What are black bucket days you might wonder? Well, that’s what we do with the little ones that are really still not too sure of people and have no idea what to expect from them. They may be curious, or they may be terrified, but the bottom line is they really don’t know what to expect. Black bucket days are just short periods of time we spend sitting on an upturned bucket, or step stool, making no demands and just sharing space. So, since Calvin and Hobbes were knew to us, (having recently arrived from foster), we spent a lot of time just hanging out with them - no intention, no demands, no imposed interaction - we just hung out in their space with them without being invasive or threatening. Barely looking at them, just being present. It didn’t take long for their curiosity to get the better of them and before long they were approaching, sniffing and backing up to consider the latest info. It wasn’t soon after that, that we were able to touch, pet and eventually groom Hobbes - he’s very much the extrovert of the two and also very supportive of Calvin’s much shyer nature. Plus, he totally loves being groomed! All that long hair and itchy spots definitely need scratching.

So today, we enjoyed our first hands on communication with Calvin and Hobbes that they initiated and we enjoyed very much. Baby steps and building blocks are paving the way to their future. And the really cool thing was, no carrots or treats were involved - an incredibly huge step for these two guys in their new surroundings!

Just a quick addition to the above - this did not happen within a few hours or minutes, this was time spent with Calvin and Hobbes over a period of days, if not a week - the end result was very special and a big step forward changing our relationship with them completely and instilling just a little more confidence in them and a feeling of safety in their new surroundings. Great to see!