September, 2005

I received a call from Nancy, the mother of Lox, a Staffordshire Bull-Terrier mix.

Nancy had Lox since he was 8 weeks old, and now he was five years old.

Nancy was being forced to leave her apartment, and was going to move in with her mother, who lived in assisted living, which strictly forbid dogs.

This is a story I hear 3-4 times per week, and I treated it as such, telling Nancy to send me a picture and write-up, and I'd post her pup, Lox...

...everything was fine and pretty mechanical, till I saw the picture, and it stuck with me.

Here's a rough close-up of the picture --

-- what I saw was an adult dog who had enjoyed his past five years, and who was now told he had to go.

I knew Lox wouldn't make it in a pound -- a pit-variant, adult, black-ish --

-- and Nancy called and called me -- 2-3x per week, crying, upset, and finally, she said she had to move --

-- that's when Loxie moved in with me -- !!

Here's the boy that came to visit -- a handsome boy, with beautiful eyes.

Lox was scared, and physically stiff, which we would later find out to be full-blown lyme disease.

His pensive mood provided one of my favorite photos, though --

-- this one reflects a majesty and depth about him that I just love --

So, fast-forward two months, and Lox has been diagnosed with lyme disease and, worse yet, heartworms.

Heartworms are spread by mosquitos and, when manifested, live in the dog's heart in their spaghetti-strand bodies, slowly killing the dog.

My vet gave me the "discount" option or the "full-blown" option for treatment, seeing he was a foster, and not my personal dog --

-- well, he was my personal dog, I said, and seeing the "discount" option required a liability waiver, I tried to ignore the $700 bill for his treatments and knew I was doing right by this boy...

Within 4 months, Loxie had licked both his heartworms and his lyme disease --

-- lyme disease, which is spread by deer ticks' bites, had affected Loxie's joints, and he was a slow-mover --

-- after 3 months of 2x/day doxycycline, he recovered -- almost miraculously, in a way --

-- he now had a nice stride to his walk, and he wasn't so grouchy to go out for walks -- !!

Also, Lox is now on a monthly heartworm preventative, which all dogs should be on year-round.

So, there we were -- Loxie was all cleaned up and he was ready to go --

-- with his new-found confidence, he enjoyed pulling on the leash with his teeth, whisking it back and forth --

-- it was then I knew he was much more comfortable with himself, and with me -- and I naturally got more attached to him.

Well, that attachment lasted some 6 months, until I got an application from Roy and Maria in Woodbridge, CT --

-- I knew Loxie wanted to go back to the sofa life, and that he really enjoyed being an only dog, so we took a drive --

-- 7 hours and 410 miles later, we were in Woodbridge --

-- and as we pulled in the driveway, I double-checked the address --

-- you've struck some great luck, Loxies -- !!

-- this is how Roy was attracted to Loxie --

-- Lox, above right, reminded Roy of his recent Sato dog, which Roy's son rescued in Puerto Rico --

-- basically, the Sato was tied to a tree on the beach as the tide was rising -- the dog was left for dead, and Roy's son heard the pup's cries and saved the dog, bringing him all the way back to the US --

-- GREAT WORK, that is, in itself, and Lox reminded Roy his Sato, so again, more luck for Lox -- !!

Anyway, on to the household --

-- Lox meets his new momma, Maria -- !!

As Maria cooks *wonderfully*...

...little Loxie cracks his first grin -- !!

-- again, it's a little heaven for a mellow dog like Lox --

-- here's his eagle's nest -- !!

Next, to the main priority --

-- eating -- !!

Maria and Roy start off on the right foot, emphasizing to Lox that the dinner table is for people, not dogs --

-- and Lox obliges -- !!

-- next, we sample some of Roy's wine that he made himself --

-- wonderful -- !!

Dinner is watched carefully by Loxie --

-- and he was actually fed by Roy during dinner -- his first meal --

-- which, of course, caused some GI isses for Lox later, but that's pretty typical when changing a dog's diet --

Next, Lox seems to say to me --

"Okay, let's continue with the home visit -- !!"

Next, he discovers the wood-burning fireplace --

-- ooh, la la, Loxie -- that will make many a winter night wonderful!

PASS

PASS

PASS!!

And with that, we conclude in the kitchen, and Lox explores the world of espresso --

-- none too appetizing for him -- !!

Lox then seems to say to me,

"I'm ready"

This actually proved very difficult for me --

-- fostering him for 10 months, seeing him go from hurting-to-healthy, made me very protective about him --

-- I wanted everything to work out perfectly for him -- I didn't want any glitches -- I basically wanted this to be everything for him -- he deserved it.

So, we stepped forward and everyone wanted to give his adoption a shot -- !!

Pictures like this make me so happy --

-- but not as happy as the next one --

-- loving kisses --

-- wonderful.

That a five-year old dog who has basically only known one home can trust a new person within an hour, sort of "knowing" these people want to help him and see him prosper --

-- well, that's everything.

Here I am with Lox -- in our good-bye pose --

-- I think he really knew something was going on -- that I was leaving -- and he wasn't too happy about it --

:(

It wasn't till I started the journey home that I got upset.

Looking at bright reality of this story, this is truly a one-in-a-million home for Lox --

-- he is with experienced, loving, proven dog-lovers, and they have given him the chance of a lifetime -- !!

As I begin my journey home, my mind is filled with "what ifs" and "will he be okay" questions --

-- for two long days, I wrestle with the "how's Lox" question, and on Tuesday night, I email Roy to see how our boy is doing --

Roy writes --

"Lox has adapted well, all things considered. He's met my granddaughters, and the two labs next door, all without major incident.

Both little girls were here for supper tonight, and aside from poor manners he was OK.

When I took him away from the table (repeatedly) he obeyed and sat at a distance, at least until the next distraction. I expect time will cure that.

We went for a walk yesterday at the town recreation tract. He was undistracted by other dogs or walkers, behaved quite well on the leash. He certainly enjoys car rides."

He's had gas and diarrhea from the diet change, but that seems to be subsiding (whew, thank goodness, he was quite aromatic for a while). We prefer dogs off the furniture in this house, so his preference for couch perching will take a while to break. I left him in the basement rather than crated the past two nights, and found messes on the floor, not sure about how to deal with that, may have to go back to a crate although prefer not to.

Had a few experiments with him off the leash in limited situations (inside the pool enclosure), he does not come when called, need to work on that, maybe you have some suggestions.

I'll keep you posted. As I write this he's on the rug next to my chair snoozing, no gas so far (thanks be), just hanging out.   

To me, this follow-up speaks volumes for Roy --

-- he is truly caring and patient with Lox, and is doing all he can to help him acclimate --

-- Roy is giving Lox the chance he needs to slowy learn and explore his new world, and Roy accepts Lox as an adult dog with his own personality --

-- to me, Roy is a one-in-a-million adopter.

I am going to speak to a wonderful trainer-friend of mine and will get back to Roy on his questions --

-- the first thing I already suggested, though, is to use Lox's crate when feeding him or giving him treats -- and for sleeping -- he loves his crate, and crating him at these times will help him settle in!

I am so glad I emailed him, and I think the open communication will do great by Lox.

So, there we are -- Lox as a journey, not a destination --

-- Lox is a work in progress -- he is a living being --

-- an adult dog, with his own temperament and with his own personality --

-- and he has found a loving family that loves him for who he is, and who wants him to thrive --

-- at the least, I am humbled to meet such kind people, and I am so proud for Lox --

-- this is a story in the making, and it gives me new hope in adopters and in these lovely dogs --

-- stay tuned, and THANK YOU for being great, Maria and Roy!