Susie

You know me,  I always seem to have positive experiences with each dog though none of them are perfect - till now!  Meet Susie, she's as close as it gets ;  you'll just have to read on and reach your own conclusion.  She's somewhere between one and two, mostly miniature poodle but I'm guessing there is some Bedlington Terrier in her DNA since she looks a lot like a little lamb. 

Susie was super friendly and bouncing excitedly  but settled quickly as I got her harnessed and ready for her first volunteer outing of the day at about 1:30.  The exercise yard came first for stretching, sniffing and general prancing around.  For a bouncy young dog she quickly settled down once again as soon as I told her it was time to get her harness back on so we could begin our walk.  Off we went.

She did the usual sniffing, that every dog does but as we continued I noticed that she was trotting along beside me (slack leash)  and staying mentally connected by looking up at me every few seconds (video).  Except for a few sniff stops, this is the way Susie walks on the leash with no prompting.  I stopped a couple of times and she stood patiently, looking up for cues.  At one stop, I sat on a bench and invited her up; she immediately hopped up, laid down beside me snuggling close and, once again, waited to see what I wanted her to do.

We had another stop in the exercise yard on our return for some basic obedience checks.  She's very good at come, sit and shake (paw).  She was again easily harnessed as I readied her to return to her kennel.  She calmly laid down her bed as soon as she was back inside.  One characteristic I find so appealing is her calm, solid demeanor, somewhat unusual for a young small dog in her current situation.  She is one of the dogs from an over crowded shelter in California so nothing is known of her background.  She is going to be some lucky person's most wonderful friend and soul mate, let's hope it is soon.