Paws and Prayers Rescue Blog

There is no way to tell the story of Russell from beginning to end as a short story.  His story is far too long; and far from over.  So I will do my best to keep it as short as possible.  I'll divide it into chapters so it doesn't have to be read all at once.  The 7 chapters of Russell's Story will be posted semi-monthly.

Mandy

When I brought Russell to our home for the first time, I knew that introducing him to my dogs properly would be important.  After my female Beagle, Mandy, had not been too happy with Molly, I had to make sure she knew she was not going to be threatened by this "other dog."  My wife, Vicki, was out on our deck with our dogs when I brought Russell home.  I walked him around the house for a few minutes letting him smell his new surroundings.  Keeping him on a walking leash, I went around to the back of the house where the deck is to meet Mandy and Buddy.  They began their normal amount of barking when seeing a new dog as I walked Russell up the stairs to the gated deck area.  Within a minute of the proper "smelling the behinds" introductions, Mandy growled and tried to attack Russell.  He retreated as I pulled him away and my wife secured Mandy.  This was not going to be easy.

Left to Right:  Buddy, Russell and Mandy in August 2011

We decided that a nice walk with all three dogs was in order.  With Vicki in the lead walking Mandy and Buddy, I walked Russell behind them.  He seemed to understand pretty quickly that he was third in dog seniority in our little family.  The long walk went off without problems.  Tired and thirsty, we brought the three dogs into the house together.  After waiting his turn at the water bowl, I started to lead Russell around the house on his walking leash.  We had learned from past experience, with our own rescued dogs, that keeping them on a short leash for a while inside the house will get them into a routine and build trust.  As I passed our rocking chair and ottoman (the one we bought especially to rock our newborn son some 17 years earlier), Russell lifted his leg and peed on the ottoman.  "Russell...NO!" I yelled.  He kept peeing.  I took him outside and he just stood outside for several minutes.  I brought him back into the house and began to lead him around, he tried several more times to lift his leg on any vertical surface we passed!  This was going to difficult.  We had never had a male dog in our house that was not house broken. Russell was going to be on the leash inside the house for a while.

Over the next couple weeks, we began to get to know Russell through observations and interactions.  He was somewhat of a loner.  We could pet him, but he didn't seek out attention.  He liked chewing on bones and soft toys, but didn't want to play with us or our dogs.  He really didn't like being on the leash inside the house.  This was mostly because when he laid down and went to sleep, I would have to frequently wake him up to go with me.  He would sigh and slowly follow; flopping himself down on the ground when I stopped and grudgingly get back up when he had to.  We had to keep him on the leash because he still didn't seem to understand that peeing inside the house was bad.

Russell had one habit during those early days that reminded us that he was a dog that had been on his own and tied up outside.  He would get up early in the morning, usually around 5:00am, and want to go outside.   He didn't go to the bathroom as soon as he got outside.  Instead he would go beyond where the dogs normally went to the bathroom and begin licking the dew off the blades of grass.  He wasn't eating it; just licking the dew.  It only took us a short time to realize that this was probably the only way he got water during the time he was abandoned.  He knew he had to get outside and get water because once the sun came up, the dew would evaporate and there would be no more water until the next morning.  He would continue to do this for about three weeks before realizing he had a nearly endless supply of water inside the house in a bowl that was easier to find and easier to use.

A few weeks soon turned into almost two months.  Russell was not getting any applications and little attention at adoption events.  At events, he would sit in the shade, rarely getting up except to get a drink of water or a treat that was offered to him.  He went on two camping trips with us and enjoyed the walks and the outdoors.  He did not, however, have the energy to go on long walks of more than two miles or so.  He would stop and lay down to rest; even along the side of the road.  He was getting along with our dogs pretty well and was starting to like getting petted by us and even strangers.  He was still, however, not that dog that craves attention that people looking to adopt a dog hope to find.  I was still keeping him on the leash inside the house, patiently watching what I did in one room and then follow me to the next.  He always slept in a dog bed right next to me on the floor, loudly snoring once he was in a deep sleep.  He still would attempt to go to the bathroom inside the house, but was getting better.

Some of the other foster parents at Paws & Prayers suggested that I relist Russell on our website and maybe even change his name.  “Russell” was not your typical dog name and that might be stopping some people from even looking at him.  I decided that I couldn't do that because I had said “Russell” so many times (“Russell, NO!….Russell, STOP!.... Russell, come on”, etc.) that I could never get myself to say another name.  Besides, Russell was endearing himself to me.  He looked at me for guidance whenever we went somewhere, followed me inside the house dragging his leash, and was even excited to see me when I came home from work.  He seemed to really like our home too.  When we walked all three dogs at night, we could drop the leashes when we were about 100 feet or so from returning to our house and all three dogs would run up to our door to be let back in the house.  It seemed like Russell was starting to settle in for a long visit as he wasn't getting adopted anytime soon.

To be continued . . .


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Content By:  Beagle Bob

"Beagle Bob" Dietrich is a foster parent for dogs along with his wife Vicki and son Robert.  Bob is a full time Fire Fighter/Paramedic, Vicki is a high school math teacher, and Robert is a full time college student.  They have two Beagles, Mandy and Buddy. 

Images:  1 & 2 Provided by Beagle Bob, 3http://wallpaperuser.com/dewy-grass/