Leo: From Hellion to my little Stinker Bug in 14 weeks!
Dec 12 '08 (Updated Dec 22 '08)
The Bottom Line Rescue dogs are AMAZING!! Leo came in with what seemed like no chance. With love and attention, he became am incredible dog!
Leo is the fuzzy little guy in my profile picture. I am writing this for me. I want to share it with you, but it is long and I don't really expect it to be read. If you do read it, thank you and I hope it touches you and encourages you!
When Leo came to the rescue. I didn't like him, and I didn't want to be around him! He would snap and snarl at everyone within 3 feet of him. We were his only chance though, had he gone to the pound, he would have likely been put down within the hour! Yes, he was just THAT bad!
Leo's problems weren't his fault though; they were the fault of the idiot who bought him from a local pet store as a puppy. Leo is extremely cute now, so I can only begin to imagine his cuteness factor at 6 weeks of age!! The woman bought Leo for almost $700.00, then a year later she basically dumped him in her garage! I figure he had gotten too big to carry around, and his hair had become too much to maintain for the woman. Leo is a Cockapoo, a Cocker Spaniel and Poodle mix, so his hair requires regular brushing and trimming, something the woman never did.
The first time I saw Leo he was one solid mat of hair! No wonder he didn't want to be touched, it flat out hurt!! Add to the fact that it had been 2 years since he had been around people, and was scared, he was absolutely no fun to be around. We HAD to get the mats off, immediately. I sent Leo to the vet with my husband to get some sort of sedative so Leo could be groomed. That first day the groomer and Lee, my husband, were able to get the hair off his body, leaving his head untouched. He returned to the adoption event with red blood spots on his back. It wasn't his blood, it was the blood of the groomer and Lee!! My next thought was, "How the Hell am I going to get this dog home, and then deal with him and care for him!?!" Sorry about the language, but it conveys just how bad it was with Leo to begin with!
We got Leo home, and we just let him be. We thanked our lucky stars, and everyone else's, that Leo got along very well with the other dogs and our cats!! 4 days after Leo arrived, I decided it was the best time to have him neutered. I asked them to please cut off ALL of his hair, so we would have time to let him adjust to being brushed and groomed. It was a horrible experience! He did fine with the neuter and the grooming; it was just then trying to get him back out of the cage to bring him home! I had asked them to make sure his leash remained attached to his collar, since reaching for his collar upset him greatly! Not only had they not attached the leash, they had left his collar completely off! Poor guy suffered several bruises before it as decided to sedate him. He was literally flipping around in his cage and trying to bite anyone who came near him. Once he was sedated, I got his collar on him and his leash attached. Lee then carried him to the car. Poor little Leo was so out of it, yet just enough aware to know he wanted to bite! I hate to admit that it was a bit comical watching him at that point!
I decided that I would hold Leo on my lap while his sedation wore off. I knew I had a 50/50 chance him either liking me a bit or wanting to eat me. Luckily it was he sort of liked me. I sat there and just rubbed his head, and talked softly to him. By the time we got home, Leo had decided that I was okay so long as I didn't move to quickly. It was that evening that I gave Leo the nickname of Stinker Bug! All of my animals are "bugs" of some sort or another. Sandy is the Love Bug, Diego is just bug, etc. Leo became Stinker Bug because I could tell then that he was going to be a VERY spoiled doggie!
That night Leo joined the other dogs and cats in bed with us. He acted just like he had lived with us forever, so long as we didn't reach for him. He especially didn't like it when Lee tried to pet him. And so it went for about the next week or so! Then one day Leo had kisses to give! It was only then that I really believed Leo might have a chance, and he was no longer a lost cause! I then began to really work on desensitizing Leo to human hands.
Leo began going to the store with us on dog adoption weekends. The first 2 times he went, I just asked everyone to please give Leo a treat. He didn't have to do anything for the treat; I just needed Leo to learn that human hands could be wonderful things. The next couple of visits, Leo only got a treat if he allowed the person to pet him. Once he got really used to people touching him, it progressed to the point of Leo allowing people, even strangers to pet him! 12 weeks after Leo arrived, I knew he was ready to start looking for a home, when he would approach people and ASK to be pet and loved on! At that point, he was even allowing people he knew to pick him up. I had been picking him up since about week 4, noting that he preferred to be picked up like a child versus a dog. I was saddened when no one showed any interest in Leo that weekend, yet I was elated that I would get more time with him! I really enjoyed seeing him progress literally each day.
14 weeks and 1 day after Leo arrived, the terror of all terrors, he was adopted. My heart swelled with pride when Leo left with his new family! He seemed relax and went willingly, never once looking back. Like most of my fosters, he even refused to kiss me goodbye! Leo was acting NORMAL!! We had come SO CLOSE to just giving up on him in the beginning, that when he left I felt guilty knowing he almost didn't get that chance! Leo and I worked hard to get to that day, and seeing him love his new family just filled my heart!
I miss Leo, and I likely always will on some level. Leo was my lesson to never give up, or at least not right away! Give a difficult situation ½ a chance, and the outcome may very well be even better than ever expected!!
****UPDATED 12/22/2008: I just found out that Leo is LOVING the snow here in Oregon!! He has been playing with Grandma and Grandpa, while his mommy has been out of town. The idea that Leo is doing so well just adds pride to my love for him!!****
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Epinions.com ID:
trthomp
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Member: Terri
Location: Portland Area, Oregon
Reviews written: 189
Trusted by: 77 members
About Me:
God's idea of natural exfoliation is kitty kisses!!
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