Sunday, January 8, 2012

Now, About That Pup


When I told the miraculous Christmas story of how we rescued that little pup from the road, some of you asked about what happened next. Did we keep him or did we take him to the animal shelter? Did he get a name?

Even though we are full up with pups, of course we decided to just fold him into the dog pack and give him a forever home. The poor animal shelter here is overwhelmed with foundlings and surrendered dogs and dogs rescued from abusive situations. Most of them don't find a home, alas, and the hardworking shelter folks have terrible statistics to report about how many dogs and cats are put down every month.

We figured we could do better than that. After checking the lost and found ads in the paper and on Craigslist, we named him Dweezil, which goes well with our almost-fictional last name of Zee. We dug out a collar from our vast store of puppy stuff, and prepared to love him forever. He was such a little cuddler. We were getting ready to make an appointment with the vet for an exam, shots, and the Necessary Operation.

And then--he dug out of the yard and scampered down the road again, straight for the railroad tracks. Beez followed in the car and talked with people who had seen him and who had tried to catch him, with no luck. Those short little legs had hit the road again and that seemed to be that.

I struggled to make this fit into my Bluebirdian Philosophy, where everything always has a happy ending. I worried that he had a home somewhere and that we had just interrupted his journey. Yes, we worried and we paced and we called and we looked out the window and--there he was, hours later, attempting to dig his way back in.

He was exhausted and muddy and just wanted to cuddle and sleep. Later he woke to eat and to drink some water, then he was ready for more cuddling and sleeping.

Here's the thing: He did the same thing two more times--two more digging escapes and two more digging returns. We decided that he really did want to live with us, but just needed time to bond. Beez cemented around the most popular digging spots, and we kept a close eye on him, day after day. He snuggled, he made friends with Petey, and he bonded.


Here he is now. He loves us and we love him. He is finally allowed out in the fenced yard by himself and when he gets there, he does NOT head for the fence. He just waits for his best friend, Pete, and they chase each other around and around the yard, doing chest bumps. I tried to capture that for you, but the little guys were way too fast for me.


After the chest bumping subsides, they play tug of war with any old stick. I think our little Dweezil has chosen, and he has decided to stay with us.

By the way, he has been to our vet and the big news is that Dweezil is just a baby, only around 8 months old. Two other pups who seem to be the same age were found in our neighborhood on the same weekend; there is a little Dweezil twin up at the sad shelter. I think someone just dumped a litter, hoping that someone would find them and do the right thing.

I'm pretty sure we did the right thing for our little guy.

16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Oh, what a sweetheart! I'm so happy he found you and a wonderful home! Hope all of you have a great week!

Sylvia

Joyful said...

The puppy is so cute.

He reminds me of when I got my cat who is now in cat heaven. She had strayed into my friend's yard and my friend reluctantly gave her up to me because the cat fought with her other cat. My new cat would escape every chance she had for the first year or so. She loved the outdoors and it is dangerous here in the city for cats and small dogs. Eventually she settled into being an indoor cat and we had her for years until she succumbed to illness. I miss her still but I haven't had the time to really get and look after another one.

May your little puppy give you many years of happiness.

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

Dweezil is such a cutie and now that he has gotten wanderlust out of his system, you can all breathe easier. We had a little dog who would jump the fence and go to McDonalds on his own...crazy little critter, finally discovered that the food at home was better than the fries at McDonald's I guess. Little dogs are such characters. Dweezil is a lucky puppy.

Margie's Musings said...

Cute pup. But when I finally lose old Slinky, I don't want another dog. I like to "go" too much to have a dog. A cat can take care of itself much better.

Ms. Becky said...

I held my breath (!) until I reached the end of this story. I LOVE happy endings. when pets escape one just never knows what the fates hold for them out in the jungle of life. I'm so happy you opened your home and your hearts for one more! bless your heart Clair. he's adorable. happy day to you.

Nan said...

Wonderful, wonderful!!

JC said...

You are an absolute Angel for taking him in. Must have been so scary to have had him dig out.

I do not understand why people don't get their dogs fixed.

Breeda Royer said...

Claire... what a wonderful post from you... and better yet.. what a blessing for Dweezil to have come upon the Zees... Maybe your post might inspire another reader to go adopt his sibling. take care and God Bless you all !!! Breeda Royer

becky said...

Oh Clair, you certainly did the right thing by little Dweezil Zee. :) what a funny name! one of my friends at work recently adopted a little pup from the shelter in SF. I would love to do the same someday. Thought of you today as I sort of by-passed you today- took the short cut to the 10 thru Hatch. Hoteling it tonight in AZ- will be w/ family tomorrow! Happy New Year, Clair!
Wishing you all the best!
:)

Paula said...

I'm very happy for Dweez that you guys decided to be his very own people, and even happier that he has a dog buddy to play with. Sounds like he landed in pie!

Randy said...

What an adorable new family member you have there. The photos are just adorable.

Linda said...

Heartwarming. So good of you to persevere.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Thank you for letting us read the next chapter! Both your puppies are adorably cute and yes, you certainly did do the right thing.

Kate said...

That is quite a heart-warming story. Lucky little pup! Too bad that there aren't more canine stories like yours. When we used to travel to Mazatlan during the winter, DH worked at the animal shelter there as a volunteer and still misses it. I wish that humans would be more responsible about animals!

Deb from WhatsInMyAttic said...

Lucky little puppy...and lucky you! He's adorable, and you did end up with that happy ending. I was fearful as I was reading; thought you were going to end this with a sad note. I like your Blue Bird Happy Ending!

Betsey said...

You did an AMAZING thing for him! what a lucky guy.