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OPERATION SWEETHEARTS UPDATE: PETE
We are dog lovers and already had two dogs. We had toyed with the idea of getting a third dog, but we had always talked ourselves out of it. However, when I looked through the pictures of the dogs who were brought to the Bowling Green Humane Society, I saw a little face that I knew needed to come home with us. “Colton F85” had the biggest, saddest eyes that just spoke to me. From the picture, I thought he was a poodle mix, and I thought he would be a good fit since one of the dogs we already had was a poodle mix.
We went to the Humane Society, and I described the picture I had seen. They said we were welcome to walk the hallway where the kennels are to see if we saw the dog we were looking for. As we walked down the hall, all thedogs were clamoring for our attention. We came to a kennel with three small, white, terrified dogs. I saw “Colton” and said to my husband, “That’s him.” On cue, “Colton” growled at me! The only dog there who growled at me, and he was the one I wanted!! (On a side note, he has never growled at us since!)
We took him into the meet and greet room, and he was so afraid that he was shaking violently the whole time. As we held him longer, he started to calm down more. We set him down, and he proceeded to walk over and pee on the food stored on the shelves! Looking back at this rocky start (the growling and peeing!), it’s funny that we never once doubted that he was ours. A day or two later, we brought our other two dogs to the Humane Society to see how they would all interact together. They basically ignored each other, but we proceeded with the adoption. We took “Colton” home the next day and renamed him Pete.
Everything was so new to him. He didn’t know how to go up and down stairs. He would freeze and plant himself if we put him on a leash. He wouldn’t eat treats. We even tried a spoonful of peanut butter, and he wouldn’t even get close enough to us to smell it. Later that week, we had to take him back to the Humane Society to be neutered (and he was cryptorchid). When we brought him back home, his new “brothers” (our other two dogs) suddenly adopted him. It was as if they could sense how vulnerable he was. They would lick his wounds, clean his ears, lay with him, etc.
Today, a little over a year later, it turns out that Pete is actually a Bichon. He was so skinny when we got him that you couldn’t tell, but as he has gotten healthier, the vet thinks he is 100% Bichon. He has come so far. He loves to cuddle on the couch, and he no longer turns down treats (far from it!). He loves to eat, which is understandable after being so malnourished, and we are greeted every morning by a “breakfast dance” from an excited Pete! He loves to go to the dog park, and jumps up and down now when he sees his leash come out. He cuddles with his brother dogs every day, and he has never met a squeaky toy he doesn’t like! He is the gentlest dog despite the abuse he endured.
We are so grateful for Pete, and he is a true example that love and patience win!
The Blackerby Family
2 Comments for OPERATION SWEETHEARTS UPDATE: PETE
Mindy | April 4, 2013 at 10:14 pm
Brittany Blackery | April 6, 2013 at 2:42 pm
No, the Schnauzer was from a breeder, and the poodle/beagle mix was a “rescue” from a distant family member who’s young kids were kicking him. :(. We are hooked on Humane Society dogs now, though!
We’re your other 2 dogs from humane center also?