Madelyn

I am just relaxing at my sisters one Sunday morning when I see a post from a fellow rescue friend about a young hound in need! She posted her pic and I was immediately drawn to her so inquired about her. She was needing a foster home and someone to help her find a new forever home. After a little arm twisting, Alex and I agreed that we could take her in and help her find a home. This was a huge decision for us as we currently have an almost 6yr old, almost 11yr old and almost 13 yr old who were not used to have a full time puppy in the house…little did we know how much that quick decision would change our lives and our packs life.

From all of the info we received from the current family she sounded like she would be a perfect match for our friends dog, Jack. Jack came to visit quite often and Annie was possibly contemplating getting Jack a playmate. Perfect! So we had Jack over the night Addie was set to arrive and it was like love at first sight! They played and played and played and played.

Over the next few days Addie got settled in and Alex also gave her a new name, Madelyn or Maddie for short. She was definitely puppy and loved to chew on nylabones and play with the other hounds. Grandpa Sarge took a huge liking to her and they were found snuggling together many times. We think Sarge was depressed from losing his buddy Homer, but the arrival of Maddie seems to have perked the old man up again. Jack continued to come over for play dates and we soon determined that if they lived together that nobody would ever get any sleep. Plus Maddie was wiggling her way into our hearts and home, so we decided to foster fail with her.

Maddie is a very smart girl and she is the first dog that I’ve had where she has really good eye contact with you. For me I’ve been hoping to eventually get a dog that I can learn to do rally and/or agility with. Maddie seems like she is a good candidate so I’ve started taking her to classes. Right now she is enrolled in the beginning obedience course at Twin Ports Dog Training and I hope to continue on to the second obedience course, get her CGC and then move onto the rally course.

She does require a lot of exercise and mental stimulation. Before all of the extremely cold weather, I was trying to get her out for a walk at least twice a day and then toss in a Jack play session every now and again. We also decided to get her a pulling harness and take her snowshoeing with us. This has been great fun for all of us! She seems to love and it allows us to enjoy the great outdoors with her.