Yaara

Two days after returning to the States, I fulfilled my wish for the year of getting a dog. I headed down to the Kent County Humane Society and took home this timid shepherd/lab mix. He had come into the shelter a few days previously from a neglect situation. He's about 10 months old, but had spent his whole life chained up and had no idea about anything in the world. So, he spent the first day learning what a leash was, how to go up and down stairs, and how to get into and out of a car. Basically, he's a totally ignorant puppy in the body of a nearly full-grown dog. I named him Yaara, which means "loyal friend" in Hindi; I'm sure he will live up to his name. He was pretty timid at first, but super sweet and friendly, so I decided that my first order of business was to build his confidence in the world and teach him how to play, run, and enjoy life. Luckily, my parents 5 year old German Shepherd was a good teacher in how to be a guard dog. When my sister's 2 year old Portie came to visit, Yaara chased her away! I think he just wanted to play with her, but didn't know how to ask, since the only dog he's ever played with is the aforementioned very dominant Shepherd. After the interaction below, all three dogs became fast friends and rolled around in the backyard together for about an hour.