Serendipity (CH Triple H A Perfect Jewell) - Sera for short is the newest Corgi to join our family. She is a six year old retired show champion. Two days after we said goodbye to Monkey, I was at the dog shows in Greensboro to help a friend with her Cardigan Welsh Corgis. I started researching Cardigan breeders after Dash passed away in 2020 and took a piece of my heart with him. I was not ready for another red Pembroke any time soon and we knew Monkey wouldn't be with us forever (she was 15.5 when she passed). Mike kept asking if I was sure I didn't want another Pembroke and I didn't have the energy to start researching and contacting Pembroke Breeders. I've been away from dog shows for over a decade as Gus grew up and spent my time and spare change on hockey and lacrosse.
Sunday I arrived early enough to watch the Pembrokes show and was happy to see friends from years ago at the ring. While catching up with Debbie Cox (Triple H Corgis), I mentioned we were dogless for the first time in 16 years. And, I promise, at that moment ended up with dust or dog hair or something in my eye which made me start to tear up. I promise. Debbie asked if we might be interested in an adult who had just been returned to her. I said I would check with Mike and be in touch. I tried to play it cool, but ended up calling her on Monday to set up a time that we could meet her. The following Saturday we drove to Virginia to see Debbie and meet Sarah Jane. We came home with our sweet girl that afternoon. Debbie warned me that the woman who returned her said "she is stubborn and refuses to learn." My response was, I just need to figure out what her language is.
I had a huge list of names to try out as we have several Sara(h)s in our circle already. Ultimately, we decided on Sera (so that at least in writing we can tell everyone apart) as connecting with her was an act of Serendipity.
Mike and Gus kept telling me it wasn't fair to her to change her name. Truthfully, it would have been fine. Mike actually rarely gets her name right, mostly calling her Monkey, sometimes Dash and once (that I've heard) Gus. By the end of the second week, I was wondering if I should have gone with Poppin (for Mary Poppins) as she was practically perfect in every way. For two weeks she didn't bark, never broke a show dog trot - even in the yard, and was painfully well behaved. She came to us not knowing how to play with toys. She also refused to take food or treats from my hand. This was a bit concerning to me as I would like to compete in dog sports with her. I thought that she just wasn't food motivated (very unusual if you know Corgis - they are walking stomachs). Then I accidentally dropped a treat and she grabbed it - so the problem wasn't the treat as much as the delivery method.
I kept introducing squeaky toys and floppy toys to see if there was something that would peak her interest. One night she grabbed floppy fox and took off down the hall. I wanted to reinforce this behavior so I followed with a handful of cookies, and in her excitement over the toy, she actually ate from my hand! Over the next few days her play sessions increased as did her confidence taking food from me. Now we could really put our obedience class homework in action.
About three weeks in, I finally heard her bark. A very gentle "wuff." Four deer came at us out of the woods. She looked at them, wuffed once, and we continued our walk. She is not a frequent barker, but I'm no longer allowed to sleep in if she wants to get up. She will come wuff at me until I let her out. As I do want to reinforce her asking to go out, I'm okay with that. I'm less okay with the wuffs that occur while I'm on a zoom call for work.
She has taken over the cave under my cutting table and often keeps my company while I'm working and quilting.
Though she would prefer that I spend less time in front of the computer and more time with her. She is a welcome addition to our home.
1 comment:
LOVE that playful outdoor photo!
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