This is our sweet girl, Sugar. We weren't planning on getting another dog, but Sugar made her way into our life through her adoption of Prin. I volunteer a lot at the Chippewa County Animal Shelter in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Prin came from there as a young pup. As Prin got older I was taking her to the shelter with me. Sugar came to the shelter as one of a litter of wild 4 month old pups trapped by the animal control officers. The pups were kept at the shelter 4 months in attempts to socialize them. Sugar's two brothers were able to achieve a level of trust in humans to where they were described as shy. They were eventually adopted. Sugar as a reluctant pack leader with stronger wild instincts couldn't seem to get beyond a fearful tolerance of being in close proximity to people. She was adopted twice, however, and both times quickly returned to the shelter. During this time Prin (who is very domininant) and Sugar (who is very skittish) had been playing together at the shelter. Prin's dominance bolstered Sugar's confidence in the world of people, and Sugar's wild sense of pack orderliness seemed to regulate Prin into a calmer state. I decided to bring Sugar home to see how she behaved in a home, and gain some insights as to why she was being returned to the shelter. I quickly learned that she was like living with a coyote! She paced nervously from room to room almost constantly. Everything was new to her and scary. She tried to cram herself into the smallest spaces to hide. Approaching her was an exercise in caution. Despite this, there was something wild and beautiful about her interaction with Prin, and she captivated our fascination as in watching any wild creature. It's taken us awhile to earn her trust, but we've been adopted! We look forward to our life with her, and her unique perspective during our travels.
