We came across Spot one day in the winter of 2014 by going down an alley, looking for dogs on chains. This little guy looked pretty good. He had a full bowl of food and a clean bowl of water. He was at good body weight. However, he was on a chain and had a broken dog house. We went around to the front of the house and knocked on the door. We met a young woman who told us that Spot had belonged to her grandma and her grandma had passed away recently. She said that she hadn’t wanted him to go to a shelter, so she stepped forward to take him. We complimented her on how good he looked and the clean bowls of food and water. We told her that we could get him neutered and vaccinated and once that was done, we could bring her a new dog house. We also talked to her about a crate to use in the house so she could bring him in. We put a new collar on him and a tie-out cable so that he could get off of that chain. She was grateful, receptive, and we liked this girl for taking Spot when no one else would after grandma died. We made arrangements to pick him up the next week and get him neutered and vaccinated (thank you donors!).
Chain of Hope got everything taken care of, including taking Spot a nice igloo and a crate. We would check up on him by driving down the alley and many times he was inside! All was well for a couple of months.
It wasn’t too long before Spot started slipping through the cracks. We started finding him out there all the time. We would find empty bowls and he would be hungry. We tried to talk to her, but she either wasn’t home or didn’t want to answer the door. When volunteers would go check on him, they always had notes on their outreach sheets about how much Spot was slipping. I went over one day and pounded on her door. It took a while, but she finally came to the door at noon in her pjs. I asked her what was going on with Spot and why he didn’t have food and water and was not looking good anymore. She informed me that she was pregnant. I just stood there and looked at her. Then I literally asked her if she couldn’t feed her dog anymore because she was pregnant. She told me it was “hard to get out there.” I told her that it was her responsibility to make sure all of his needs were met and that she needed to get out there everyday and check on him and fill up his food and water. I also reminded her that we had brought him a crate so that he could be inside.
We continued to keep an eye on him to see if she would step up. She didn’t. It was the same old, same old. I went by one day and found him as these pictures show. He was missing hair due to fleas, had lost weight, had no food or water (again!) and his cable was tangled. It was quite obvious that this girl was not interested in taking care of this boy any longer and that she didn’t give a damn about him anymore. How sad.
Fortunately, we were able to get this boy and bring him into our program. Finally, he was out of there! We brought him to Chain of Hope, changed his name to Mr. Peabody and got him settled in. His new life was about to begin!
He has the most wonderful little white eyelashes!
We called him Grumpy at first. He just needed to get used to being in a pack. We went very slow with him and integrated him into a playgroup. Once he relaxed and began playing, he loosened up a lot! We really enjoyed having this guy with us. Before long, he was going for rides to get cheeseburgers!
Of course, our goal is to get these babies adopted into forever, loving homes. After 3 mo., we received a great application for Mr. Peabody. We made arrangements for Dawn and her family to come and meet him. He was awesome and really liked them! They thought he was adorable. They took some time to think about it and decided that they would like to make Mr. Peabody a part of their family! We were ecstatic for Peabody!!!
Dawn and her family took him home for a week, but then were leaving town for a week vacation. They had really wanted to take him home, so we told them that he was welcome to go home with them and then come back and stay with us while they were on their trip. We wanted him to come back to something he knew well. After a week, they came and picked him up. He was glad to see them and they were super happy to see him! We loved caring for him for that week-it was good to see him!
Dawn and her family love this boy! They changed his name to Riley and Riley is definitely in his forever home where he is loved and cherished.
Here is part of what Dawn had to say when we checked in on Riley:
Mr. Peabody/Riley is doing really well. He stays very busy, prefers to be close by and keeps track of where everybody is at. He goes absolutely nuts when it’s time to go for his daily walks. He knows that after we eat, that’s what comes next and he lets us know. We have discovered that he already knew how to sit and shake but of course we may be taking up some training for a few things that he needs to work on. Nothing major, I just don’t think he realizes that he is not a little guy! There are two huge dogs next door that bark and carry on but Riley is very chill and doesn’t even react to their craziness. There have also been a couple instances where little dogs have snapped at him and he just backs off. Such a good boy from that aspect. The relationship with our cat is a bit different. He loves to chase her! I don’t think he has any intention of hurting her rather I think he is just trying to HERD her. Lol. Overall, I think we were lucky enough to find a good dog. Just like any family member, he’s not perfect but we love him none the less. It may sound corny, but I swear he just has a happy face and that is what truly makes it all worth it.
Chain of Hope sees so much sadness everyday, I cannot tell you how much these pictures warmed our hearts to see one of our kids off their chain and in their happy home! Dawn says he loves his Kong, loves to lay on the pile of towels to be folded and likes to cram himself into his little sister’s dog bed, even though his big one is right there as well! What a funny little guy that makes everyone who meets him smile!
I love the joy on Riley’s face as he’s running around the back yard! Freedom is a beautiful thing!
Riley is safe, happy and loved! Thanks for keeping us out there.
