The Waiting Room

B* asked me to blog about the Boy, so I thought I would tell the story of how Husband and I adopted the Boy.

A month prior to adopting the Boy, our previous dog,
a Catahoula Leopard Dog (click to see what one looks like) died after a noble battle with cancer. We missed having a four legged friend in our lives, and felt the time was right to bring a new friend home.

A local rescue group was holding an adoption day at PETCO. Three were several dogs there, and although all were absolutely adorable, there did not seem to be a connection. Husband saw the Boy first. In a crate, away from the other dogs and barking like crazy, was a young male German Shepard-Lab mix. Husband said “hey, how about this one? He seems like a nice pup.” I came over and looked at his sweet face and big brown eyes and just melted. I read his bio. He was a year old and had been surrendered by his previous owner because his owner felt the dog was no longer cute. It was the classic case of people adopting a puppy because it is cute. But when puppies grow up into dogs, the cute poppy like behavior is no longer cute. So instead of training the dog, these people decided to just give him away.

The rescue coordinator allowed us to take him out on his leash to see if he would respond to us. Well, the Boy would not stop barking at the other dogs. He was more interested in barking than us. The coordinator said that he was the runt of the litter. He was soon adopted by a family that had five small children under the age of six. Sadly, the children were very mean to him. The coordinator went on to say that he was not properly socialized or trained. On the other hand, he is a sweetheart when he is calm. He loves to snuggle and give kisses. She said that he would be ideal for a single person or a couple without children. She said that he needs someone to give him the attention he deserves.

It took almost an hour for the Boy to settle down and interact with us. I could not stop thinking about what the coordinator had said. How could someone treat such a sweet pup like this? I was convinced that I wanted this dog. I knew that if I worked with him, he would become a great dog. Husband was not so sure. He asked me if I wanted to wait a few days to think about it. He thought that the Boy was a nice dog, but he was a little nuts. I told Husband that there was nothing to think about. I wanted to take the Boy home.

So, we adopted the Boy that same day. He seemed happy that he was going home with what he perceived to be nice people. When we brought him home, he came in the house, walked over to the stereo speaker and peed on it! I guess that was his way of saying that he was home.

I immediately enrolled the Boy in basic obedience. I am a firm believer that the best thing that one can do for their dog is proper obedience training. I was amazed on how well the Boy did in obedience training. He definitely has the German Shepard intelligence. He was the top dog in his class. I decided to enroll him in the advance class and he did well there too. Since then, we have been taking dog agility courses. I am hoping that we can begin competing soon.

The Boy has given us so much joy. He is all Lab in the sense that he is sweet and playful. I call him the lovable mush. He is wonderful with children, despite his prior history. I think the training helped. He had the German Shepard intelligence and loyalty. Sometimes he is too smart for his own good! He loves to rough-house with his daddy. And he loves to snuggle with his mommy!

So that’s how the Boy came into my family. I can’t image life without him!