Cassi is My EmPAWee of the Month (and Year)!

This year, change arrived for both of us. We adopted Cassi from Romania in May 2021, with no idea of her background, other than the fact she was rescued from a kill shelter. She's such a special, beautiful pup, and she settled right in! My employer cut my full-time hours, so I started freelance work in July 2021. I went from a traditional 9-5 to a less typical 12-12, from stability to aaaaaagh. Cassi has been wonderful company and a fantastic motivator: After all, she relies on me to feed her!

She's been my rock these past few months. While she's definitely not going to become an emotional support dog any time soon (running off to another room when I need a cuddle to calm down, for example!), she's done wonders for my mental health. Getting outside to walk in nature has been great for my health and brain, and she loves it too. We're basically on a journey of discovery together! She's learning what it means to be loved and safe, and I'm discovering what it means to have 24/7 company, even on the toilet. I'm happy to sacrifice my privacy for the look of love I get when I hand over a tidbit of beef!

Cassi is 'reactive', which is scarier than it sounds. She's a really friendly girl, so she wants to say hello to every dog she sees. Sounds adorable, but not so much when she's irritating other dogs with her presence, and she doesn't understand it! She's three years old, but she may not have been socialised properly until now. So, her reactivity is called 'leash reactivity' as she's a 'frustrated greeter'. And I'm sure there's a myriad of other things I haven't named yet! We're working hard on it, which means lots of beef for her, and lots of hypervigilance for me!

"Is that person walking a dog or a wheely suitcase?"

But to me, she's perfect. She's the most amazing little snuggle buddy (even if she prefers my other half), and she makes me beam every single day. I'll say two words: Those. Ears. They twitch when she's sleeping, and everyone comments on them. Everyone. They want to know what breed she is, but we have no idea. Honestly, I just think she's a mix of a German Shepherd and a Jack Russell Terrier, but I discovered a breed called a European Village Dog, and she fits that bill. Anyway, I digress!

I may get frustrated with her when she runs away to play with another dog or to chase some poor, unsuspecting wildlife, but she always comes back to me. Well, I've got the beef, and that (very cute) dog or deer doesn't! She may whine constantly: Oh no, I've spent slightly too long peeing, I've spent a nanosecond too long taking her out for a walk... you get the gist! She's as impatient as me, and that's one of our many similarities.

Cassi is so courageous. Considering she was flinching at the slightest movement when she first arrived, she's now such a brave little bean! As someone with plenty of anxiety to go around (please take some, it's free), I could learn a lot from her. She's a dog who can self-regulate her eating, and I could learn a lot there, too! Midnight snack(s), anyone?

I'm so excited to see what the next few months and years bring for Cassi and us. She's made incredible strides since May, and I'm so proud of her. She learns new things all the time. Her recall when she's overstimulated is still an issue, but she's getting there. Training is an absolute breeze for her, usually! She learned 'sit' within about three days, and now responds to a look or hand gesture for it. Both paws entered her repertoire for 'paw' a few weeks back, which was amazing as she'd been stuck on one for so long.

I've even been teaching her the very useful 1-potato-2-potato song/game. She slaps her paw on top of my hand, and I'm trying my best to get her to involve two paws! When training, most people want their dogs to heel perfectly. I've gone a little rebellious and attempted to teach both heel and 1-potato-2-potato in the same week ;)

She definitely gets my award for EmPAWee of the Month. Look at her slog away on the laptop; she gets her salary paid in beef, as requested! Thank you for pawsing your day to read this article about Cassi! :)

You can follow her on Instagram here.