Meet Susie and Pete!
“Pete is a four year old, medium size, mixed breed dog. He’s probably American Bulldog, Olde English Bulldog or Boxer cross adopted from Ingram County Animal Control in Mason, Michigan.
In January 2017, my beloved Labrador lost his battle with cancer leaving behind his scruffy canine little sister and two cat friends.
My friend had adopted her latest rescue from the U.S and got me thinking about traveling south of the border. The more I read about the overcrowded shelters there, the more I felt it was the right thing to do.
I browsed Petfinder and contacted various shelters in Michigan, New York and Ohio. Most weren’t able to adopt pets so far away. In March, I came across a photo of this funny faced dog with a mouth full of peanut butter. I contacted the shelter to see if he would be compatible with other pets and if they were able to adopt him to me. They said yes! I advised them I would be there for a meet and greet at the end of the week.
The next morning I decided not to wait and made the long drive to Michigan. Luckily I arrived when I did because he was going home that afternoon with a staff member for a couple of days to decompress. He was becoming increasingly stressed at the shelter and they’d wanted to give him a break.
His backstory was that he and several other dogs were removed from their owners for neglect. He’d spent most of his young life chained up outside with little food.
I went to his kennel, he looked a bit thin and scared and began barking at me. One of the staff had us meet in the meet and greet area where he seemed much more relaxed (the cookies didn’t hurt!). Another dog was in the process of being adopted, it turns out this dog was one of the dogs that had been brought in with him. Pete (formerly Polo) was the last to leave after one month at the shelter.
After the the adoption paperwork was done, we were off for the five and half hour drive back to Toronto.
I was a bit unsure how my reactive scruffy dog would react to him being there. The initial meeting was a bit rocky but now they seemed to have become friends. Pete has no interest in the household felines.
Sometimes I think he’s too content on his doggie bed be bothered getting up and chasing them.
He’s settled in nicely. Having lived outside most of his life, he was a bit fearful of some things in the house (stairs, slippery floors, loud appliances, the fridge door). I also had to work with on his house training. He picked everything up fairly quickly and hasn’t had an accident in the house in a couple of months. He’s still afraid of the wood floors upstairs and refuses to come up to the second floor. I don’t push him, he will when he’s ready.
He’s a bit of a picky eater. The pups are raw fed so it’s trial and error with his food. Luckily, if he doesn’t eat something, his scruffy sister will step up and finish it.
Now that he’s had time to decompress, he’s become a sweet and comical guy with the best facial expressions.”
Leave a Reply