Victory: 18 Months In

During Victory’s first year with us, I documented her monthly milestones along with a weekly photography project, which I continue to document.  It is difficult to believe that she has been with us for eighteen months as of yesterday, April 12, 2015!  The time goes by so quickly.  Victory is my teacher, and life with Victory is so much sweeter!  Our fur girl has made great strides since we adopted her on October 12, 2013.  Her fur coat has grown and it continues to come in; she is more confident and animated; she loves her chew toys and puzzles; and she loves ‘night-night’!  Below are some thoughts about our fur girl, Victory!

-We receive endless love from Victory.  She loves us and we love her!  Doug especially has a real soft spot for his fur girl, Victory!

-She loves her routine and it keeps us on a schedule with some structure with regards to Victory!

-Victory loves to come into the kitchen when Doug cooks and bakes!  She loves getting a few nibbles of our food.  It turns out, she loves Doug’s buttermilk pancakes among other things — she is not too discriminating when it comes to food!  On the weekends, she loves getting some vanilla yogurt while we eat our breakfast Doug prepared!

-We are convinced that bedtime, ‘night-night,’ is her favorite time of day, when her ‘pack’ is all together!  Victory now plays for a good half an hour once we all get into bed as she runs up and down the bed and interacts with us with her paws and mouth — she even makes some noises now when she plays, but still no barking!  She has even trained us to get her water in the bed before going to sleep and during the night.  Thankfully, Victory mostly wakes Doug up (and not me) by bouncing on his legs at the end of the bed and Doug gets up and gets her water most nights!  I know, it is crazy how this fur girl has trained us!  We tried putting water on the bathroom floor right off our bedroom, and it never worked — she apparently does not like to leave the bed once she is in for the night!  So, she lives like a princess and is quite content with this arrangement!

-Before bed every night, without fail, Victory gives me a partial face wash and Doug an entire face wash.  Doug usually falls asleep before me as I usually read before bed, and Victory sometimes keeps going with her washing of Doug’s face even after Doug has fallen asleep!  Sometimes, I have to tell her to stop!

-I (we) love going to bed with Victory above my head.  She takes turns sleeping on our pillows during the night.  She likes to lay against the head-board.  Most mornings, when I get up, Victory is above my head or by my side and she gives me kisses when I get up most mornings.  She is not a morning pup, and some mornings she looks a little drowsy!  Fortunately, she lets us sleep in on the weekends without a problem.  It is quite nice on the weekends when we stay up later not having to worry that she will wake us up at the crack of dawn!  In fact, we are the ones always to get her out of bed!

-We love traveling with Victory!  It would not be the same without her.  Hopefully, soon, legislation will be passed so that dogs are permitted on trains, which would provide us with more modes of transpiration and options!

-We love taking Victory on outings with us.  She loves the car and she loves coming home — her favorite part of her outing!  The garage has a special meaning for her — she loves the garage and she can spot our neighborhood a mile away and she gets so excited!

-We love taking Victory around the neighborhood in her Hound About!  She loves it and she loves poking her head through the top.  We are currently working on Victory walking more continuously via her training.  At home, while we are out for walks, she likes to stop frequently because she hears noises, sees construction trucks, and sees people, etc., which frightens her.  Victory is so keenly aware of everything all the time.  So, if we want to walk at a decent pace, we have to put her in the Hound About!  When she wants to, she is very agile and swift on her feet!

-Victory loves the recently finished deck — it turned out really nice!  In fact, last night, when we were sitting outside, Victory fell asleep in her outdoor Orvis bed — this is a first!  Last year, she really did not want anything to do with being outside on the deck and she was also not interested in the outdoor bed!

-I love having Victory, my furry companion, at my feet while I am working at my desk/computer.  It makes getting work done easier!  I love how Victory is always with us.

There are many reasons why we love Victory!  Below, to date, is one of my favorite images of Victory!  She looks so confident and regal.

In the images below, it is evident how much Victory has physically changed and blossomed over the past eighteen months.  (The the top left image was taken by Victory’s foster mom, taken just prior to adopting Victory in the fall of 2013.)  Victory is a happy puppy!  We love her and I hope that her story will encourage others to consider dog rescue!

Happy Monday!