Thanks for your comments folks. Yes, we are very fortunate that Boodle has has settled in so well. The first week she would not venture upstairs at all (as everyone knows, the top landing is where the monsters live
).
We don't think she had ever lived in a home with a staircase. Now however, she races upstairs if she hears my voice and of course the stairs are ideal for games
The first week she would not even go near the climbing tree we bought for her. Now she climbs to the top and washes herself whilst keeping an eye on us!. All this may be very familiar to most of you as will the fact that the first two weeks she was constantly crying for food and would clear her dish in one feed. Now she eats some and leaves some for later as she knows that it will be not taken away and she will be fed at regular intervals.
I wish i had some pics of how she looked when first rescued to illustrate how far she has come (thanks are not just due to us, but also to the shelter). She was painfully thin and had lost all the fur on her back along the line of her spine and on part of her tail (if you look closely at some of the pics e.g. the one where she is looking in the shoes) you may just be able to detect small patches of hair loss on her back. Under her fur she was covered in scabs from flea bites and initially we were still clearing ear mites from both ears (we now use Stronghold).
One of her most delightful traits is her constant vocalisation. She always answers us, even when dozing and trots alongside us talking constantly. Her new, favourite chair is my wheelchair - makes life a little difficult for me, but she looks very cosy curled up on the seat (see pics posted earlier)