My dog Cinnamon is definitely a big ABR success story. She came to me almost 8 yrs ago thru ABR volunteer Shelli Ray. I can only say that I am very fortunate Cinnamon knew we were a match and picked me to be her forever home. For I could not have predicted the joy she would bring and all the fun times we would have together.
At the time I had a young brittany (Winchester) at home who had been sad for quite some time over the loss of his older friend. He loved to take care of others and was missing one that had been in his care. Also, while we ran every day and practiced agility Winchester- being 2 was still in need of a playmate. My husband was away a lot on business and left me to take care of the properties and critters which left little extra time. We had visited some other brittanys and were pondering over them when it was suggested we meet Cinnamon. We went to Cinnamon’s foster home to see how everyone got along. The dogs got along well and Cinnamon liked me right away. Shelli said she had not seen Cinnamon warm up to someone so quickly. I figured it had something to do with the treats in my pocket but she said others had had treats as well. Next step was for Cinnamon to visit us in our home. She jumped in our pond and would not get out and did not want to leave. To me it seemed to be a good fit and Shelli, her daughter and Cinnamon all seemed to know just how perfect this would turn out.
When Cinnamon first came to our home she would hide under the furniture when you got home and wait to see what would happen to Winchester. She was not good with men in general and was very leery of my husband who loved to pet dogs. After about 3 days of feeding her and petting her she decided not all guys were bad. It took her about 3 months to stop hiding under the furniture when you first came in. We had many challenges. Winchester introduced her to the horses and showed her they were harmless. Cinnamon “tom sawyered” him out of the front seat of the car and many other prime spots. He really took her under his wing and showed her everything was all right. I was not going to do the agility with Cinnamon but after watching Winchester once she showed me she was capable of doing everything.
Cinnamon is now the happiest dog I have ever seen. Every day she is full of sunshine, kisses and love. She not only is an agility champion but a favorite in the agility community and all love to watch her run around the ring wagging her tail on all the equipment and making loud laughing noises ( It’s not barking). She entertains all and gets the whole class stirred up. She is always smiling and people are always wanting to see her. She loves playing interactive games with you and on cold nights she loves to snuggle and will take your hand and make you pet her. When she wants something Winchester has such as a bone she uses her feminine guile to make Winchester jealous and give up the bone – which she promptly takes over. When my husband got very ill she would check on him constantly and is now not afraid of any guy. Now instead of hiding she happily greets you in a play bow wagging her tail. And the best thing is you know she is wagging her tail with her heart and truly loves life. There are no bad days- because all you have to do is go home and see Cinnamon and a bad day is good and a good day is even better. She can make you laugh every day. I am so fortunate Cinnamon knew from that very first meet we were meant to be her forever home. We do so many fun things and she is a quick learner. She loves to be the star of the show. Also, I would like to thank Shelli Ray, the ABR foster volunteer, whom I felt really put some time and effort into Cinnamon and teaching her the basics to make her a successful candidate for a forever home.
