Sept. 17 2012 Spunky's Gotcha Day

The weekend of the 13-14-15 of September had been a bad one.  I was dealing with lots of unpleasent things and had a TON of petsitting (will be shown to you in a later post) so I was majorly stressed.  Then I got a txt message.  Great....something else to think about.  To my utter surprise it was Spunky's owner.  She wanted to talk to me about him and his situation.  I txted back and said I would call in 2 min.  I pulled over to the first parking lot I came to and called her.  No answer.  I left a message and txted her again.  She said a customer came into her business and she would call me back.  grr....now on top of all the stuff I was dealing with and petsitting jobs this was now weighing on my mind.  Was she calling to tell me I could have him or she would never surrender him.  For the next three days my stomach was in knots.  

Finally Sunday night I tried another number I had for his owner and a man answered.  It was Spunky's Owner's husband.  He confirmed my thought....They wanted to surrender Spunky to me if I pay off his bill.  I got off the phone and did a happy dance right there in my living room! 

The next day September 17th I ran to the kennels to tell Spunky that any day now it was over and he could come home with me.  I think he understood every word I was saying and did his Spunky dance for me. 

I then told Dr. Flanary and we reviewed the surrender form we had been working on and she put some notes of things that needed to be included and I told her I would take it home with me that night and get it finished up.  

After my long day at the kennels Dr. Flanary asked me to mop the kennels as they were pretty dirty.  Tired as I was I got out the mop and headed back to the kennels.  After I was done at 2pm I clocked out, gathered my things and headed to the car.  I have a habit of whipping out my cell phone and checking it before I leave and guess what came in at 2:02pm.  Yep it was a txt message from Spunky's Owner stating she was on her way to the clinic to sign the paper I had talked to her husband about.  Oh my dog you have never seen a human grab her purse, hop out of a car and RUN back inside a building as fast as I did.  I had the paper with the hand written corrections on it from Dr. Flanary and as I ran through the treatment area I hollered "SPUNKY"S OWNER IS COMING AND I HAVE TO GET THIS TYPED...SHE IS SURRENDERING HIM TODAY".  It must have been a sight to see.  So I get on the spare computer up front and retype the surrender form and have it printed out.  I sit and wait for a total of 10 minutes which seemed like 100000000000.  Then she walked in and said "Are you Katie, the one I have been texting?" I said yes are you Spunky's owner.  She said yes.  So I handed her the paper and sat there while she read over the words and then signed her name to the paper.  I told her I would be right back and had Dr. Flanary sign and then made copies for everyone.  After I handed her the copy she asked to see him again. 

I ran to the back and asked if that was ok and cautiously went back up front with him.  She held him and cried and told him to be good for Miss Katie.  I told her I had taken care of him since March and he was a good boy.  She said that Little Man (the dog that was boarded with him and died of heartworms) was his father.  She said he was shy just like him.  She then said good bye and left.  I went through the double doors with my new dog.  Donna then came into the back and said my mom was on the phone.  She was trying to get hold of me to talk to me about something but I told her it would have to wait and hung up.  I burst into tears.  They were happy, nervous, and sad tears because I wasn't expecting his owner to react like that.  I was expecting someone who didn't care.  Then I had Donna and Hillary in the hall about to cry with me.  It was an emotional roller coaster!  But then I composed myself and went to clean out his cubby. See its now empty!  Best looking cubby on the wall!

Then I cleaned out his kennel and took his kennel card.  Its going in my good things box.  Its a reminder of where he came from.

Once I got to the car I facebooked this photo with the caption "He's BAAAACCCCKKKK" 

Once I got home and let him out in the yard he was running around and sniffing and peeing!  Oh it was a  sight to see! 

Bobo isn't sure of him yet and is a bit jealous.

 

Mollie has agreed as long as her supply of treats, dresses and adventures is still at the level she is accustomed to she would not object to this new dog.   I assured her nothing will change on those fronts. 

 

That Friday we took him to Petsmart for his first trip out and he didn't like it.  He shook and would have nothing to do with the leash.  Poor baby was on new experience overload!

 With all the new experiences of Petsmart and riding in the car it tuckered him out and he curled up and slept the rest of the trip.

Until....My mom came back to the car from a quick run in to Walmart with this Olive Green harness.

I do believe this boy looks awfully proud!  

Once getting him home I wanted to give him a new name for his new life.  So my mom and I decided on Oliver Spunk.  After a week we decided that it just wasn't the perfect name for him so we tried others and finally we decided on....

Sammy

So will you all help me welcome Sammy to our Pack.  I do believe now that I have 3 senior dogs in my pack we can officially call our house a senior center!  LOL

I have enjoyed him being here and can't wait till he fully relaxes and is a normal dog.  

A days after his Gotcha day I was on the computer at work looking for a file when I came across these two pictures.

This is Spunky or Sammy when he was first brought to the clinic to board in Janruary 2012.  He looks absolutely frightened!

This is Little Man, Sammy's Father and kennel mate.  He was brought in with Sammy in Jan. but died of heartworm infection in March 2012.  

 

Its interesting to see Sammy at a time before I knew him.  I wish I could have met Little Man but from what I hear he was a feisty and bitey dog.  

I got to transfer Sammy's file to my name and put his record in with my dogs records.  As I was doing this I read each word written on his record.  When he arrived he was 4 pounds.  He is now 6.  In the early weeks that they were here Little Man fought with Sammy over food to the point they were fed separately.  Sammy has had ongoing trouble with arthritis and even had an xray done and he has weak disks in his back and a condition called Spondlis.  He also has bilateral cataracts.

 I remember walking into the kennels the first time back in late March 2012...My eyes first went to a little blonde chihuahua sitting in a cage.  My my I didn't know what a ride the next 6 months would be trying to free this boy...It took some nagging, lots of emails to a certain veterinarian, and some persistance but it all worked out for the best and he is in a home that appreciates him and I can call him my own!  I do believe he will get the care he should have had all his life here and never will feel neglected again.  I wish I could have helped Little Man but at least he is in a better place as well.

Now....on to my mission of filling the dog room with size small clothes for a certain little boy!

-Katie the momma of 2 poodles and 1 chihuahua! :)