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Friday, August 26, 2011

IF - All Goes As Plan

If all goes as planned tomorrow we will have four - yes that is right - four dogs. I will pick up Echo to join our family at the Central Colorado German Shepherd Rescue after a work day.
Echo has an interesting story like most rescue dogs do. I received a telephone call from the local shelter a little over a month ago telling me Echo (they called him Duke - lousy name if you ask me) had been there quite a while and no one was interested in him. Could we take him for the rescue. I made a call and viola there was room at the inn for him so I made arrangements to drive him to the Rescue in Buena Vista. He was major matted, had feces in his tail, unruly and aloof. For the first hour of the three hour drive he totally ignored me which is not easy to do in a Jeep Liberty. Then he started to warm up and before long was giving me kisses, leaning against me, laying his head in my lap and allowing his personality to show through.
I kept checking with Connie if he had been adopted but no one took him - possibly because he was rather aloof. I couldn't stop thinking about him and kept telling Carol we really could handle four dogs since Gypsy was 14.5 and declining rapidly. Echo was a stray and ended up at a farmers house but had a proclivity for his chickens and he took him to the shelter.
Echo was renamed at the Rescue, and it seemed everyone one wanted a younger dog, a more friendly dog, a female dog, a dog who loved cats etc. So here we are to do a work day for the Rescue and he is still here. Connie brought him by the campground to meet Carol and our guys. The dogs got along well even though Bozwell seemed relieved when he went home with Connie.
I had warned Carol that he was aloof. Stupid me, he came right up to her and gave her kisses, socialized with the dogs, and that actually sealed the deal. Echo is a smart very well bred guy who learns fast, will be an excellent younger brother for Bozwell. Given time I believe that they will bond and be best of friends.
Sooooo, if all goes well tomorrow we will be adding Mr. Echo to our family. He is a very good boy, who gets along with other dogs, does not like cats or chickens and it seems that God has preserved him to be with us. It is rare that any dog would be on my mind for this amount of time and take an immediate like to Carol. So what is to be is to be and if all goes well tomorrow Echo will be with his forever home, spoiled rotten and a firmly established member of our family. We will then have four very special family members. Below is Echo so meet Echo...




12 comments:

Bruce said...

I forgot to mention on the transport up Echo was finally allowed in the front seat and he won me over by taking delicate steps to make sure he did not step on anything he wasn't suppose to. It was kind of like watching an elephant try to maneuver on the top of a flag pole. That showed me that he was considerate and wanted to be a good boy, which he was. When we got to Connie's we combed him out and he let me comb those matted area's without a hint of displeasure. I believe Echo is a very deliberate and well bred guy that will make an excellent addition to our spoiled pack.

Bridget said...

Congrats on your new addition. We have two wonderful rescues that we wouldn't trade the world for.... both were rescued from the middle of very busy highways (on opposite sides of the country), we feel it was 'in the plan' that they even survived long enough for us to rescue them! Enjoy your new boy--he sounds wonderful!!

Raylene said...

Wish you could have heard me when I scrolled down to see your new Best Friend "Oh, isn't he beautiful!"--can't believe he was passed by so often. One of my rescue cats is absolutely butt ugly....Zoe! I decided to keep her because she was so butt ugly. She was the only surviving newborn in a farmers field when he ran over the hidden nest in the field he was cutting. She was barely days old and lost her Mom as well. The distressed farmer took her to a Vet who treated her and called the rescue group I had volunteered with....it has been a while but she is showing signs of affection and responds to conversation appropriately...I am really surprised at her progress--it was a long time coming but worth the time .

Pat said...

Ahhhh, Bruce... Echo was directed to you, and you to him... This is a great ending -- or rather, beginning -- to the story. Echo is so beautiful. I pray he adjusts well to you and Carol and the rest of the family. When you first sent the story of Echo, it seemed like he had already adopted you. Keep me up with how he is doing... And congratulations to all of you.

Barbara said...

Hey Bruce, ever since you told this story on my list about Echo, I wondered why you didn't take him in the first place. I thought what a marvelous dog this was and how you two seemed to have bonded with one another. I can not tell you how happy this makes me feel for Echo, you and Carol and the other furkids. You did right by this dog and I just know he'll return the favor tens times over! God bless you.........oops, he already did........he sent you Echo!!!!! Barbara

Deirdre said...

I think it grand! Now you are 6 -- nice even number! He looks sturdy and very aware. I bet he fits in just fine. He had the instinct to stay reserved from the masses, but to give kisses to just the right people! Welcome to your new circle of friends, Echo! :)

Bruce said...

Thank you all for the encouragement and kind comments. We have discussed in detail how to socialize Echo into our family without making the other guys uncomfortable. Once that happens and everyone is comfortable with each other and their pecking order, he will be spoiled rotten. One look at his photo and you can see how smart he is, so my guess is it won't take long to totally spoil him just like our other kids. I think he will be so happy to have a real forever home he will be just fine and the spoiling will commence soon. It is going to be forced on everyone since we are all in our pop-up for one more day. Not much room in here so that should make closeness a reality for everyone. If that is not enough; the three hour drive home Monday with three dogs in the back seat of the crew cab and one up front should complete the job. We are certainly open to reasonable suggestions here...
I felt this was going to work out like this but we gave some very good applicants an opportunity to adopt that once in a lifetime guy but since they didn't (their loss) - I believe this is what was intended from the start. I guess sometimes I'm just a little slow on the uptake... I knew in my heart that I should have taken him home in the first place.

Lois & Bill said...

Congratulations on the newest member of the doggie family. Echo looks like he will fit
in "right well." He's really a pretty dog. And that was such a nice story to read right before bed for Bill and I last evening.
Take good care of him,
Love, Bill and Lois

Armando said...

Congrats, Bruce! I know you really wanted him.

Bruce said...

The trip home with Echo was good and he did well in close proximity with the other dogs. He has now marked the house to his liking and even though we caught him on some he succeeded on three others. Who knew a dog could hold that much urine. Like an 80# dog holding 50 gal. of urine. The dogs are all socializing well and Echo has explored every nook and cranny of the house. When we turned on the evening news he stopped and looked at the TV like he has never seen one before - which is very likely. He is afraid of the noise the automatic dog water bowl makes. So if he is afraid to drink from the dog bowl, where is all this urine coming from.

Carol said...

one MIGHT call Echo an early birthday present for Bruce!! :)+

Bruce said...

Thank you for visiting our blog site Jackie: Echo has been with us 6 days now and he is already a great addition to our family. His desire to please and learn obedience is remarkable. As you state the German Shepherd Dog breed holds a special place in our heart for those of us fortunate enough to have them as family members. Hope you enjoy the blogs on this site too.