While the shelter gave our boy a bath before he came to us, he still smelled like shelter. The rescue coordinator that brought him to us warned it may take a few baths to get past that unique odor. We brought out the big guns, well, not really, just our usual fair and who wouldn't want maximum huggability?
The ol pro went first and showed Sam the ropes..."see Sam, this isn't too bad, AND we get cheese!"
Cheese was indeed helpful, as was having a second set of hands. Sam doesn't like water we learned and we played a game of slippery rodeo dog. He escaped out of the bath in about 30 seconds, but we did get him back in and clean. He learned that the actual bathing part isn't so bad, just a nice good smelling massage. 
We really tried to make it a pawsitive experience for him and I definitely think the cheese helped. Once toweled off, things got even better, as he got to give peanut butter a go in his kong. He REALLY likes peanut butter.
Once we all had some time to recover from baths, we went on our evening stroll to the park. We are still waiting for Tasha and Sam to actually play, but they are really starting to bond. Keeping close to one another on walks.
While we were out, we saw that the neighborhood longhorns were out. Tasha is absolutely fascinated by them and was even bold enough earlier this week (our last solo walk before Sam arrived) to sniff noses with all three. She thought she would introduce Sam to her buddies, but he wasn't so sure about them.
Tasha has a love of "stalking" the bushes and Sam has been quick to copy her. Watching them do this in tandem is absolutely precious.
It brings such joy to my heart to see that the sad, broken spirited eyes that met mine for the first time not even a week ago, have softened to contentment and security.
Man, you almost convince me that I'm ready for a dog again...... almost.
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