Whoa Nellie!

This is Nellie (track name, Regall Sit -n- Spin), and the picture just doesn't do her beauty very much justice. Nellie is a sweet, sweet girl and a strikingly beautiful 4 year-old brindle hound in surprisingly good physical condition for an ex-track dog - full coat, good weight, no fleas, ticks or other nasty bugs that some hounds come in with. Nellie is, however, a bit on the shy side. She's not a spook by any means but she can be a bit skittish sometimes. As is usually the case with most of the shy hounds, time and patience will lead to the emergence of a bolder and more confident dog. Nellie is no exception. In the five days she's been with us, she's made good progress towards being comfortable in new surroundings. She's started taking steps towards us for some petting and ear skritches, although she waits 'til her foster brother Coastal is getting some attention before she decides to inch her way towards us rather than us going to her, as we did the first two days she was here. Nellie is a very quiet dog - she hasn't barked once and she hasn't done any whining, either. She kennels up well and is doing great with the housebreaking. Nellie has done well on the leash so far and seems to be small animal safe (she's not taken notice of the household feline as of yet, that we know of, but we'll do a face-to-face with both of them in the future to see how she reacts). She's eating and sleeping well and is starting to get the hang of general household living. I expect her personality to really blossom over the next week or so as she gets into a regular rhythm. Nellie does not seem to be overly dependent on her foster brother - though she does follow his lead on potty breaks and such - so she might be suitable as an only dog, if the right circumstances present themselves. Patience and steady gentleness will be the key in her successful transfer to her eventual forever home. I think she's going to make a really nice companion for the right person(s). Though she's never going to be a gregarious, life-of-the-party hound, she will still be a real sweetheart in her happy, quiet way. Nellie has not done steps yet, but we'll be addressing that over the weekend. I have a hunch that she might make a nice jogging companion, so I'll take her for a run this weekend and she how she does with that. As always, drop Denise a line if you think this is the hound for you.