[elbykitty]

My Lilly is from a shelter and was 8 months when I got her and had spent 4 months at the shelter. So half of her short life by the time I got her. She was 30 lbs underweight and was afraid of everything. I did use an anti-anxiety drug only for big occasions and travel since it was so stressful for her. But only on those occasion. I worked more with behavior and started giving treats for non fear behavior. And ignored the scared behavior. She was petrified of men so we would go to the park or walks and I would ask men to give her treats. Eventually she started to relate men with good things. But this took a lot of time. It takes a while for our babies to heal. Funny getting Oscar has been the biggest and best thing I could do for her anxiety. Since there is some imagined competition for treats,food,toys,attention she has really had to approach things more to get what she wants. And started to realize that there is a lot more good things to being brave then hiding. Oscar has helped her get over some things in the last 2 years that I thought she would never get over. Of course she is still afraid of some things but she does not hide and drool anymore. So that is good. Sorry I babble. But it touches my heart that you took in this poor baby. And Buster is lucky to have you...