.  She's also getting more comfortable with cuddles, even from Joe.  😍  And she's more interested in toys.  She's getting more playful and gaining strength and stamina which is just so sweet to see.

 

Jane meets a friend!

I got busy and haven't kept up on Jane updates.  She's doing so well!  We still see improvements everyday as she's settling in and getting more comfortable.  We finally were able to convince her to meet the backyard neighbor's dog.  I'm hoping they can be good friends and help each other let out some energy by running the fence.  We shall see.  So far, Jane can't seem to run far with him.  She tires so easily.  But she does seem excited to see him, so we call him her boyfriend.  Haha!

Belly Rubs, Friends, and Fire

I finally was able to give Jane proper belly rubs for the first time!  She REALLY liked them.  She also met some of our friends for the first time.  She was shy and wanted her duck close by.  Eventually she fell asleep lying between Joe and I.  She's getting so much better with Joe, and he's able to pet her, but she definitely prefers me if she has the option.  He's so kind to her and gives her so much grace even though I know he's frustrated that he loves her and she just doesn't feel the same way with him.  I know with time it'll keep getting better.  And I'm so grateful that Joe is an incredibly patient man.  We see these giant steps or even leaps of improvement nearly every day with Jane, but with him, it's only the tiniest baby steps.  Whoever the man was that had her before we got her must have really done a number on her because she just does not feel comfortable around men the way she does around women.  It's quite heartbreaking to think about.

It was a nice evening, so we did a fire.  Jane didn't like it and decided to lay in the garden instead.  😅

First Bath!

I knew that I wanted to get Jane in our tub for a bath sooner rather than later as I had no idea how she'd handle it, but I didn't want to wait to find out until it was absolutely necessary.  So yesterday I made it a goal to give her a bath.  At first I wasn't sure how to start because I used to be able to tell Beren to take a bath and he'd climb in the tub.  Of course, when I tried to tell Jane this, she had no idea what I meant.  I eventually realized I'd have to pick her up.  I'd never done that before and didn't know if she'd be okay with me doing that.  Thankfully, Jane is probably the most tolerant dog I've ever met.  I mean, she's a bit scared of absolutely everything because so much is new to her, but she likes me enough that she tolerates whatever I ask of her.

Anyways, once I got her in the tub, I was slow to introduce water and kept it only on her legs.  I slowly worked my way up until I thought I had her completely soaked.  She was doing really well so I decided to continue and soap her up.  She seemed to like me rubbing soap all over her.  But I discovered that quite a lot of her hair was actually still quite dry.  I definitely hadn't remembered how difficult it is to get a dog's hair actually wet.  But we eventually got there.  I also had forgotten how long it takes to rinse the soap out of their fur.  I finally was ready to dry her off.  I also had forgotten how difficult it is to dry a dog's fur with just towels, but I got her hair brushed well and eventually we just went outside for the breeze to finish drying her.  I couldn't believe how shiny and pretty her coat looked!  And once it was completely dry, I was shocked at how much softer she felt.  

We ended the day with the first real cuddles where I finally got her to be in my lap.  It's been a joy seeing her grow more comfortable and happier every day with us.

Settling in

Jane is getting settled into her new home.  She really likes the cats, especially Arien.  She didn't understand why Arien was wearing a hoodie though and seemed a bit concerned.  We do plenty of car rides and walks.  We realized that we needed rain gear, so I stuck Jane in one of Beren's old raincoats to see if it fit.  It did, but Jane wasn't so sure about it.  Haha!  Jane also figured out that we own hamsters because she discovered Beorn was awake as we were heading to bed.  Overall, we are absolutely loving having Jane as a new addition to our family.  And with each passing day, we see Jane getting more and more happy that we adopted her.

Jane's first Vet Visit

Yesterday was a busy day for Jane!  It started by meeting a very angry raccoon who had just been caught after spending some time in our attic.  Then we went to the vet.  She handled it so much better than I expected.  I was SO proud of her!  That night, I spotted a pair of owls flying overhead and one landed on this pole in our backyard.  It was so neat to see!