#PUPPYTIME!

I’ve had serious puppy fever for years. Since I was a kid I begged and begged and begged for a dog of my own. Instead, we got cats. Don’t get me wrong, I looove cats. There was a period of time in my life where I made friends vow they wouldn’t let me become that crazy cat lady you always see on tv. When I moved out of my parents house for the first time into my U of T dorm, it wasn’t long before I started missing the cats (Scratch & Siren) I had left behind at my parents house. I convinced my roommates to come with me down to the Humane Society to pick out a new furbaby that we should share for as long as we lived together, and then I would take over cat-ownership when we went our separate ways. We picked the cutest little badass and named him Trojan Man.

(Note: my uber-crap Toshiba that constantly overheated)

Anyways, years have passed and the Troj has stayed with me as planned. He’s my best friend and I’m his biggest enemy…except when I’ve got a can of food.

Then puppy fever hit again. And it hit hard. Yeah, the Troj is awesome and furry and cuddly but I think he plots to kill me while I sleep. I could never teach him to do any tricks – I can barely get him to eat slower so he doesn’t vomit immediately after he’s done. And he just ISN’T a puppy. Elissa and I used to e-mail pictures of puppies we found on Petfinder.com of dogs we wanted. Finally, I reached out to a couple rescue organizations I was interested in to help me get my puppy.

I decided on the Boxer breed very early. The plan was to adopt a rescue and give a dog a second chance in a great home. Adopting a rescue had a few really major benefits for us: no worrying about housetraining, teething/chewing or basic training AND most rescues allow you to foster the dog for a couple weeks first to decide if you’re ready for a dog and if that dog is perfect for your lifestyle. I had spoken with a woman from Canine Connect A Care – a rescue based in London, Ontario that primarily rescues boxers – about a couple other dogs but the timing just wasn’t right. I regretfully told Jan that I would have to just wait it out and have her keep us on file in case a dog meeting our requirements turned up.

A few weeks later Jan called. She had a purebred, beautiful and great tempered boxer available for us to foster. If the foster period worked out and if he got along well with our cat, we could choose to adopt him. He was gentle, crate trained and eager to please. We agreed! Moe came to us a few days later and we were terrified, but Jan made herself available 24 hours a day to answer all of our silly new dog owner questions.

  Meet Moe

     

Moe is a 1 year old, purebred, stubborn, male boxer. His owners surrendered him to a kill shelter in rural Ohio with nothing more than a flimsy collar and a great personality. He was a model dogizen of the shelter and the shelter contacted a local rescuer that worked with Canine Connect a Care to let them know that this gentleman was going to be put down. The rescue had 24 hours to have him evaluated, vetted and on his way to foster care in Canada. They called him Relay for his vetting records because Jan said it was a crazy relay race to get him out of the shelter before his scheduled euthanasia!

It seems like Moe had been treated well by whoever owned him – we are so grateful for that! They had taken the time and money to have his dew claws removed and not only was he crate trained and housetrained, but he also knew all of his basic commands. He even knows not to eat food off the table or beg. His owners must have lived on a large property because he isn’t very good on a leash but we’re working on it. And the best news yet – him and Trojan are almost best buds, although Troj is still playing hard to get.

 I’m extra excited to spend this summer with my new puppy!