If only we were all this happy

There is NOTHING in this world that compares to the pure joy on Doji's face when I walk through the door (and find her in her crate, tail wagging).  Of course Toby is happy to see me, and he runs off to find a toy to show me and then runs between my legs for a little hind-end scratching, as he stomps his feet because it feels so darn good!  Don't get me wrong-- I look forward to that moment every day.  It's our routine.  But then there's Doji.  This creature has known me for a total of four days, and yet she greets me with similar enthusiasm.  I know. I know.  I feed her... of course she's happy to see me!  I've seen dogs that are only concerned with getting the food into the bowl or getting the door open for a good romp in the yard.  Doji's different.  Her world utterly revolves around my calling her name in the morning when I wake up and greeting her by name as I walk through the door. 

When I got home tonight, I let her out of her crate and greeted her properly (with a good hind-end scratch).  After a few minutes of greeting me, she went to the door.  I'm presuming she was letting me know that she had to go out... I let her out into the fenced in yard so she could do her "business".  It was raining and, true to her nature, she didn't complain (Toby is a bit of a nancy-pants when it comes time to doing "business" in the rain).  She quickly relieved herself and came back to the door and gave the door a subtle scratch to come back in.  Doji loves any affection and she was really digging it when I towel-dried her.  Toby, on the other hand, acts like an 8 year old boy getting his hair brushed!  I can almost hear him whine, "come ooooon, mom.... knock it off". 

Doji has adjusted to living with us remarkably well.  Last night she slept in the living room in the snuggle bed.  I can tell she's stiff in the morning or anytime she's been laying down for awhile.  It's still painful to watch her get up and move around after she's been sitting for awhile.  When I see her get up, she doesn't put any weight on the leg with the torn ACL.  As she walks a bit more, she gradually puts more weight on it as she gains some confidence.  At this point, she has finished her pain medication and antibiotics from surgery.  I've started giving her cosequin (glucosamine/chondroitin sulfate A supplements) and she gets 4 grams of fish oil daily (anti-inflammatory).  The fish oil is like a treat for her!  She loves it (as does Toby) and now she knows the sound of the bottle opening! 

She has a hard time with wood floors and I try my best to keep her from going into the kitchen with the wood laminate flooring-- it's like a skating rink for her.  I'm going to make a trip to the store tomorrow and get a bunch of little rubbber-backed rugs to place wherever we have bare wood floors so she'll have more "islands" to walk on.  Hopefully that will make her a bit more comfortable and preserve her hind end from slipping out from under her.  I can tell she's dying just to run and play-- like a normal puppy.  I can see flashes of puppy enthusiasm where she would love to chase a tennis ball or wrestle on the floor.  Instead, she settles in for a snooze and waits for hands to pet her.