Saya has adjusted well to her foster home. She likes her personal space and time but can also be very affectionate and cuddly. Says greets her foster family when they come home giving them kisses and welcoming pets. She also has started enjoying and feeling ok with belly rubs. Sometimes Saya also lets her foster family hug her. Her favorite form of affection is head scratches.
Clara and James, her foster family, told us that Saya has recently become really curious about other doorways or stoops on our walk. She sniffs around and stares inside if there is a glass door. In other words, it seems Saya is a nosy neighbor.
When it comes to food, Saya shows no aggression. She is hesitant of strangers she sees on the street but if they know how to approach a dog, not reach over her head or hover, she will become comfortable and sniff them. If they come too close or reach down to pet her head, she will bark and warn them that she’s not ok with how they are approaching her. When people come over to the house she gets happy and shows a lot of affections and warmth. Saya ignores children she has met unless they rush towards her then she gets uncomfortable.
Saya sometimes doesn’t like meeting other dogs if they exhibit high energy. She will become calm if the other dog is calm. She can walk by a dog and ignore them but she will react and James and Clara are working with her to learn to keep walking, not worry, and pay attention to them. Saya has a ‘behavior buddy’ – they just sit near each other and maintain calm. And a pseudo-friend dog we pass on a walk who is a yard dog on the other side of a fence – Saya sits in front of him, with the fence between them and they ignore each other calmly. Saya is learning how to not care about other dogs and their reactions to her and becoming desensitized. Most importantly, Saya has exhibited that she is perfectly capable of ignoring dogs that initiate escalation. She can walk perfectly by a dog that is barking, lunging or otherwise behaving badly at her, in fact, she will tend to do this more than rise to the bad-behavior occasion.
She has a prey drive and likes to chase squirrels and will try to charge at birds. However, she ignores cats or leaves them alone after an initial sniff and inspection. When she’s home, she has free range of the apartment and likes to sleep on her bed. She has no interest in the garbage, she is not a chewer or scratcher, things left on the floor are ignored – she just flops herself on different spots all day. One of her favorites spots is the couch.
Saya must have a home with a family that will love her for all the many wonderful, brilliant things about her but understand that she will never be a dog park dog and never be the dog that just sits beside you at brunch. She needs a patient, calm, firm leader, someone she can trust, someone who is dedicated to her continued improvement.
Say hello to this very sweet 10 year old girl named Persephone! She will be celebrating her birthday this July. 
