This handsome boy has quite a story. We spotted him on outreach one day over 2 yrs. ago. He was chained under the steps leading up to the back door of a house. He was so cute! He also looked very lonely. We stopped and knocked on the door, but no one was home. We headed to the back yard to take care of this dog. He was very sweet and grateful for the treats and attention. We left our info on the owner’s door, along with a bag of dog food.
We did not hear from the guy, so we stopped by one day a couple of weeks later and caught him home. He worked for the city in some capacity. We learned that the dog’s name was King. He was not neutered or vaccinated and was living on a big chain. The owner was receptive to us picking up King one day for neuter and shots and also to letting us put him on a tie-out cable, instead of that heavy chain.
It was clear right away that this guy paid no attention to his dog. King quickly became one of our favorites and our regulars. We were determined to stay involved with this dog and to try to make his life better. He got SO excited when our white van pulled up. We were always good for a pig ear or rawhide of some kind and lots of lovin!
King’s care would ebb and flow. Sometimes, he’d have clean water-usually after we’d been there and left notes for the guy to step it up. Sometimes, he’d start looking thin again. We took him a homemade, very well made dog house that someone made for us. We stuffed it full of hay in the winter. This boy never went inside-ever! I don’t care if the wind chill was below zero-King was out there. We provided fly and flea control in the summer. We cleaned the poop up and swept away the broken glass that we would find. We would go to check on King and he’d be back on the chain. The guy told us he broke the tie-out cable, but we’d put another on him. They would last a few months and it was worth it for him not to have that incredible weight hanging off of him. We took King real, meaty bones that were delicious to him and gave him something to do.
Next door to King lived a little old man. He didn’t say much, but when I would stop by during the week, he would come out sometimes and say, “I sure wish someone could take that dog. He doesn’t care about him at all” or “that dog doesn’t deserve that”. How right he was.
After about a year of up and down care, it turned out that it was always just bad when we got there. For a long time, we’d set a bag of food for the guy on the back step by his back door. It got to the point where the next time we’d come by to visit King, the bag of food from the time before would still be laying on the step by the back door. Of course, King had ripped it open and eaten out of it. If you’ve been following us awhile, you will remember a fb posting showing King and his ripped open bag of food that the guy had never touched. This guy wasn’t even getting the bag of food and feeding him anymore. We weren’t even sure that he still lived there. We decided it was time to get King out of there, so that’s exactly what we did.
We were so relieved that he was finally with us and out of that lonely place. We kept him alive and comforted as much as we could, but now he was a Chain of Hope boy!
We named him Copper and he began to settle in. He was very nervous being inside-it was all unknown to him. How sad is that? He also was not great with other dogs, but how could we expect anything different? He had been chained and isolated for so long, he didn’t even know how to act around other dogs. We went very slowly with this boy! We spent a lot of time testing him and introducing him to other dogs. We finally found a couple of females that he learned to enjoy playing with. It was so great to watch him run and run in circles around the yard! He was free and happy finally! We taught him how to walk on a leash and he loved his walks! All the sights, smells and sounds were new. All he had before was his 4-5 ft. dirt circle where he had lived for 2 years on chains and tie-out cables.
Copper tested positive for heart worms when we rescued him and he completed his treatment last year. He is crate-trained and weighs about 75 lbs. He is a big, strong boy, but has been waiting to share his love with his special person.
We have all worked very hard with this boy. He has been with us since November of 2014. He has never had a foster home. He has either been at our facility or in boarding the entire time he’s been with us. We are determined to find this boy a forever home! He is in a playgroup right now with a 94 lb. male Newfie mix and a 55 lb. female pit mix and does great! He just needs a little adjustment time to a new person, a new dog or a new environment. No one has been willing to give him that initial time he needs to transition. He needs an angel. Just give him a chance-that’s all he needs. He is a very good dog! He is obedient, smart, sweet and loving.
Please fill out a foster or an adoption application if you can open your heart to Copper. Our apps can be found on our adoptable pets page. Copper has been waiting for 1 1/2 yrs. to find his soulmate. Could it be you? He is well worth it and will bring you much joy! Please share and let’s finally find this great dog a home!
