A new beginning, for Bullet

Sunday, following our vacation to our secret little spot of Heaven on Earth with hungry bass, DH and I drove to TIRR Rescue to pick up our two remaining dogs Shiloh and Indy.  We had a plan, to talk with Roy there, about adding in a third dog, to fill the hole that Ranger left with his sudden passing away

We had already talked to our local shelter, and looked at their dogs available to foster, and knew that we needed to bring ours home first.  It can be hard, walking away empty handed, from a kill shelter, but we knew it was what we had to do.

When we arrived Sunday morning, there was a joyous reunion with our two.  Indy spinning and dancing all over the place, unable to focus on one human to lavish his affection on.  Shiloh, ever-in-control, went all wiggle-butt when she saw DH.  He is her favorite human.  Such a Daddy's Girl!

I'm bored with you.  Where's my favorite human?

Hihihihihi! Pet me Pet me!

When they had finally settled down, we went to the kennel with Roy to talk dogs.  We chatted a lot, and then went to see three dogs, in depth.  One, a handsome young male, just was not ready to adopt out.  There had been some "issues" when he was with Animal Control, and Roy wanted to give him time to adjust to being at TIRR, and to see how he behaved.  Another, was a dog with some separation anxiety.  Not uncommon in dogs, but this boy just didn't click with either of us.  He was fine, around our two dogs, but that was because he was ignoring them.  He really just wanted to be back in his run with his pack and best buddy.  Lastly, we saw a bit older of a dog.  We thought he was about 5, from looking at him.  He was a stockier build, almost the same size as Indy, with the same sort of block-head.  He really looks like a throwback to the early version of the breed. (Yes he is a purebred Rhodesian Ridgeback.)  His name was Bullet.

It turns out Bullet came into TIRR from a west Texas animal shelter.  He seems to have been a ranch dog.  He is clearly familiar with horses, and undisturbed by them, nor does he harrass them.  He is also, according to the paperwork Roy has on him, 8 years old next month, and was an owner surrender and seems to have always been named Bullet.  For those who know us, I sort of thought that was a sign...  He had been at TIRR for 11 months.  He had been to adoption events as recently as Saturday, but had a history of "not showing well"  because he would get upset when other dogs came near his crate.  Humans by his crate were just fine.

Bullet clearly likes his humans.  He is friendly and enjoys soaking up attention. He got along fine with our two, down at the kennel.  Not being sure of his past, we assumed he was not housebroken.  That in itself is not a dealbreaker, as we have tile and laminate flooring, not carpet.  So we took him over to the house at TIRR, to see how he behaved inside a real home.  And of course, he tried to mark a couple walls!  BUT, the important thing is we were watching for that behavior, and caught him in the act, and verbally corrected him, and he STOPPED!  Pretty soon, he flopped on the floor not far from Indy.  Periodically he got up, and made the rounds of available humans, for ear scratches.

So, we have a new family member!  Bullet has joined our pack. It feels good, to give an older dog a chance at a new beginning, with all the comforts of home.  He has been accident free so far in the house, and has already graduated from sleeping in the crate at night to sleeping on Ranger's dog bed in our bedroom.  That took a whopping 24 hrs!

First night on a dog bed uncrated. Think he likes it??

And like all our Ridgies, he is enjoying the pool deck.  It is their favorite place to do their solar recharging.