..or should I say he adopted us?
On April 2nd a big, black stray dog approached us as we had a picnic lunch on the front lawn. He was an old guy, calm and gentle so we let him hang around us. I have 2 little boys so usually I keep any strays (and people's loose dogs that crap everywhere) at bay.
We gave him some water and he politely sat to the side while we ate. We spent the next hour or 2 playing with him in the front yard while I checked online lost/found ads since he didn't have a collar.
He was chunky, so I knew he wasn't a stray for long but he was filthy!
My 6 year old had soccer practice and we ride our bikes the mile or 2 to the field. He totally followed us there! He seemed so content in our company. I even got compliments on what a well behaved off leash dog we had. Haha. They were shocked when I told them he followed us!
We decided to keep him with us and try to find his owners. We posted a "found" ad and planned to call animal control the following day to scan for a micro chip.
The next morning we got a call from his owners after they saw my ad. They are an older couple and live in our neighborhood, only 8 houses away!
We met up with them that night and learned his story...
His name is Muttley because he's a mutt. He's 11 years old and they've had him since he was a puppy. He grew up with their 3 kids who are all grown and out of the house now. The dad worked at a shop and took him to work everyday.
Recently, the dad got a new job and Muttley couldn't go to work with him anymore. He was kept in the side yard/converted dog kennel all day everyday and started digging out to escape.
We had fallen in love with this dog and since we were neighbors, it was said that we could still walk him. They gave us permission to take him whenever we wanted.
It started off with just daily walks, then spending the whole day with us, then occasional sleepovers....Lol (don't worry the owners knew!)
Fast forward, the owners want us to keep him! They see how much we love him AND how much Muttley loves being part of our family.
We had planned to get a family dog this winter. We were on a wait list with a breeder for a rough collie puppy. But it looks like our family dog came early!
We love him so much. I know he will enjoy his golden years with us! ...and we hope his golden years stretch out a bit
My leopard tortoise has the backyard and Muttley lives in the house with us with supervised potty breaks. When we leave the house (and he can't come with us) he's either in the garage or he goes to his 1st owners side yard/kennel. Which by the way has been improved to prevent more escapes!
Eventually we will put a side yard fence up so the dog can be kept separate from the tort when we are gone.
Here are some photos!
Ok, practically every photo with him has my kids in it, too! Let me do some editing and then I'll post more pics
On April 2nd a big, black stray dog approached us as we had a picnic lunch on the front lawn. He was an old guy, calm and gentle so we let him hang around us. I have 2 little boys so usually I keep any strays (and people's loose dogs that crap everywhere) at bay.
We gave him some water and he politely sat to the side while we ate. We spent the next hour or 2 playing with him in the front yard while I checked online lost/found ads since he didn't have a collar.
He was chunky, so I knew he wasn't a stray for long but he was filthy!
My 6 year old had soccer practice and we ride our bikes the mile or 2 to the field. He totally followed us there! He seemed so content in our company. I even got compliments on what a well behaved off leash dog we had. Haha. They were shocked when I told them he followed us!
We decided to keep him with us and try to find his owners. We posted a "found" ad and planned to call animal control the following day to scan for a micro chip.
The next morning we got a call from his owners after they saw my ad. They are an older couple and live in our neighborhood, only 8 houses away!
We met up with them that night and learned his story...
His name is Muttley because he's a mutt. He's 11 years old and they've had him since he was a puppy. He grew up with their 3 kids who are all grown and out of the house now. The dad worked at a shop and took him to work everyday.
Recently, the dad got a new job and Muttley couldn't go to work with him anymore. He was kept in the side yard/converted dog kennel all day everyday and started digging out to escape.
We had fallen in love with this dog and since we were neighbors, it was said that we could still walk him. They gave us permission to take him whenever we wanted.
It started off with just daily walks, then spending the whole day with us, then occasional sleepovers....Lol (don't worry the owners knew!)
Fast forward, the owners want us to keep him! They see how much we love him AND how much Muttley loves being part of our family.
We had planned to get a family dog this winter. We were on a wait list with a breeder for a rough collie puppy. But it looks like our family dog came early!
We love him so much. I know he will enjoy his golden years with us! ...and we hope his golden years stretch out a bit
My leopard tortoise has the backyard and Muttley lives in the house with us with supervised potty breaks. When we leave the house (and he can't come with us) he's either in the garage or he goes to his 1st owners side yard/kennel. Which by the way has been improved to prevent more escapes!
Eventually we will put a side yard fence up so the dog can be kept separate from the tort when we are gone.
Here are some photos!
Ok, practically every photo with him has my kids in it, too! Let me do some editing and then I'll post more pics