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I must say, without a doubt, that one of the Miniature Schnauzers you saved, Ashley, is the love of my life! Ashley is nothing short of pure delight for me and my mom.

When I came to adopt Ashley as a gift for my 80 year old mom, I didn't know she was a Schnauzer because her hair was cut off around her face. Poor Ashley was just skin and bones and we felt so bad for what she and the others had been through. I had no idea what a puppy mill was until I Googled it.

I have never seen a little dog so traumatized. She just seemed shell shocked like she was almost in a daze. She didn't like to be held and still doesn't; she won't relax on anyone's lap. She becomes real stiff and leery. She was and is very passive and mellow. I could tell that she had been handled but she seemed like a puppet, you could do whatever you wanted with her and you could tell she was scared.
When we got to my mom's house I carried her to the backyard and she walked around without her harness. My mom and I were sitting at the picnic table and decided to bring her up on a stool so we could get better acquainted with her. She sat next to my mom and they just stared into each others eyes for the longest time while my mom petted her. We were shocked by how skinny she was. You could see her hip bones and it appeared to us like she perhaps recently had a litter of puppies.

We were so glad to have her and thought she was beautiful despite her appearance. We felt like we could make her a happy and healthy dog. We could give her the life she deserved. We set up a bed, feeding bowl, and water and showed her where they were. She wasn't pottytrained and so she peed wherever she wanted to; we started taking her outside whenever it looked like she needed to 'go '. We really hoped that she would come to love the grass and she does now. Everything was new to her. I mean everything-- the door going outside, the cement porch, the trees, wind, leaves and all the things that we take for granted. My flip flops that I wore scared her. She would shy away from sudden noises and movements, just like a horse does. She was so skittish.

We just kept talking to her and trying to reassure her that everything was going to be OK. I decided to stay at my mom's for a couple of weeks and we would try to get her used to everything. That first weekend was tough. Ashley just slept in her bed and wouldn't eat. By the following week she began to eat and drink normally and we were certainly relieved. We continued to carry her outdoors during the night and day hours. (She seemed to prefer the middle of the night because it was quiet). She stayed right close to us all the time. We tried to keep noises to a minimum including the TV.

Then after a couple of days she was here, out of nowhere, Ashley did the funniest thing. She got down on her front elbows and with her rear in the air she started wagging her tail and growling at us like she wanted to play. It was totally adorable, like the dog in the Disney cartoon "Lady and the Tramp". We couldn't believe how cute her behavior was. Several times a day she would then look up at us and say "roo, roo, roo". She still does that. She didn't bark until after we had her for a month or so. She started playing with toys I got for her. If you try to play with her she doesn't understand and gets scared but she plays by herself with blankets and toys. She first started chewing on anything on the floor like a puppy would but we showed her toys and she continues to enjoy them. She just continues every day to open up and explore EVERYTHING! She has no bad habits because she is just now learning how to be a dog. Her true spirit seems to be emerging when she runs around the yard at full speed, chases the squirrel and shakes her "rag dolls" to pieces.

My problems seem trivial when I'm with Ashley; I guess that's the magic of a dog. She is like my child. I had forgotten what it felt like to love a dog so much.