Paws and Prayers Rescue Blog

Uh, hi.  He-hello there.  I am Yama.  Pa-Pa-Paws and Prayers is featuring me this month so you can learn more about me.  I, uh, I'm not too sure what all to tell ya.  They, they told me you might like to know what my favorite things are and what my typical day is like.  I hope you like my story.  My foster mom says we're, uh, we're working on my conf-confidence.  Well here goes . . .

So, well, I'm with my Pa-Paws and Prayers foster family - a great family with th-three kids and two d-dogs of their own.  I LOVE my foster mom.  I hear her alarm clock go off  and I'm up, I'm up and ready to start the day.  I help my foster mom get up and ready for the day, too.  She'll reach for her snooze button as I nuzzle her neck.  She ends up mumbling something about me not having a snooze button and gets up to let me outside on my tie out.

I love to be outside and like my tie out.  A fenced yard would be great and all, but uh, well, I uh jump four-foot fences like it's no big deal.  Well it isn't a big deal for me, I can jump it real good.  But as mom says, the tie out is safest for me.  And I'm fine with it, I can still play with the other dogs.  I LOVE playing with other dogs so much.  We either take the play back inside or I wear myself out and take a break on the love seat.
Now after all that play I've worked up my appetite.

While I may not be confident and as sure of myself as I should be, there's one thing I know for sure - I cannot have my breakfast without warm water.  If my foster mom forgets to put warm water on my food I won't eat it until there is.  After 3 months so far with her, I've uh, I've got her trained pretty well, she almost never forgets anymore.

When I've finished my breakfast, it's back outside before everyone heads off to work and school for the day.  This is def-definitely my least favorite part of the day.  Because I have some uh, some separation anxiety I do need to go in a, a crate.  When left out I get into stuff I know I'm not supposed to, chew on things that are not supposed to be chewed on . . . Well, I don't let a crate stop me from trying to relieve my stress like that.  I am very crafty and am able to move my crate to get into stuff.  My foster family has outsmarted me now though and keeps my crate on carpet so I can't move it.

Everyone eventually d-does come back home and I get to go back outside!  I play and play the night away with the other dogs.  Sometimes I'll rest on the love seat but usually I'm playing!  With everyone running around doing the evening things they do, I typically stay out of the way and keep to myself when I'm not playing with my dog friends.

Things start settling down as the night goes and once the kids go to bed I get some one-on-one time with my foster mom.  I get to cuddle up and lay beside on her the couch.  I'm, uh, I'm not too sure about my f-foster d-dad still.  For the first couple months, I avoided him at all costs and would run the other way if I saw him coming.  I'm a lover not a fighter.  I do not show any signs of aggression when I'm afraid.  No s-snarls, growls, or c-curled lips.  N-nothing like that.  I'll just work to avoid whatever it is.  I don't know why I'm scared around my f-foster dad, I just am.  N-now, I'm a little more comfortable being around him but still not comfortable enough to approach him.

My lover not a fighter take on things makes me a good watch dog too.  If I hear someone at the door, I bark to let you know.  But my job ends there.  If they come in, I hide.

Well, anyway, after a day of playing and eating and then cuddling with my foster mom, it's time for bed.  I get to sleep in my foster parents bedroom.  S-sometimes I'll try to squeeze into bed with them but I have a bed of my own in there that I love.

This, this h-helping you learn more about me isn't as hard as I th-thought.  What else . . . Um oh, my favorite toy is, uh, another dog . . . I uh I really, really like to play with other dogs.  Usually dogs say their favorite toy is a ball or a bone.  I uh, I do like to chew on Nyla bones from time to time, but that's uh p-pretty much it.

I do like to go for walks.  I get very excited.  But loud t-t-trucks and cars p-passing by or, uh, a stranger walking by frighten me some.  My foster mom is always giving the reassurance I need to know that everything's okay, that I'm allowed to be there and so is everyone else and everything will be alright.

My mom says I have p-po-potential for the right family.  We'll keep working on my confidence but I, uh, I need a family with patience.  As you've learned I do, uh, I take a while to warm up.  So at first you may not find me to be cuddly and loving.  But as I settle in and you work with me on my terms, you'll earn a best friend for life.

If you would like know more about and/or meet Yama please see his listing on Paws & Prayers Adoptable Dogs and fill out an adoption application for Yama today!