Late this past summer, my dog, Buddy took some big social steps during a visit to my brother-in-law’s mother’s house. He spent the day with her dog, Maisey, burning more energy than I ever knew he had — doing so by playing with Maisey for hours on end.
To understand the relevance of this, a little backstory:
When I started fostering Buddy (then dubbed ‘Rex’ by the rescue organization with which I worked) he was unsure of everything. He was a breeder surrender who had a constant look of sadness and uncertainty on his face. I have always had a soft spot for Golden Retrievers, and the day I went to pick him up he had such a look of fear on his face that I was afraid fostering him might not work out. He wouldn’t respond to Rex, so I started trying some different options to see if one made him more at ease as he warmed up to me.
A few names in, I had kind of given up on trying, but I randomly said, “Oh, Bubba, it’s OK,” and his ears perked up. I quickly figured out that he responded to “B” sounds, and ended up with Buddy. I guess sometimes dogs do pick their own names.
Once I got him home and inside, I could see him immediately start to relax. As he investigated, I sat down on the floor in my living room to get to his level, and he ran over and made himself comfortable in my lap. I pretty much knew at that moment he was “home.”
As I started testing the waters with socializing him with other people and dogs, there were some red flags. His distrust was warranted given his background, but it took a lot of time for him to allow others to even pet him without cowering. He also showed signs of aggression with other dogs his size when he was brought to the dog park. When other dogs his size tried to play with him, he would lose patience quickly, show his teeth, and growl.
In fact, the only other dog his size that he was tolerant of was, Gnash, a fellow rescued Golden Retriever, that belongs to colleagues of mine and fellow rescue volunteers, Sierra and Brady — although I think the reason for the tolerance was Gnash’s complete disinterest and lack of focus.
My decision to adopt Buddy was made within the first 24 hours of getting him home, but it was about a month into fostering him before I was able to officially say he was home. Since then we’ve had lots of adventures — and lots of change.
Today, 15 months later, Buddy had an unexpected, but amazing, first. After more than a year of refusing to even play with tennis balls or other dog toys, Buddy, who has gradually warmed up to Maisey, followed her lead and played like a dog.
Buddy and Maisey started by running circles in the backyard. Buddy has run short sprints before, but only when he’s alone. Today, he ran alongside Maisey, and after about 20 seconds they started to wrestle. I panicked because he’s never been OK with that before, but it quickly became apparent that he was having FUN.
The video of them wrestling is the first time he has done it. The loud snorting is Buddy trying to catch his breath from the intense prior 20 whole seconds of running. The second video is the shared bowl of water that followed, which was quickly followed by 25 minutes of Buddy panting as he tried to catch his breath, a quick nap, and finally, a game of tug-of-war.
I often feel, as I watch people on social media share their passions and hobbies, a little envious. I often wonder why I don’t necessarily feel that passion about something.
But I do. It felt amazing today seeing that after 15 months of trying to help Buddy “just be a dog,” he was finally able to let go and do it.
Anyone who has ever thought about fostering a rescue — do it. Buddy was my sixth foster. They were all different and all amazing. While it was nice to have the feeling that I was doing something that made a difference, it ultimately lead me to Buddy — and I can’t imagine life without him now.
I hope these photos and videos full of snorting, slurping, and happy dogs living their best lives bring you as good a feeling as I get looking through them over and over again.
