A few weeks ago I invited some of my fellow fosters to take advantage of this space and take the opportunity to write about their own furry houseguests looking for their forever homes. I am pleased to introduce our first official guest blogger and guest foster here on the Lucky Blog....PAULY and his foster dad, Rudy! Pauly has been with Lucky Dog looking for his forever home for nearly 4 months now, which is just crazy given how handsome and sweet he is. But here I shall turn it over to Rudy to tell you all about his journey as a Lucky Dog Foster and why Pauly is so great. Enjoy, and THANK YOU Rudy for coming out to tell us a little about Lucky Pauly, whose adoption bio can be read at http://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/22330662!
Duane and I adopted our dog, Luke, from LDAR on July 11th 2009. LDAR was then a few months old and that was my first month as an official Green Card holder. We live in a 2 bedroom apartment of 890 square feet with a roommate, and Inky, Duane's loyal cat for the last 13 years. Since decided to get involved with LDAR, one of the hardest parts has been saying good bye to our fosters. This is why (and call me a coward or call me French) I always made sure that I was not there when it was time to give my farewell.
Since 2009, we have probably fostered between 15 to 20 doggies. I could say that Pauly is our latest one, but in the 6 months he has been living with us, we have overnighted a few dogs (3 dogs and a cat in a 2 bedroom apartment--so much fun!). We started fostering him in late March; I picked him up from the list because he looked a lot like one of our previous fosters, the magnificent Charlie (formerly Snoop), whom we fostered for 9 months! He got adopted and was returned a month later and Duane brought him back home a second time. I have to admit: I have fallen in love with every single one of the fosters we have had, and Snoop, because of his breed, his personality, and his background grew on me pretty quickly--so much that after a few weeks, I asked Duane to adopt him, even though I knew while asking that we could not afford to have a second dog. You can imagine how I felt when he left ....and came back....and....left again....I reminded myself that I should not care about my feelings because it is all about the dogs and saving and taking care of them. I am aware I am not the only foster parent falling for one of the rescue dogs, and I immediately feel better when I picture the dogs on their way to an happy home.
However, with Pauly and his resemblance to Snoop, I know that I asked for trouble...and I am in deep trouble. Pauly is a beautiful Labrador/mastiff mix, probably 2 years old and proud of every single one of his 55 pounds! 55 pounds of flesh trembling with happiness, waiting at the door to greet you with kisses all over when you come back home. I was apprehensive when we got him because of the cat (she is not a dog lover; it took several weeks for her to get used to Luke) so I was quite relieved when Pauly sped in the opposite direction when he first saw her, even if he developed quite a fascination mixed with fear toward her. My heart skips a beat when I see him approaching her slowly like a spy and waiting for his daily sucker punch (she does not have claws on her front paws, so at least he never gets hurt).
It took him a few days to get used to our routine. We realized he was quite a fast learner--he got used to the crate within a week, but it took him a little longer to be fully house trained (though in his defense, he did show signs of wanting to do his numbers before actually doing them inside the house). He was crate trained within a few weeks. Duane, who is very good at it, taught him how to sit, although he knew how to give you his paw ( weird I know). Today he goes to his little bed in the bedroom when told to. One thing about Pauly: he is a professional jumper, which is one of the reasons we would not recommend him to a family with young children as he is also not aware of his own strength. That does not mean he is not good with kids....Pauly is getting along with everybody and everything! He plays on a daily basis with Luke . He loves his time at the dog park. He is not quite a runner, as he will try to trip you, although I think with a shorter leash, he will do just fine.
His favorite hobbies? Besides following the cat, following Luke, and following us, his favorite thing is to come behind your back, put his legs around your neck and proceeding to lick your face (even your hair!!!!) until you get into the ground or try to escape from him. I am, as an adult (I had to grow up I know), aware that I can not afford to adopt a second dog and I have made peace with it. I know for certain that my life would not have been the same without Duane, Luke and Inky .....the same way my life would not have been the same without all those dogs we have fostered ....the same way it would not have been the same without LDAR ....and now Pauly, my Pauly-Doo ( his nickname).
As I write this message, I can see him in his bed sleeping and snoring, and I am more and more convinced that he helped in the process of rescuing me by bringing so much happiness in my life....sometimes when I am sad, I just have to cuddle with him and I'll feel better. Sometimes I think we need them maybe more than they need us. I am sure after reading (if you do finish reading) his story, you would want to meet the legend in person and fall in love with that cute fella just like we did, I feel happy that I get to be a part LDAR's beautiful mission. Until then, we will keep taking care and loving sweet Pauly until it will be time to say good bye....until it will be time for me to skip another farewell process (maybe the hardest yet) and go cry in the bathroom or in the backyard.MEET PAULY THIS SUNDAY, JULY 29 FROM 12-2 PM AT KENTLANDS PETSMART (218 KENTLANDS BLVD, MD), where he will be looking for his forever home! To learn more about how you can adopt Pauly, email Holly at hollyc@luckydoganimalrescue.org
No comments:
Post a Comment