Real Rescue Dogs Are Talking…B4TC
HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!
LIFE CHANGING INTERVIEWS WITH SAVANNAH
A Bi-Monthly Series Featuring Adult Rescue Dogs and Cats
Oh Dog! Do I have another fine canine furriend to introduce you to today. And I know today is our B4TC post day. And this is my contribution…hope you approve…
You already know his little brother because he has been my interview guest before. In fact, his fur bro’ was my very first canine interview!
Remember who that was???…huh???…Do you???…Know whose home we are going to visit again??
Well, first let’s give a warm welcome to my interview guest for today…he has been so very brave to step forward because, well, he is just a bit shy…but he just luvluvluvs company…
PURRLEASE HELP ME WELCOME
BABY BOY!!
He is Chancy’s big brother, from over at Chancy The Gardner!!
APAWS!!! APAWS!!! APAWS!!!
Savannah: Hiya Baby Boy!…Meowsie, seems pretty silly when I say that ‘cuz you are certainly not a ‘baby’ doggie! Thank you for coming over to have a bark and meow with me.
Baby Boy: Hey, Savannah! Wow! I was so excited when Mumsy told me you were going to interview me. I know Chancy was tickled to be asked as your very first ever Real Rescue Dogs Are Talking interview. So now I get to come and tell my story. You can tell that our Mumsy and Popsy are softies really kind peeps!
Savannah: Baby Boy, would you share with all of us how you arrived in your furrever home?
Baby Boy: Well, Savannah, the family I lived with before Mumsy and Popsy moved away and they didn’t take me with them.
Our nice Vet said I am a chocolate Lab (I look black unless I am in the sun though) and that I was around 18 to 20 months old when I was left behind. My other daddy came back and gave me food for a while after they moved but stopped after a week or so.
I lived across the road from Mumsy and Popsy but I did not know them. Mumsy watched me look for my family and I wanted so much for them to come back and get me. I would run after every pickup I saw thinking it was my family and they would stop and pick me up. Mumsy cried every day when she saw me do that. I would run a long way behind every pickup and then I would turn around and go back to the carport when the pickup never stopped. I looked sad and I moaned and cried a lot.
My family had left lots of things in the trashcan. After my daddy stopped coming to feed me I looked in the trash can for food. I licked every can and paper, I was so hungry. That is when Mumsy knew I was not getting fed.
I pulled some toys out of the trash can and a big blanket. I slept on the blanket on the ground near the toys. I had a dog house but I didn’t get in it very much. I just kept laying and sleeping on the blanket by the toys and trashcan.
Savannah:…Yeowsie Meowsies! Baby Boy! I cannot believe someone would just leave you all alone after you were such a good family member…(Savvy reaches over to give Baby Boy a soft nose touch…then stops)…ummmm…Baby Boy, would you mind if I give you a little nose touch just to let you know I “SEE” you and know you deserve better than that…is it ok??
Baby Boy: Oh sure Savvy…I really have always been a good dog…I don’t know why I was abandoned like that…I was very depressed…(gives a little soft snuff of appreciation when Savvy touches noses)…
Ahem…Ok, now where were we…oh yes…
Mumsy and Popsy tried to get me to come to them but I was afraid and I wouldn’t go near them. Popsy put water under the carport where I stayed and left me food every day. Mumsy would call me to their fence each afternoon and give me a milk bone. It took her several minutes each day to get me to the fence. I would not let her touch me but I grabbed the bone from her hand through the fence and then took the milk bone and run back across the road.
Three weeks passed and Mumsy had an idea. She and Popsy asked the man who owned the house if they could have my doghouse. The man was happy that they wanted me and gladly gave them my house. They moved the dog house over to their place and placed it outside their fence. They didn’t know how I would do with their dog, Angel (bows head in sadness…Angel ran OTRB just a short while back)…so they didn’t want to take me to the backyard yet.
They put food and water beside the dog house and my blanket inside. They watched to see if I would come across the road and get in the dog house. I did not go until late that afternoon but I finally felt it was safe to go and I started sleeping in my dog house. I wanted to be where my blanket was because it smelled like my family.
Savannah: Mouses! Baby Boy, that was so clever of your Mumsy to do that! Having your family smells was something familiar you could keep in your memory and it must have made you feel safer…
Baby Boy: It did Savvy, really, it did.
After a few days Mumsy tried to get me to go in the yard but I would not go. She did not force me so I kept sleeping in my house outside the yard. On the following weekend she and Popsy again opened the gate and called to see if I would come in. I still did not want to go inside. Mumsy got my blanket and took it in the yard and then she and Popsy took my house inside the fence. I stood next to the road and watched what they were doing.
After they left my house near the back fence and put my blanket inside it they called me. I slowly went to my house and got on my blanket. A few days later they put me and my house in the backyard. Angel and I had been getting along okay through the fence so Mumsy felt it was safe to put us together. I have been here with Mumsy and Popsy now about 9 years.
Savannah: Baby Boy, What has the toughest part for you when you first tried to settle in with Mumsy and Popsy? I think what our readers would like to know is what kept you from showing your REAL SELF right away?
Baby Boy: I did not know how Mumsy and Popsy were going to treat me, I only knew my other family and I cried and howled for my other family. I would growl and threaten to bite if anyone got near me while I was eating. Angel and I would fight over any little morsel of food.
I didn’t want anybody to touch me or get too close to me. I stood back away from everyone so they couldn’t hurt me. Mumsy thinks that was because someone was mean to me when I walked the neighborhood and ran behind the pickups looking for my family. I had a sore leg and hip so she knew something had happened to me shortly after my family moved away.
Savannah: Baby Boy, I just want you to know, you never ever did anything to deserve having peeps treat you badly. If it isn’t too hard, can you describe some of the ways you and Mumsy and Popsy worked together to help get you into your recovery and try to overcome your issues or challenges.
Baby Boy: Feeding me and Angel became a problem that had to be taken care of immediately. You see, I have always been an outdoor dog. I never lived in the house and I am really very happy living outside, with my house and my special, special blanket.
Of course, Mumsy didn’t want us to fight so she told Popsy they would have to separate us when we ate. I got to go in the front yard when we ate our dinner and when we got our milk bones. That plan worked out very well.
Savannah: I know some cats who don’t like to have other cats near when they eat…that was a wise plan Mumsy and Popsy had.
Baby Boy: For many weeks after I came to live with Mumsy and Popsy I would look across the road to my other home and cry and howl. If someone drove up in the driveway I would cry and bark to let them know I wanted to get out so I could go over and see if my family had come back for me. Mumsy and Popsy would talk to me and comfort me as best they could. It was not until after I felt safe enough to let them start patting me that I finally stopped crying and howling for my other family.
I was very afraid of anything with a long handle like brooms, rakes and shovels. Mumsy and Popsy showed me that they will not hurt me with any of these things so I am not so afraid now. Sometimes though if they are raking near the fence I growl and back away. Mumsy talks to me softly while holding the rake and assures me it is okay but I still stand back from the fence until they are finished raking. One day not long ago I let her pat me while she held the rake. She told me she was proud of me and that was great progress. And Savannah, remember, I have been here for over 5 years, I am nine years old…and I am still learning new things!
I didn’t do much for the first month or so after coming to live with Mumsy and Popsy. Angel kept trying to get me to play with her toys and ball but I was not interested. I loved my blanket and I didn’t want anything to do with toys or balls. After a while I started running and tussling with Angel and we had a lot of good times after that. Angel was a good buddy to me and she helped me a lot to know I was safe and would have a good home with Mumsy and Popsy. I would not let Mumsy and Popsy pat me or touch me for a long time. They just kept talking to me in soft, assuring voices and eventually I learned to trust them. Now I can’t get enough pats and rubs. Mumsy says I am just a big ole teddy bear.
Savannah: Baby Boy…you are most fortunate doggie to have Mumsy and Popsy take time to let you feel safe. Bark a little more about some of the success, like letting Mumsy and Popsy pet you, you have had in adjusting.
Baby Boy: I no longer gobble my food and I am not as protective over it as I was. I trust people a lot more and love to be patted and my ears rubbed. I even love it when Mumsy puts on my flea treatment and I stand real still for her. I no longer cry and howl for my other family. My recovery has been very successful. Mumsy says it is because I am so good and such a sweet dog. She also says that having my dog house and blanket helped tons and that was a big plus in helping with my rescue and recovery. I want to please Mumsy and Popsy and I love being with them now.
Savannah: Baby Boy, Last question, can you offer any advice to our readers to help them support their adult rescue dog, or one they may be thinkin’ about bringing into their home, through its recovery process?
Baby Boy: Don’t give up no matter how long it takes. Some of us have been through unimaginable things and it will just take time. Be patient, kind and loving. Mumsy says a little stubbornness even helps. It is okay to cry too, Mumsy cried with me and she thinks that helped me. Be willing to make sacrifices and do things you may not have done before to make it all better for your rescue dog or cat.
Savannah: Baby Boy, This was great! Any last thought or words of wisdom you want to share?
Baby Boy: You go one mile for us dogs and we will go twenty for you. We will be your best friend and protect you with all that’s in us for the rest of our life. You rescuing us, loving us and caring for us will be rewarded more than you could ever imagine.
Thank you and bless all of you who have rescued a dog or cat. Thank you for reading my story and big hugs and nose kisses Savannah for interviewing me.
Savannah:…Oh Baby Boy…wait a sec’…(turns away to wipe leaky eyes, to wipe dripping nose)…Ok, thanks…I want to say a proper ‘thank you’ to you for being so brave to come woof and meow with me…peeps think we dogs and cats don’t share a common language…but we do. We share the language of furramily furriendship…thank you so much Baby Boy…
Oh, be sure to give my pal Chancy some nose rubs!! And give Mumsy and Popsy some head bonks, I know they like those! MOL
That’s my January Life Changing Interview with Savannah: Real Rescue Dogs Are Talking. I hope you found encouragement, tips for helping your adult rescue dog and especially, I hope you found joy in hearing Baby Boy’s happy ending interview.
This is my B4TC post…please click on the badge below for more information…BE THE CHANGE FOR ANIMALS THE WORLD OVER…
Paw Pats, Savannah
peeESS: DON’T FORGET TO VISIT MY FURRIEND TEXAS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THE ALPHABET LETTERS ARE TRYING TO TELL US…GO NOW!! GO TODAY!!…TEXAS
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