photo #1581470

Im a firm believer that animals pick us. This one picked me 7 yrs ago. At the time, he was just a pup and I didn't have a yard or a stable residence. I worked double shifts and was raising my two youngest sons. Hes the offspring of one of my best friends Blue Heeler and Redbone Coon Hound. She told me that he was the one they were raising for a hunting dog 🐕 🤧. So I washed the idea of finding a way to work even harder to be able to make him a part of our family. Life got better, I forgot about my dog and 2½yrs later I moved back to my hometown 3 hours away. My gf called me up and said "Opie is ready to come home. " 😳 I had no freaking clue who "Opie" was. I thought she was trying to set me up with some dude so I'll like huh???? Lol she says, you know your dog... long pause and I responded with "I thought he was your hunting dog" and that's when she proceeded to explain to me that it had been a fleeting thought but that after she saw me and opie togethet, they're was no way in hell that she was going to let this pup go to anyone but me andv that she had prayed for us to have our home so that my soul dog could be with me. I LOVE THAT WOMAN TO PIECES!This gets a little better, at 3 yrs old, he'd never been in the house ( just the shed that was made to keep them cool in summer and warm if the desert nights got too cool), he'd never worn a collar, obviously never walked on a leash or ridden in a vehicle lol.Her daughter lives in a neighboring town about 45 minutes away from me. She was down at her mom's visiting, we made a plan to meet in the middle and she brought opie up mid-summer in a crate with a towel and ice block on it lol. He was sooooo scared. She suggested we put the crate in car ( that was a feat) to get him home first. We got him home and he hasnt left my side since. Im sure you can imagine how every new experience was traumatic to him. His first collar was like we were killing him, putting a leash on him, i swear he thought we were heading for hell lol and That was just letting him walk in the house without us holding it. My friend suggested we just go out front, no leash and that she damn near guarantees he won't run and he'll stay within 5 feet of me. By george! She was right. Unfortunately there's leash laws and he succumbed to the leash idea after walking next to my sons dog. The car rides were a whole different drama... 3 years, yup 3 freaking yrs and anytime I wanted to walk around a lake, go fishing, take a hiking trail or get him safely to a friend's house when we had a small house fire, it was like a cat on a screen. 🙄 I thought I'd never get past that but we did about a year ago, and now he lives to go everywhere I can take him. He's finally started to get territorial and protective if someone approaches the car with me in it and I'm hoping that he gets better at that when I'm away from the car. He is my guardian. He can read ill intentions. He can tell when something isn't right with my body and health and he loves me like I'm the greatest thing on earth.All in all, my point is this; there's a difference in picking out a pet and a pet picking you. People choose pets all of the time and then decide that its too hard and then they get rid of them. That's super shitty and sad to see happen. That's how we ended up with our 3rd and final 200 lb fur baby ( Hes a whole new story) lol.Ps. I'm not the best story teller, there will be more fur baby stories, it doesn't always have to be political and I probably post food pics too!Have a great day everyone🥰