First Official ZaP update

According to my sister DJan, ZaP stands for Zuzu and Petal, so here’s a ZaP Update:

Two and a half weeks so far, and it has been a study in PTSD.

They’re not playing (secretly at night) as much as they did during those first few days. That might have been their way of relieving the worst of their stress, so maybe it’s good the playing has slowed down.

After the first week, Petal developed a urinary tract infection. Our vet had no openings at the time, so the four of us spent about four hours in the local animal hospital. It was a traumatic evening for all of us, but especially for Petal. Getting a urine sample the easy way proved to be impossible, so the hospital had to do it the hard way.

These girls still stick together like glue, and they still spend 99% of their time in their dog bed or in one of the recliners they have adopted, all of which are in the back room that they have claimed as their area of relative safety.

Maybe ten days ago, we added some welded-wire fencing (see photo) to the wrought-iron fence around our back yard, and we occasionally open the sliding glass door to see if they will go out. Then we have to go into the house where they can’t see us. If she can’t see us, Zuzu will sometimes go out. She has explored all of the gardens and the fence lines, and she likes to run across the lawn. Petal stays in the recliner and watches (although today my wife saw Petal stick her head out the door).

If I pick up Petal, Zuzu freaks out (sometimes screams), but then Zuzu will follow as I walk Petal to the grass in the back yard and set her down. Petal trembles like she thinks I’m going to torture her, and both dogs run back into the house when they realize I didn’t kill them. Zuzu won’t stay out there when I’m out there (unless I happen to be holding Petal captive, because Zuzu is Petal’s protector).

We also sometimes leave the door open between their room (the “back room”) and the living and dining areas of our house, and Zuzu has made a few explorative forays into the house. Not enough to rename her to Lewis or Clark, but we’re still encouraged. But again, if she sees us observing her, she makes a bee line for her room.

Our job is to be calm and gentle and patient, and to provide food and replenish their papers. But we are still giant monsters to them. I would guess no one has ever really tried to communicate with them because they don’t seem to know any words, nor do they seem interested in learning. If you speak to them or whistle (gently) or snap your fingers or make any hand gestures, they look at you the same way any wild animals would look at you, and they have no idea what’s expected of them.

Today Zuzu seemed to regress a bit, trembling more in our presence and seeming more frightened of us (to the point that we were worried about numerous possible reasons), but my wife managed to give her some gabapentin and now she’s exploring the back yard again and is hopefully back to her version of normal.

So that’s where we’re at. Not a lot of progress, but it has only been two and a half weeks, and we’re in it for the long haul.

As you can see, Petal still needs a haircut. It’s on our list, but everything is tricky with these girls.