It’s been a little while since we shared an update on our little Fifi — otherwise known as Fifi the food thief.

People often ask how she’s going.

The honest answer is… she is healing, but it is slow.

Fifi recently had her vet check and our lovely vet, Dr Rachel, had a few concerns about her teeth. Because she had several missing teeth, we went ahead with dental X-rays and a dental procedure.

What they found was heartbreaking.

Nine teeth had never erupted. She had two fractured teeth, two decayed molars, and one tooth had broken with the roots exposed. Anyone who has ever had nerve or root pain will know how incredibly painful that would have been.

Five teeth had to be removed. The rest were scaled and polished.

And this is in a two-year-old dog.

The teeth that never came through were most likely linked to her mum being a puppy farm dog herself. It is hard not to think that during pregnancy she probably wasn’t given the nutrition she needed. When dogs are treated as breeding machines, their health becomes secondary to what they can produce.

Despite all of that, Fifi is physically a healthy little girl.

Emotionally, though, she still carries so much fear.

She still darts away if you move in her direction. She will only go as far as the garden before rushing back inside. Outside feels far too big and far too frightening for her right now.

And that is okay.

I have no intention of pushing her.

If I need to get her into the car, it can take 15 minutes just to gently get her harness on. When I finally have to pick her up, she goes into complete panic. Her whole little body trembles and she will often urinate in fear.

That kind of fear does not come from nowhere.

It comes from a life where she never felt safe.

A life where she had no choice.

A life where survival came before comfort, trust, or love.

Her journey is not an easy one. Some wounds don’t leave scars you can see, but they are there all the same.

But then there are the moments that make your heart catch.

In the evenings, Fifi now jumps up onto the couch with us. She is the first one to grab her kangaroo tendon and race over to join the others.

And at bedtime, she absolutely flies upstairs and onto the bed — like Speedy Gonzales on steroids!

Those tiny moments might not seem like much.

But for a little dog who once lived in fear of the world, they are enormous.

We let Fifi tell us who she wants to be.

No expectations. No pressure. No forcing her to be brave before she is ready.

Just patience, kindness, safety, and love.

And every day, in her own quiet way, she shows us that she is trying 💕