Popcorn was returned into our care due to the fact that her guardian was no longer able to care for her due to their own health. Popcorn is stated to be a very sweet and loving gal, and we agree!
Here is what her fabulous foster has to say:
Popcorn is a dog on a mission. What mission? She does not know and, frankly, she doesn’t consider it her business to ask. But that does not stop her from determinedly pursuing her goal of aimlessly wandering about the house (very distinct from patrolling, which she considers fully out of her scope). Do you have a kitchen island? She would like to walk around it fifty times (100 if you’re preparing food). She will settle for a dining table or even a path from one end of a room to another. She simply loves walking around. For her, true joy is an hour spent circling followed by unexpectedly bumping into a dog bed and settling in for a long nap and then waking up and discovering it’s dinnertime. She could – and does – do it every day.
She is mostly blind and mostly deaf but neither particularly slows her down. We only have one step in our house, off the deck and onto the lawn, and she learned it very quickly, though she occasionally mis-times the jump and does a dramatic belly-flop onto the deck. She doesn’t really run into furniture but sometimes has trouble finding the glass door back inside. Because she is independent and slightly stubborn, if you try to guide her towards the doorway, she will turn and look at you like, “unhand me!” and then bump into the wall, pretend that she didn’t, and hop back inside with her head held high.
Her foster brother, a Muttville alum, is a jealous and grumpy chihuahua. He will snap at her when she enters his airspace and she just backs up and continues in another direction. She’s also met my twin toddler nephews (dog savvy but still terrorists, as all two year olds are) and been superb (she does get a slight look of confusion like, is someone trying to out-wander me around here or am I imagining it?). She isn’t “needy” for company but clearly enjoys it. A chin scritch or ear rub are always appreciated. We often put a gate up to separate the formal living room (where my WFH set-up is) and she will walk up to it on her travels, but won’t whine or demand to be let through (something she could’ve learned from her foster brother but happily doesn’t seem to want to!). We have not heard her bark once. The only sounds she makes are the click-clack of her nails on our hardwood floors and an occasional gentle snorfling at night.
Because she spends so much of her time wandering and because she doesn’t bark or whine, it can be hard to understand her signals to be let out. We have good luck by being proactive and maintaining a routine. When the weather was nice, we could leave the back door open for her and she could take herself out (alas, not an option in crummier weather). But her ideal forever home will be good at reinforcing her potty-training and understanding of the occasional accident until she gets her bearings.
The only thing I think Popcorn doesn’t really like is pill pockets, which are probably treats for dogs who patrol rather than wander. She is on three meds (general pain management, arthritis, and thyroid) and takes them very happily with a dollop of baby food. She loves breakfast and dinner – if you stand up anytime after 3pm, she will assume this is your opening gambit in dinnertime negotiations and follow you around accordingly. She usually goes to bed around 10 (she usually puts herself to bed in the dog bed we put next to our bed) and wakes up around 6:30 or 7 (she runs back inside from the lawn and skids to a stop by her dog bowl to wait expectantly).
For a dog that loves walking inside so much, she’s not necessarily excited for formal walks (I think the leash and the mostly-linear movements cramp her style). She is happy to be outside, if it’s not raining, but keeps the pace slow and steady (perhaps related to her eyesight, as she hasn’t mapped the outdoors like she has the house). She isn’t an enthusiastic car dog but tolerates car rides just fine. We have the backseat hammock protector, which works great, because it enables her to wander across the seat without falling into the foot well. She is slightly indignant about being stuck in the back and would perhaps prefer car rides where she either has company or is in someone’s lap (we have not tested it since her fussy foster brother rides shotgun with me while my husband drives).
Finally, I want to clarify that photography cannot capture the magnificence of her eyebrows. They are spectacular on levels that can only be understood when you see her in real life.
