Today was a low key day in the great dog merger: 2008. I rotated the boys and Ana to each have time in the living room/downstairs, outside and in their crates. All seemed to go well. Xander was very good so I let him walk into Ana's room and sniff her through her crate. She seemed okay with that.

Then, of course, Deus wanted a sniff but being more of a bumbling type he overwhelmed her a bit. Then back to the outside they went. Xander watcher Ana through the window but she was unfazed.

At dinnertime, Ledcat sat with Ana on the steps outside of the kitchen doorway which is secured with a babygate. Ana was on the steps, free to leave, enjoying teeny bits of a bacon strip. I brought Deus and Xander into the kitchen for their dinner (enhanced with illicitly good yumminess) and was thrilled that they both dove into dinner after a cursory glance at Ana. She snuggled a bit closer to Ledcat, but stood her ground and peeked around the corner.

Once the bowls were licked clean, I sat on the floor in front of the babygate (on the kitchen side) and slowly gave them teeny pieces of a treat in return for them sitting upon request. They were much more into the food than the Chihuaha. She continued to sit there and eat her own treats. Xander sniffed at her through the babygate, but I did not let him push it to the point that he would scare her or work himself up. After the treats were gone, I took the boys back outside in a very low key manner. Ana lept off the steps and went over to sit on the sofa.

I'm not a trainer, but it does seem like our maintaining a low key vibe and not "over"reacting to their inquisitiveness or hesitancy makes a difference. It certainly gives both of us a sense of control and that has to ooze into the canine vibes.

Just to be on the safe side, we have our trainer from Pawsitive Reactions coming over for a few sessions to help us along the path. We'd rather invest a few dollars on the front end to do things right rather than wait until we have an issue.

Right now, Ana seems to be fine. She's enjoying a Kong up in her room right now. She seems to be the most afraid of Natasha the Calico Cat and will walk big circles to avoid her. Natasha is not imposing so that's very amusing. Deus and Xander are asleep on their dog beds in the living room. Ledcat is going upstairs to hang with Ana and I'll stay down here with the boys.

Pet integration is challenging. It requires a lot of patience, extra rooms and creativity. But we love our pets and really want to make this work. We are resolved, however, that if Ana's welfare is not at its optimum here, then back to the rescue she will go.

I continue to be amazed at how not timid she is. She eagerly greets both of us, comes when we call her and walks right through the cats (except Natasha). She doesn't seem afraid of the dogs, just a bit indifferent. She was fine when our friend Julie came over. So there's lots of room for optimism.

I listened to the song that makes me think of Mona .. Pink's "Who Knew"... and it was the first time it didn't make me cry. Which made me cry. I'm tearing up thinking about it. Ana isn't Mona, but she does fill a teensy bit of the void.

And, oh the kisses!