Boo Goes Home

Remember Boo, the adorable deaf boy who stayed with us this spring when his foster mom was traveling?  Well he came back to visit us again.  It' didn't turn out as well this time, as we made the rookie mistake of bringing in an unbalanced male dog into a house with an unbalanced female in heat.  But that's another story.  This story is about Boo's happy ending. 

Boo came to our rescue back in March when his devastated family had to let him go, per Doctor's instructions.  His mom was critically ill with bone cancer.  She was to have no contact with anything that could potentially bring bacteria into the house, including her beloved Boo.  The family had rescued Boo from the only life he had ever known, shelter life, and it killed them to give him up.

I was literally speechless last week when I got a text from the director "Boo's family wants him back."  My heart started pounding instantly.  How could this be true?  It turns out that his mom had been misdiagnosed.  Although she isn't well, she doesn't need to fear infection.  There was a lot of random back and forth partial communication because our director was out of town, as was Boo's foster mom, as was Boo's former "Dad".  I think all of us were holding our breath, anxiously awaiting the outcome.  Then we heard that wasn't going to happen after all.  When a dog is in our rescue as long as Boo has been, everyone becomes attached.  He goes to almost all of the adoption events, so everyone knows him.  And those of us who have gotten to know him well, with all his silliness and quirks, love him dearly. 

So why, after all these months, did Boo not get a single application?  We networked him like crazy!  He has his issues, of course, but so many do, especially the deaf ones.   He is good looking, smart, outgoing, and super sweet.  But nobody showed any interest.  He saw numerous foster siblings come in and then get adopted, leaving him behind.  Although Boo was very loved at his foster home, we all prayed that he would find a forever family.  But it didn't happen. 

Now we know why.  Because Boo had a forever family all along.  He came to us when tragedy found them.  The rescue kept him safe and healthy and his foster mom loved him with all of her heart.  We thought that our job was to find him a new home, but we were wrong.  This time, our job was to let him wait with us until he could return to his true home, to his family.  It was meant to be.  

A tearful reunion happened on Friday night as Boo and his family got back together after four long months apart.  I wish I could have been there.  I am told that everyone was crying like crazy.  The pictures and video were enough to bring on the waterworks for me.  Boo was overcome with joy when they were reunited.  Mom (not my place to share names) was so emotional that she had to step away for a few minutes and gain her composure.  The family is hopeful that having Boo back in their life will improve her health.  Dogs have a way of doing that. 

It's not often that these kinds of story book endings come along, but when they do, it feels pretty amazing.  It seems God had a plan for sweet Boo Boo.  I'm glad I got to play a small part in it.  

Boo talking to me!

Roxy

Roxy, our latest, is a 10-12 month old flashy fawn female.  She is beautiful, smart, and eager to learn and please.  She also thinks that she is the queen bee around here.  She prances around with her perfect exaggerated boxer gait like a champion in a show ring.

 This lovely lady comes to us by way of an independent rescuer in a little town to the north of us.  She is a child of a divorce.  She is healthy and in great physical condition so she was obviously well cared for yet neither person wanted her.  She was dumped off to a lady who is known to take in animals no matter what.  Her intentions are good, but the environment is not (think hoarder).  She has 30 dogs that she tries to keep up with.  Roxy is in heat and would have quickly become pregnant if not removed from that place. 

She is extremely people social and doesn't meet a stranger, as a boxer should be.  However her dog social skills, although improving, are lackluster.  She is by no means dog aggressive, but rather indifferent at first.  She had no idea how to play nicely and anytime she got excited, her attempt turned to mounting and attacking.  We are working with her and although she still prefers the company of people, we encourage (supervised!) play sessions daily.  She has been spotted cuddled up to each of her foster siblings a time or two, although she would never admit it;-)

She also has fairly severe separation anxiety.  Her world was turned upside down and this behavior is often the result.  I'm thinking she was a bed sleeper in her former home because no matter how tired she is, crated or not, she cries and whines for hours some nights being away from us.  I have never had a dog that after a week, wouldn't just rest calmly with the other dogs at night.  She has damaged two crates already.  She comes to work with me every day at this point because she isn't ready for extended crating yet and I don't know what she would do to the house if I left her out.  She will climb or tear down any gate.

Despite her little issues, she has us totally captivated.  She entertains us daily with her unusual favorite activity.  Boxers are not typically swimmers.  Their cropped tails, short hair and dense bodies don't tend to be very buoyant.  More than once, I have seen the myth "all dogs can swim"  disproven.  Whenever we get a new dog that we feel is curious or clumsy enough to fall in the pool, we A) make sure they can actually swim and B) teach them how to get to the stairs to get out should they happen to take a plunge.  One lesson is usually all it takes to ensure that they steer clear.  The experience is apparently so repulsive that never has a dog fallen in twice.  Maybe swimming is instinctual for a retriever, but as for little Roxy, well she just sunk.  The difference between her and every other foster we have had is that she was undeterred.  If we were in the pool, she wanted to be in the pool.  She had no fear and no swimming skills...not a good combination.  It was a fatal disaster waiting to happen. We worked with her, literally teaching her to move her legs and stay afloat.  She eventually started to paddle on her own, looking like a cat flailing around aimlessly.  But over the week, she got more and more graceful in the water.  Now she seems to think she is a Labrador.  She plunges into the water over and over again.  The day Roxy fell in the water changed her life. 

 

 

 

Because she is in heat, she has not been spayed, therefore has not been listed yet.  I think that because of her picture perfect looks, she will attract a lot of attention and get applications quickly once she is.