Danbi

This is Danbi's foster. This little darling is a pretty easy keeper. She's a little shy, but she doesn't seem particularly bothered to be in a new place. She just kinda went, ok, here I am! She's afraid of my flooring (makes sense; I doubt she's been on it before) and is peepad trained. When I leave during the day I simply place her on two blankets (1 for snuggling, 1 for a platform) connected to food and water on one side and a pee pad on the other. She likes pets but she really LOVES treats and gets super excited for any crinkly noise that MIGHT be a treat. I haven't heard so much as a bark. Overall, she's pretty healthy; there's a minor skin thing, which I think is either due to stress or a food allergy, so it should clear up very easily.

I'll write more when I know more :)

I think Danbi would really appreciate going to a home with another easy-going dog. She really seems to enjoy hanging out with my dog. The two of them frequently sleep together and there is no aggression at all over treats or chewies. She also uses Tokki for guidance while getting used to living in a home.

Poor little Danbi. I believe I inadvertantly discovered one of her food allergies. She has been doing really well on a LID (limited ingredients) diet and her itchiness cleared up. Well, I like to give the dogs and rats boiled egg as a treat. She loved, loved, loved the egg! Such happiness. But since eating the egg, she has broken out in a full body rash again :( Luckily, it should clear up in a few days of just her normal food! In the meantime, I hope her new sweater survives!

Danbi visited the vet yesterday. She is heartworm negative and now on prevention. An anti-bodies test was done to determine which vaccinations she still needs, so next weekend she should be utd on her shots. Other than that, the vet said she's fairly healthy, although she needs some tooth scaling. He did put her on anti-biotics because she had a little infection from a scab, but everything else is really good.

Personality-wise she's really starting to come out of her shell. I've had a lot of strangers coming in and out, and I arm every person with treats. Danbi now associates strangers who visit with treats and has become a lot friendlier towards people she doesn't know. Because of her past, she doesn't really play with toys but she loves to play "chase" with hands. She's also getting used to being picked up and no longer does "superdog!" and holds her potty until I set her on the peepad. Lastly, she has decided the floors are not going to eat her (most of the time), although there really isn't much room for her to go anywhere in my apartment!

She's a lovely, easy little lady. I think she'd really enjoy a low-key household with cats or another dog or an owner who is home a lot. Her favorite activities are eating, sleeping and being petted. Another bonus is that she's small enough to fly in-cabin (and all of her records are at ChungWha in Itaewon), so taking her home will be a snap.

Danbi wants a treat:

[this is the most active she gets. She "dances" when I get home from work and when I have treats - or I crinkle a bag and she thinks she's getting a treat]

Danbi went in for her second round of vaccinations today. She really wasn't thrilled to go to the vet and was really happy to come home to snuggle on the bed. She also really enjoyed playing with our guest who came to adopt the ratties. She's gotten much more friendly with strangers!

I bought her a set of rugs and now she can follow me around the house (which is basically to the kitchen area and the bathroom >.<). She's shown interest in going outside with the other dogs but get scared, so we're working on it slowly. Her fur is growing out making her look scruffy, so she will be getting a bath and shave next week to go back to her clean presentation of the snow white lady.

She's not a chewer and she's not a barker. She only eats a tiny amount and pees a tiny amount. She likes to give kisses and dances around when the treats come out. She likes other animals too. If you're looking for an easy homebody, you might consider her.

Danbi has taught me something new; I am not destined to be a dog groomer. The poor baby has been given a terrible haircut! That, coupled with the dip in temperature, means she's back in clothing. Hopefully in a week or two she'll look a bit better and can go to a real groomer for a touch up :)

Danbi and Tokki went to visit a friend for a few days while I was out of town. I was nervous how Danbi would do, although she's met my friend several times before. She was actually very good on the subway ride over. My friend brought her back saying she was perfect. He was concerned she'd be worried when his girlfriend showed up, but she ran right over and gave her kisses. She spent her time hanging out on the bed and getting treats and pets. Now that she's back home she's sleeping in her bed, completely unperturbed by the shuffle.

On a side note, her hair has grown back and she looks pretty cute if a bit scruffy.

Aside for the cross-Seoul babysitting move, Danbi's little life has been further rocked by my brother coming to stay with me for a bit. I was really curious how she'd take a long-term guest who didn't leave after dinner. She seems fine with it and slept with him last night.

She's making a lot of progress, but she's really looking for her own special person to help her reach the next level in her forever home :)

The dogs and I took advantage of the nice weather and went to the Han River Park this evening. Danbi likes to ride in my messenger bag, which pretty much rests on my butt :P I had to laugh at all the gasps and giggles when people saw this white little dog head sticking out.

She then had an exciting time laying in the grass (!!!) and taking a very slow, careful stroll down the pathway with the other dogs. She was pretty good with all the people petting her, even the children, and didn't mind any of the other dogs either.

It was amazing to see her gamely toddling along after the two younger, more confident dogs and super sweet to see her give kisses to the little girl petting her.

Danbi is really digging the river park! When I pulled out the bag today, she started getting super excited and spinning. Once we were there she ran and ran and ran (which was not reaaaally running but shhh no one tell her that!). She also made some friends with some high school students.

Clare: Tokki is ridiculous! She's in a proper cocker cut now and still looks silly. But no Lorax 'stash anymore.

This is the dog, who a few months ago, was took tiny, careful steps (and the vet thought had something wrong with her because she wouldn't walk/stand):

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It's all baby steps. Physically there's nothing wrong with her. Initially she was lacking muscle mass but she has 4 working legs :) She just needed time and patience to be exposed to new things and learn that they aren't to be feared. It's really amazing for me to see and the video doesn't do her justice!

And we have started the housebreaking process! Of course, she can't be expected to hold it all day with her tiny bladder, but any pee that lands outside of my shoebox helps. She's picking up on it really fast after all the prepping with the scheduled pee pad breaks. She's soooooooo happy to be "one of the big girls" who goes potty outside; it's so cute.

All of a sudden, Danbi has become a cuddle monster. She's been sleeping next to me for the last few days and demanding pets with her nose. Despite the rain, she's been begging to go to the park by running up to my messenger bag and spinning. It's like her confidence just clicked on!

She's had some nibbles, yet this little girl is still waiting. Are you the one?

She will be eating a lot of chicken and canned food this week. I have to give her some truly nasty medication! Clavamox is AWFUL... having had it myself. NASTY. Must bribe her to stay in her good graces!

And tonight we went on our 2nd successful walk on-leash! Granted it was a very slow walk and not very long but considering she's never been on a leash in 8 years, she was surprisingly good. Even though the leash itself kept spooking her. We also met a very nice mother/daughter couple in the alley who loved her up! She definitely does well with OLDER children.

"I am bigger than a rat!" - Danbi [disclaimer: no dogs were hurt in the making of this photo]

Kingston (the rat) was my last pick up. She's been through 4 different homes already and is quite elderly (2.5 years). She's fairly friendly but skittish about being picked up. I regret I don't have a friend for her as she enjoyed the last two girlies before they went home.

Danbi is so cute. She's a little scruffy right now, so that combined with the permanent derp face is hilarious looking.

Danbi went to a little doggie social on Sunday. She was very sweet to everyone but very unsure about the cafe and all the chaos. I think it was just a little too much for her. But she let this huge lab puppy slobber allll over her without any complaint. And when we got home she just stretched out and was perfectly fine. She did get something yucky in her ears though, so I chopped the hair off; poor baby looks funny now. Luckily in a week it'll be cute again.

Miss Danbi has been giving me a bit of sass! I know, you're like: what? that's a good thing? Sure is! Her little maltese character is FINALLY emerging - she gotten quite bold and friendly. Also, we've been working so hard on housebreaking. She knows that she is to poop outside, so if she thinks I'm going to round her up before she's finished her business, she will run away. What she doesn't realize is she runs as fast as a turtle. She'll run to the end of the alley and go, then she'll come running back. Sometimes she reminds me of a 2 year old going nyah-nyah though. She just doesn't want to go inside. Such a big change from before.

Danbi spent the week at a new petsitter's house. I was worried about it a little because the sitter's house is much bigger than the studio apartments she's used to. No problem! She even learned to do a little hop up the step into the house. She is more than ready to go into the unknown of a her forever home.

This rain is dragging us all down but mostly it just seems to baffle Danbi. She keeps trying to crawl under Tokki when we go out to potty. She's figured out the quicker she gets her business done, the quicker she can come inside. Other than that, she goes into a happy spin when she sees the yorkie next door. I'm currently fostering some younger dogs and she is rather ambivalent about it all.

Finally, the rain cleared up and the 5 of us headed to the river park. Danbi somehow knew we were going because she got really excited! It was there I saw something beautiful; Danbi was running! Really running, not just stumbling along. She looked like a happy, giant, white bunny bounding on the lush, green grass. She ran herself silly for quite awhile, charming the locals and making them laugh at her sheer pleasure. Then she very patiently let a pair of really timid Korean children pet her being the perfect doggie ambassador when the other 3 dogs were too pushy or rowdy for the kids. Now she's curled up on her pillow.

Someone is quite comfortable... [and needs a haircut!]

She's so FLUFFY!

I prefer fluffy. You'd think that it would be hard to keep up her coat, but its not. I brush her once a week and trim up any weird hairs and clip nails. Also clean out her eyes and ears and brush her teeth. It only takes about 20 minutes. (I do this for my dog too). I'm hoping once she has the second surgery her mouth will stay a little whiter. She actually enjoys all the attention and lets me do whatever I want with only a little protest. Such a nice little girl.

After several months, Danbi seems to have realized there is an aquarium and that it is interesting. She's been watching the fish on and off all day! Ha ha, maybe I'll seem less looney to the dogs when I speak to the fish in the future.

2 great things have happened in the Danbi sphere:

1. her mouth healed so much she doesn't need any more surgery!
2. she has been accepted into an overseas breed rescue. Local (Korea) adopters are still being sought, but we are also looking for a courier who could take Danbi in-cabin to Seattle or Portland!

Think you want a maltese? A brief overview of the breed:
http://animal.discovery.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/videos/dog-breeds-l-z.htm?...

I'm convinced Danbi would be an excellent purse dog. I know, I know, a lot of us ridicule that stigma, but Danbi really does embody a stuffed toy most of the time. She's cute, fluffy, likes to hang out in one spot, barely eats anything, doesn't destroy anything, doesn't bark... sometimes I have to check for a wind up key on her back! She's just that chill. She gets worked up for treats, grass and people - everything else is met with a Buddha calm usually. She's healthy and well trained and in-cabin size. I can't believe she hasn't found a home yet!

Little button nose and little button eyes!

I'm sure she will :)