Who Rescued Who
Some people think that dogs in a shelter are “broken” dogs, with bad behaviors that can’t be fixed… and that they need to get their pup from a breeder to ensure that they get a “good” dog, but our first shelter dog proved that theory dead wrong.
I told you how Johnny, our childhood snow white fluffy toy poodle, was my “furr-st” love. But, he was not the one who changed my career and life journey.
That task was accomplished by our first “baby”: Ringo
My wife and I talked for years about adopting a dog… and, although at that time we weren’t as involved with dog rescuing like we are today, we both knew that we wanted our first pup to be rescued from a shelter.
We had no idea what breed, size, or personality we were really looking for… except, that we couldn’t have a “bully breed” at that time due to landlord’s restrictions.
For months we would look up online for available dogs around the Pittsburgh area, waiting for the “perfect” dog to come along and, quite honestly, for the perfect timing as we were both graduate students.
In April of 2010 we came across the profile for this shaggy, scruffy looking dog and he immediate grabbed our attention… He had been found as a stray in the Atlanta area, and was transferred to Pittsburgh after about a month.
The rescue had no background information on him…
“Potty trained?” – we are not sure
“Crate trained?” – hard to know
“Age?” – around 2 years old, but who knows for sure
The only information they really had was that he was “food aggressive” because he did not like when they tried to take his food bowl away. But, can you blame him? He had just spent a full day in a van from Atlanta to Pittsburgh!
We took him home, got him a well-deserved grooming appointment, and then we all looked at each other wondering “now what?”. We were first-time dog parents, and we learned as much from him as he did from us…
He quickly learned to walk somewhat nicely on the leash, basic commands, and the life of a city dog… we learned that he wasn’t really “food aggressive” after hand-feeding him for a week, and that he was very “talkative” during his obedience classes.
It also turned out that he was already potty trained and loved to spend time on his crate… sleeping through the whole night the very first time!
As it turned out, Ringo actually taught us one of the best lessons we have ever learned about raising pets…rescued dogs are just like any other dog looking for love and affection, along with their forever home.
Their past is not their fault… but their future is on our hands. So give them a chance. Set expectations free. And be open for a life-changing experience.
~TheK9PT
Dr. Francisco Maia, PT, DPT, CCRT