I've never been one to want to force people to trust me, or even manipulate them into it. It's something I feel I have to earn. This goes double for animals.

When we brought Vree home, we really failed him. I still feel awful about it. When he was given to us, he was covered in fleas. Winter had never had fleas and we really just weren't sure what to do with the situation. We tried flea bombs, Borax, baths, drops from PetSmart, you name it, trying to find a solution. Half the problem was every time we got rid of them with the bombs, the neighbor's dog (that mostly ran free outside) would go to sleep in front of our door again and the apartment would refill. The other half is we didn't know about Advantage yet. We got a free sample from the vet when we took Winter in for her shots, and even with just dosing one, we eliminated a lot of fleas. It took us a few months to save up enough to dose both of them and keep them dosed.

But those months wasted trying other things, and the months where we had to save up for it, were really rough on him. Winter didn't mind as much, but Vree has a flea allergy which makes even one bite really hard on him. He would barely get down on the ground, preferring the backs of chairs and counter tops where there were less fleas hiding than the carpet. It got so bad before the end that he was chewing himself open and we were having to bandage him up. I think because of the lack of sleep, and the constant pain, he became afraid and neurotic (who wouldn't?) When we very first brought him home he was affectionate, but over time it got to where he didn't want to be around anyone, and was afraid of almost everything.

We were young and stupid but we should have just taken him to the vet from the start.

So, we've been flea-free for years now, though in the middle of summer we'll have to dose them for a few months, usually, to prevent his flea-breakouts (yay, Florida). Like I said, just one bite and he gets a reaction - awful scabs and rashes all over, hair falling out, etc.

Occasionally, over the years, he'd sleep in bed with us at our feet, or sit at our feet to be rubbed with a foot, or - if you sat down on the ground - curl up just within reach so you could pet him. Sometimes he'd even rest against me, if I sat on the ground, but never on me.

On Thanksgiving he was sitting beside the bed and I picked him up to spend some family time with the rest of us, leaned over him and petted him for probably a half hour. By the end he'd rolled on his back so I could pet his tummy. Today, he was sitting the arm of the couch by where I always sit, and when I sat down - he didn't move away. Normally if you came anywhere near him he'd scurry off. He stayed there for a while, with me petting him, then turned around and got right in my face while I petted him, and eventually - crawled onto me while I petted him! Right where he used to lay as a baby kitten before the fleas made him nuts!

We're finally regaining his trust, I think. He's still jumpy, but getting less so, and when Shawn came home and banged against the door to unlock it, he scratched me in the process of jumping down, afraid, but there's real progress going on.

Maybe one day he'll figure out how much we love him, and how sorry we are for the way we let him down.