Four months ago while i was working part time at a local shelter i went in one morning after we had a very large rescue from Louisiana, we had recieved a total of 35 dogs and 50 cats.
included in that number was a very thing very scared dingo/pitbull terrier mix who looked like he had a very rough ride all the way to virginia.
I was just clocking in when i walked up the stairs only to be stared at by the most adorable dog i had ever seen in my life, as soon as he laid his eyes on me pablo started wagging his whole body and what seemed like he was asking me to come out of the cage. So before i started my daily routine of feeding and cleaning the cages i grabbed a lead, opened the kennel and his attitude seemed to change almost automatically
He started to smile and what sounded like a whistle, i never had a dog that i met there so happy to see me, especially one that i had just met for the first time that morning. We walked around downtown Roanoke and even though he pulled a little bit Pablo was walking tall, confident and happier than ever. The hardest part was putting him back in his kennel after our nice morning walked, but i gave him a treat, a head rub and gave him a kiss before i told him that i will be back to get him back out. It almost seemed like he understood what i was saying, the rest of that day through out work i contemplated if i could really handle that kind of responsibility of adopting another animal ( we already had a cat and ball python in out two bedroom condo).
So the next three days i talked to my roommate, and a few people at work to see if i would be able to get a little bit of help getting him into my home, after i asked my supervisor at the time she assured me that the shelter would let me take home bags of food and any kind of medical attention he needed would be provided through them for free.
So on the third day after i did my daily routine i decided to take pablo out on one last walk to be the decided factor of his adoption, little to say he won my heart in that last thirty minutes.
As we walked around the block i noticed that my boot had came untied so i stopped and kneeled to tie it but when i did pablo climbed up onto my leg rested his head on my chest while he let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment i knew he had chosen me as his forever person, so i kissed him on his head again and told him " i know buddy, i'll sign the papers as soon as we get back". So as we walked back even though i wasn't exactly sure if i could handle a dog in my house i made the final decision to adopt him and give him a loving home. The shelter gave me his antibiotics to start his heart worm treatment a big fifty pound of dog food, set up his next appointment and started our trip home
As he settled in the biggest issue i knew would happen is Pablo and my cat getting along, at first he would chase and try to play with Omar (the cat) but Omar just wasn't down for it. He would get scared, fluff up and hiss. It was honestly one of the most stressfull moments of the adoption because all i could think was what if they never get along, having one of my animals scare and stress out another was something i needed to learn how to handle. The biggest thing i had to remember was patients, that at some point they may not love each other but as long as they can be in the same room i would know progress has been made
After three days of keeping them seperated i started intrducing their smells to eachother by letting one roam free in the living room and the other down stairs then switching them out, they started to settled down so when i thought some progress has been made i decided to let them boat roam free, and while there were still some chasing going on there was an unfathomable amount of progress made in just a few weeks. Now even though they may not love each other im happy to announce they are getting closer and closer
