Update on Cora and reflections on Trust

We've had our ups and downs at work. It has showed me how far she's come. I tried early on bringing her and she was loud and fretful the whole time and I thought my head might explode.. which would be messy. Th

ere were loud periods but mostly she was quiet and when she was loud, there was a reason- she needed to potty, a crying baby, pain med wearing off. Certainly there have been bits when she was stressed out. And she was completely terrified at  the sound of a step stool bumping against the door. The socialization at work is probably really good for her. She's meeting people and experiencing new things. Other then the dreaded step stool it's been manageable. And it's tired her out. She's a sleepy girl right now. We are both figuring out how to make this work and I will bring her again and take her other places too.

I have found that when I'm at work it's too long between pain meds for Cora. I saw a lot more of the familiar vocal and irritable Cora. At first, I was running home during my lunch break to give her pain meds but that is very rushed for her and I. So the past two days I've brought her to work with me.


Today, during lunch I drove to another office for a bit and when I got back to my office she was sound asleep in the car. Since it was nice and cool (but not cold) I left her. She slept through the maintenance crew power washing the cement and blowing away the grit. Then the thunder storm arrived. I decided to bring her inside. I got her out of the car and we were about to walk in and just that fast the storm was right on top of us. Knowing that our building has been hit by lightening before, I was ready to run. Cora, knowing she couldn't run quickly, hunkered down. I scooped her up and hurried us inside. Cora doesn't like to be carried

and being "scooped" would normally be a cause for great upset. This time, Cora had no complaints at all.

It surprises me a bit, when people sound all excited and say "she's starting to trust me.". I am already living in the world where I have her trust. It's not a perfect trust but few things are. We live this trust. She comes to me to be petted. I guide her when I need her to go someplace, and most of the time she cooperates. She is always going to be a stubborn girl, but she knows I take her where she wants to go mostly.  I have been patting her while she eats, putting on and off her harness, calming her fears and finding what she likes. I know her sounds. I know a growl the means, leave me alone and the growl that is her claiming to be fierce while she's leaning into my hand for touch. And Cora knows my ways. She knows the feel of my hand against her ears. She knows that  when the world is really frightening, I'm there sheltering her. My touch and voice calms her. She knows when I'm rushing her and not paying attention to her cues and she knows those times when she becomes the center of my universe. For two days after the surgery, Cora and I slept on the floor together. We lived and breathed her fear and confusion and then we began to explore the world without the painful front leg stump. She trusts me,  but what people aren't seeing is I trust her too. I've learned her ways and understand her growls and wags. Hopefully we have many years ahead to strengthening our understanding of each other.