slater is officially totally unpacked and has settled in well. after a few days of pack unrest things just fell into place and now it seems like he's been here forever. i was a bit of a wreck in the beginning - having had to rehome violet scarred me and left me questioning whether we could ever successfully add another dog. my inclination would have been for our next addition to be a puppy to ease slowly into the transition but life doesn't always allow for those choices...and there slater was. we didn't make it any easier on ourselves with him since his second return to the shelter was due to "aggression" but, come on, nobody should have to be adopted out of a shelter more than once so home he went with us. i won't lie, in the beginning i saw the reason for his aggressive labelling - he's got poor impulse control and would growl and lunge at the drop of a hat but that's where it stops...he's got nothing to back it up. as he got more comfortable here those episodes got fewer and fewer and now he's a peaceful member of the family. more than likely if his first adopters had given him a little time and patience they would have gotten to spend their life with this fantastic guy...their loss.
he's really a sweet, easy-going, loving guy and he loves to play so he's a fantastic fit for carly and gang. he's just got this one, um, thing...his expression never changes. i mean never.changes. is he happy, is he sad, is he excited...um, not sure. he just keeps looking at you with the same flat expression. fortunately in a dog it's just a little off-putting but to be honest in a person the same constant expression would leave you thinking "serial killer." for slater i like to soften the term a little...
