sigh...the honeymoon is over....

and a new worry begins.

jelly started staring at the dogs repeatedly last night with her lips lifted up in a silent snarl. it mostly happened when someone was stuffing their face at a food bowl but also at jerry who was busy and loudly snarling at her.

it could be the cushings disease...if she has cushings disease. the vet had given this as a possible diagnosis based only on her exam and the enlarged liver found on her xray. the stim testing has not been done yet because it is a very expensive test.

in any case...jelly is worrying me...big dogs with big jaws and a deep focused need around food are not always thinking too clearly....and they need to think clearly because of our little guys here. now i need to think clearly on how to manage this because even if it is cushings...it will take quite a long time to diagnose and start effective treatment for her.

the safest solution is to move her out of the house...maybe over to the office for now. BUT she is already suffering from a deep and silent human separation anxiety and i don't want to make that any worse.

i think we will try moving her over to the big dog room only with the gate to my room closed when i am not in there. if we load that room with food bowls maybe her need will go down because there is so much available all around her. andy and al and jesse are pretty dog savy...not like the little guys. i watched clueless little big bud walk right under her silent snarling belly because she was standing between him and the food bowl that he wanted to eat from. and jerry and chica will just think they can kick her ass if she gets snarky...and sadly they can't.

this food thing does not make jelly a bad dog....it makes her a dog with a problem. and her problems become the problems of everyone here but most especially mine...because i do have to ensure that i keep everyone safe.

there is always a honeymoon period with every new dog. it takes time for them to be who they are..it takes even more time to take who they are and help them to be someone else.

this is the not so easy side of rescue..finding our way thru brand new landscapes of life.

jelly...be patient, be safe, be kind....there will always be lot's of food in the bowls here.... you don't need to ever worry about that.