Hud and I spent the gorgeous Sunday afternoon doing an event called Paws for a Cause at the Shops of Saddlecreek. There were pet bakers, pet stores, pet accupuncturists, pet photographers, pet painters and of course, the rescue groups.
We were immediately to the right of the Greyhound Rescue Group. Only they're aren't really rescues, more of a second chance group.
All of these beauties were there with their parents. The greyhounds are not well socialized when they are up for adoption. They've spent a lot of time alone in a pen waiting to go to work, instead of romping in backyards with twelve year old boys. The group brings only the adopted ones to show how they blossom when they get to know people.
Good Dog Rescue was there as well. Oh! The small funny faces!
This little girl had me at hello. But I resisted the temptation.
They told me this was the laziest terrier in the country. He wouldn't even get up for dinner if he was napping.
You know, as the Furry Godmother, people love to talk to me about their animal friends. And there were some real stories yesterday. Tales of the worst and the best in people.
This is Gus, a six month old St. Bernard puppy. He was ginormous. And fluffy as a chick. And sweet as candy. And spent four months locked in a wooden crate in a garage. An unwanted birthday gift, ignored and treated so badly, when Sam got him, he couldn't walk. He crawled on his belly to her.
But she has nursed him back to health. He seems to bear no scars from his ordeal.
Unlike Honeysuckle.
She was found after someone set her on fire. She had been bred, but probably failed to produce winning fighters. The pups probably all inherited her gentle nature. That's her girlfriend, Feather, being fed a cookie by their mom from Three Dog Bakery.
I had run up to the restroom and on my return, I spotted a new pen at the Good Dog Rescue. It was so much larger than the others.
And then I saw his face.
I asked the young attractive woman why she had my dog in a cage.
Kristi took him out and I fell like a rock. All the discussions swirled around my brain. Four dogs is plenty. We'll wait until Carmen is gone. No. More. Male. Dogs. I told Kristi that I would send my husband up to meet him. Explained about Carmen. Tried to talk myself out of it.
Kristi pleaded her case. Someone she knew had owned Ace and had to move. She could not take him with her. ( I hope it wasn't that, "Arizona doesn't take dogs" excuse the Humane Society gets all the time.) So Kristi, who fosters for Good Dog, told her that she would take him and find him a good home. She had him for a while, though now and she was two weeks from delivering her second child. She was desperate to find that place. She felt guilty because he was so very loving and they had been trying not to bond with him.
I wandered back to my booth, wondering how I could get Hud to agree with all the wrongheadedness of it.
I told him that the dog was a Catahoula/Shepard mix.
He jumped up and said, "Well, let's have a look at him then..."
I waited, biting my lip. Wringing my hands. Waited. Minutes passed and out of the corner of my eye, I see Hud, walking with Ace back to me.
"We need to change his name. I'm calling him Boudreaux."
So it is official. We are animal hoarders.
He fit in seamlessly. Zali has only groused a few times to push his weight around. Bou was cool with that. After the initial alarmed barking by Simone, accepts him. Zoe took to him right off and shared a toy with Bou. Carmen finds him fascinating. The only things we're working on are the cat and the birds. Boudreaux simply does not understand have wild animals in the house. Aida is not amused.
But I am! He's already revealed some of the quirky bits of his personality. He likes music. It makes him do the RCA dog head. Loves to watch TV to the point of needing to tell him to sit down when he finds some particular piece of dialogue riveting. And himself. He could spend hours watching himself in the mirror.
He was only agitated for an hour or two. Then he jumped down fromthe ottoman Zoe shared with him. Nosed through the toy basket until he found the perfect one. Then he hopped back up. Settled in beside Zoe again and squeaked peacefully.
Welcome home, Boudreaux. We're all glad you're here.
