Before the ball even dropped signaling a new year we were on the phone with a concerned member of a rescue group setting up a time to visit a shelter on New Year's day. We were asked to conduct a temperament test for one dog and potentially rescue a puppy. The drive is a little over a hour for us so planning and timing is everything. What's awesome about this individual was that we conducted her home visit for a foster a little over a year ago. My have we done a lot in a years time. The conversation was nice as we shared our values, views and love for pit bulls. After swapping foster stories, philosophies and training solutions the time was set to meet less than 24 hours later.
Upon reaching the shelter we met the pup that we were to temperament test. It was a beautiful chocolate pit bull no more than 2 years old. The pup was very mild mannered and happy to be out of his run. The facility is small and full of pit bulls and other exotic pups (Basenji & Anatolian Shepherd/Pyrenees) these aren't usually found in shelters in our neck of the woods. The shelter operator is wonderful and doing all she can for the pups that come in her care however, with little exposure and very little funds this shelter is nowhere near the radar. That's going to change since it's been brought to our attention (that's another blog coming soon); let's get back to the topic at hand. We met the dogs that were outside in their runs and they all were very sweet dogs. We put "Chocolate" back in his run to meet the pup we came to potentially rescue. This brindle pug mix was adorable, he was in the run with two other itty bitty black puppies (don't know their breeds). Rolo (pug mix) was a true bully in every since of the word, he even bullied this huge cat that was safely behind her cage. Rolo didn't care he wanted to exert his dominance. We weren't pleased with what we saw out of Rolo and wasn't sure he would fit in our pack (Sasha & Krush) because we have enough alphas in the house. The person we met at the shelter wanted us to see another puppy that needed out. This boy was beautiful all white with spots silhouetting his body and a huge brown spot on his back. He was friendly and excited about getting out of the cage. He was so gentle with the small black puppies. We named him Milk Dud (MD) because of white body & the brown spot on his back. He played nice with Rolo as well. Rolo was a little more submissive when MD came into the picture. We considered taking Rolo after seeing him with MD who was bigger but gentle playing and enjoying the free time out of the cage.
We put all of the pups back and proceeded with the temperament test with Chocolate & Vegas (the volunteers dog). Chocolate was too hyper and Vegas was not having any of it. We ran a little bit with Chocolate to dispense some of that energy but he was too focused on Vegas. We walked by them and it was too intense. At the end of the day Chocolate was too excited and intense for Vegas. We provided our input and went back to the puppies. Prior to making a decision as to which pup would come home with us we put Vegas and MD to the test. MD passed with flying colors with Vegas. Vegas fell head over hills with MD immediately. After observing MD and Vegas it was decided MD would be a better fit for our pack. The shelter operator was thrilled that we were talking MD. MD appeared to be thrilled as well. MD jumped in our vehicle immediately went to the backseat and fell asleep for the short 5 minute ride to PetSmart. Entering PetSmart MD was happy to see Vegas and vice versa. MD greeted each person and canine with a jump and play bow. MD even loves felines!! After saying our see you later to Vegas and thanking the volunteer for the opportunity to work with her and rescuing/fostering MD we headed home to our pack.
The moment of truth had arrived, it was a long ride home and MD nestled up in the seat and slept the entire hour plus ride home. We reached our house and Sasha & Krush knew immediately something was different. It amazes me how they know that another pup is around and it's funnier to watch them "sniff us down" when we've been around other canines. We take MD to the backyard and introduce MD and Krush first, all is well so we bring Sasha out next and again all is well. Sasha will have nothing to do with MD for a couple of days whereas Krush attempts to dominate but he knows that's a no go and plays with MD. This is the life we've grown accustomed to. We predicted many positive things happening in 2013. We were going to extend ourselves more, be more active and proactive, help the canine community more, be more of an advocate and train as many dogs and their guardians as possible, make our name known throughout the canine community. It appears God heard us and thought what better way to ring in the new year with a new rescue!
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