Well, Friday morning, as most of you know, I picked up Mr Nameless, a 10 year old Australian Shepherd/Cattle dog mix. I found a notice about him in the rescue dog forum of this section, and he looked like a black & white version of my parents' dog, and I knew I'd be the one that went to save him.
I made several inquiries about him the night before, then drove the 60 miles to go get him before he was euthanized. On the way, my SO called to say one of his co-workers was interested in him and to swing by (30 miles out of my way) after I got him. I found him covered in urine and poop, curled in a ball in his kennel, and he lifted up his head and gave me really big sad brown eyes and I just melted. So, I cheerfully paid the warden, and as the door shut on the building, the dog pulled me back to the door, heisted his leg, and peed all over it. hehehehehe!!
I did have to stop at a dog wash on the way home because his stench made me seriously ill. My car still stinks, and I had blankets down everywhere. At the dog wash, I met a young man I knew indirectly (I used to work for the chain of stores) who was very interested in the dog. I got his number and promised to call if the coworker didn't want him. He was a bit better after the bath (still yellow in places) and I took him to my SO's coworker, who loved him, but later decided that she didn't have enough time to devote to a dog right now. So I called the nice young man, who offered to take him for the weekend for a "trial run," to which I agreed and dropped him off Friday night.
Saturday morning, as I was choosing what movie I wanted to see (before noon movies are $5!) I got a call that he was bringing him back. I got a similar reason - not enough time to devote to the dog. But, the dood did get him a brand new collar and a bag of dog food, so that was nice. He also got another bath to get out the remaining nastiness. At this point I had named him officially "Dougan." He's a very nonresponsive dog, he mostly stood around and did nothing. You could scratch his ears, etc, and he wouldn't react at all. We decided to go over to my parents' house to go swimming. I asked my dad about bringing Dougan, and he said fine, but the dog HAS to stay outside. While we were swimming, my parents came home. When my mom came into the backyard, Dougan perked up his ears, trotted over to her, and WAGGED HIS TAIL!!!
My mom spent the rest of the time we were there scratching his ears, loving all over him, and he followed her around adoringly. A little while later, she let him into the house. So much for "*that* dog can't come in" huh?
When we got ready to leave, I went to grab Dougan (whom she had already renamed "Bandit") and she told me to leave him there so he could get a nap. I don't think he had slept since I got him Friday morning. Heheheh! Okay, I left him, and called back at about 10pm that night asking if she wanted me to come get him. "Oh, no, he's doing just fine here - but bring over a crate for him." So I saunter on over with crate, and "Bandit" spends the entire time just staring lovingly at my mom. I gave him a treat, scratched his ears, and he never took his eyes off her.
Sunday morning, I got a call from my mom, and I expected she was going to tell me to come get him. But no, she was just a bit worried because he has kennel cough (little wonder). We went over again to swim last night and let me tell you - that dog's found his home. She's looking into getting him all fixed up (check-up, rabies shot, neutering) and calling vets today. He needs a bit of work because he is SEVERELY underweight, has kennel cough, and well, needs fixed. His teeth are amazing, though - very little to no plaque. I have to go over and trim his nails, they can be cut in half they're so long, and his pad hair needs cut as well.... apparently aussies have that feature? My mom has been sad because their other dog, Libby, is my DAD's dog and my DAD's dog only. I tell you, it was fate that I went to get that dog and dropped him off at my parents'. She is doting on the old boy like you wouldn't believe. He can do no wrong! And he's becoming more and more animated as well, but he seems to save all his affections for my mom, which is okay with me. Libby's not terribly happy, but once she realized Bandit didn't want any attention from my dad, calmed down considerably.
I've got a few pics, you can see how much Bandit and Libby look alike. He's a handsome old guy - I got several compliments from people while I was out and about.
Libby:
Bandit:
Libby:
Bandit:
*Couple more pics, folks, then I'm all done!*
I made several inquiries about him the night before, then drove the 60 miles to go get him before he was euthanized. On the way, my SO called to say one of his co-workers was interested in him and to swing by (30 miles out of my way) after I got him. I found him covered in urine and poop, curled in a ball in his kennel, and he lifted up his head and gave me really big sad brown eyes and I just melted. So, I cheerfully paid the warden, and as the door shut on the building, the dog pulled me back to the door, heisted his leg, and peed all over it. hehehehehe!!
I did have to stop at a dog wash on the way home because his stench made me seriously ill. My car still stinks, and I had blankets down everywhere. At the dog wash, I met a young man I knew indirectly (I used to work for the chain of stores) who was very interested in the dog. I got his number and promised to call if the coworker didn't want him. He was a bit better after the bath (still yellow in places) and I took him to my SO's coworker, who loved him, but later decided that she didn't have enough time to devote to a dog right now. So I called the nice young man, who offered to take him for the weekend for a "trial run," to which I agreed and dropped him off Friday night.
Saturday morning, as I was choosing what movie I wanted to see (before noon movies are $5!) I got a call that he was bringing him back. I got a similar reason - not enough time to devote to the dog. But, the dood did get him a brand new collar and a bag of dog food, so that was nice. He also got another bath to get out the remaining nastiness. At this point I had named him officially "Dougan." He's a very nonresponsive dog, he mostly stood around and did nothing. You could scratch his ears, etc, and he wouldn't react at all. We decided to go over to my parents' house to go swimming. I asked my dad about bringing Dougan, and he said fine, but the dog HAS to stay outside. While we were swimming, my parents came home. When my mom came into the backyard, Dougan perked up his ears, trotted over to her, and WAGGED HIS TAIL!!!
My mom spent the rest of the time we were there scratching his ears, loving all over him, and he followed her around adoringly. A little while later, she let him into the house. So much for "*that* dog can't come in" huh?
When we got ready to leave, I went to grab Dougan (whom she had already renamed "Bandit") and she told me to leave him there so he could get a nap. I don't think he had slept since I got him Friday morning. Heheheh! Okay, I left him, and called back at about 10pm that night asking if she wanted me to come get him. "Oh, no, he's doing just fine here - but bring over a crate for him." So I saunter on over with crate, and "Bandit" spends the entire time just staring lovingly at my mom. I gave him a treat, scratched his ears, and he never took his eyes off her.
Sunday morning, I got a call from my mom, and I expected she was going to tell me to come get him. But no, she was just a bit worried because he has kennel cough (little wonder). We went over again to swim last night and let me tell you - that dog's found his home. She's looking into getting him all fixed up (check-up, rabies shot, neutering) and calling vets today. He needs a bit of work because he is SEVERELY underweight, has kennel cough, and well, needs fixed. His teeth are amazing, though - very little to no plaque. I have to go over and trim his nails, they can be cut in half they're so long, and his pad hair needs cut as well.... apparently aussies have that feature? My mom has been sad because their other dog, Libby, is my DAD's dog and my DAD's dog only. I tell you, it was fate that I went to get that dog and dropped him off at my parents'. She is doting on the old boy like you wouldn't believe. He can do no wrong! And he's becoming more and more animated as well, but he seems to save all his affections for my mom, which is okay with me. Libby's not terribly happy, but once she realized Bandit didn't want any attention from my dad, calmed down considerably.
I've got a few pics, you can see how much Bandit and Libby look alike. He's a handsome old guy - I got several compliments from people while I was out and about.
Libby:
Bandit:
Libby:
Bandit:
*Couple more pics, folks, then I'm all done!*
