So I called my little shadow into the bathroom to be weighed on the scale... I WISH I had one of the ones at the vets office... you know, the one where the dog just steps up on? But alas I don't so weighing myself then weighing myself with Eeyore in my arms and subtracting the difference will have to do. I knew he was getting heavier because he nearly grows in front of your eyes, but wow! 42 lbs!
On Saturday July 25th, the day my sportbike club was riding around with a lightness in our hearts, collecting the donation boxes for our bi-annual Mutts-in-Rutts charity event to be delivered to the Gaston County Animal Shelter that afternoon... Eeyore was just another stray. We were enthusiastically thanking our business owners who hosted boxes and marveling at the generosity of their patrons. Eeyore, on the other hand was probably very scared of this new contraption in his midst, but so very hungry, and became caught in the live trap when the temptation of food overrode his sense of fear. Animal control brought him into the shelter that morning weighing in at a mere 24 lbs. Maverick Pet Transportation rescued him on Monday the 27th when they opened for business and we took him home as his new foster parents. Little did we know how much this little pup would integrate into our pack and into our hearts. He's been vet checked, trained, and loved over the past 48 days, and he's blossomed into a 42 pound (that's 2.6 lbs a week) loving goofy puppy!!! Is he adoptable yet? No. Not for some time.
This past weekend was a HUGE test for him. We have a nice small park/ballfield in the next town that hosts little league games (2 fields) has a playground and a nice fenced in basketball court. People go there to jog around the small track, take their pets for walks and of course watch the kids play their games! Sunday was one of those days. The weather was beautiful.... 72 degrees... the sun was warm and the place was FULL.
Eeyore has never been with us to a place quite that active yet as we are still building trust with him. We thought with our trips to Gander Mountain and dining in public areas, this would be a good gauge on how far he's really come along.
We parked in the back lot away from the main parking lot, buffered by some trees, so he could get a feeling of the sounds in the area. As presumed, upon first arrival, he was very frightened and made a bee-line to some tall grass on the far side of the lot. Good thing we brought Snowy & Miss Lexi with us! He feels more comfortable walking as a pack....at least at night he does.
It took many increasingly larger half moon trips around the paved walking trail until we were able to go all the way around. 60 minutes later we were jogging and then running. As I focused on breathing and listening to my own footfalls, I noticed that he and Miss Lexi were in perfect time. Trotting nicely next to each other on loose leashes just a few steps in front of me. PERFECT!!! With that, we met back up with Snowy and Hubby, got some water to drink, and called it a day.
The walk back to the truck wasn't perfect now, but his tail was not tucked and he was not frantically pulling me towards the tall grass, so we made progress and I'm calling it a WIN for Eeyore... in his "Super Cape" of course... so he can be brave!
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