When we brought this little guy home from the pound he was a skinny, hairless mess. The only reason that the pound catchers could get their hands on him was because he was basically starving to death.
His teeth were so bad and his little mouth so sore that he would only eat wet food. Two weeks later he got four teeth removed and a big dental cleaning by our wonderful vets, and he started to be a different dog. When we called our vet from the pound to describe all Wolfie's ills she had said excitedly, "Oh, we can fix all of that!" And so, as you can see, she, her colleagues, and her staff did indeed, "fix all that".
When we first had him, he would drink water outside by licking the dew off of grasses and weeds. Any flag flapping would set him off. He was terrified of any crunching, rattling, or sharp sound that we sometimes couldn't even hear. He still trembles so hard at times that it feels like we are both vibrating. I'm sure there was gunfire in his former life. Slowly he is learning that distant thunder is no threat but he is still not willing to go outside even if mist starts getting on his back, let alone any amount of drizzle or sprinkles.
Poppa's Wolfie stories, in his own words:
"When we adopted Wolfie he was very happy to be going home with us. When we got him home I put him down on the driveway and he walked right in the house with us, no hesitation. We cage trained him and he was potty trained very quickly. Not long after we had his teeth taken care of I met the vet out shopping and she asked how he was and if he bonded yet. I told her he was fine and that he bonded with us right away.
Wolfie loves to go places.
When he sees us getting dressed to go out he starts begging to go with us. When I take him for walks he loves to meet people. He is a little shy of men at first, we think he was mostly chased by male animal control people when he was a stray, but once he accepts anyone he will sit to be petted for as long as they are willing to do it. When we encounter someone walking their dog Wolfie will greet the other dog and then the dog's owner. If the other dog's owner should start petting Wolfie he "adopts" that owner and will protect them from their own dog, warning their dog off if they get too close. Wolfie also likes to be petted by small children and tolerates their sometimes not so gentle petting.
When I take Wolfie up the hiking trail on Cowles Mountain he loves to go up even the big steps, but when it's time to go down he will stop and wait to be put down the big steps. He also does not like to go back the way we came, so if there is a loop trail he is happier to just keep going. Because he is black he gets pretty hot in the sun so he knows what shade is. When we are hiking on sunny days he will go fast until we get to shade and then he will slow down or stop, so we go fast in the sun and slow in the shade. He can find shade on the sides of the trail from the low bushes lining the trail.
When we are at the end of a long hike he will be walking very slowly and stopping to rest quite a bit, but when we get back home he will go tearing around the house like a maniac so I wonder how tired he really was. When I take him to a park I like to end at a big grassy field and let him off leash and then run. He loves to show off by running past me and then turning to stop and wait for me to catch up. When I get past him he takes off again and repeats the taunt. It's funny to watch him on those short legs tearing across the grass and then spinning to a stop, belly on the grass and legs splayed out.
Wolfie is fearless when it comes to meeting dogs bigger than he and establishing the fact that he won't be intimidated. Some of the bigger dogs he has met have ignored him when he acted like a mad dog and eventually he realized they weren't going to react, and they became friends. There is one dog, a big chocolate lab, who comes lumbering towards us when he sees us coming, barking a big deep ominous sounding bark. Once Wolfie realized it was all show he stopped reacting, virtually ignoring that big dog just like some of them ignore him when he is acting crazy. It's always nice to meet a dog whose owner is not upset by any of this because with only a few exceptions they always become friends after a few meetings even if it seems at first like they would be mortal enemies forever. "
His teeth were so bad and his little mouth so sore that he would only eat wet food. Two weeks later he got four teeth removed and a big dental cleaning by our wonderful vets, and he started to be a different dog. When we called our vet from the pound to describe all Wolfie's ills she had said excitedly, "Oh, we can fix all of that!" And so, as you can see, she, her colleagues, and her staff did indeed, "fix all that".
When we first had him, he would drink water outside by licking the dew off of grasses and weeds. Any flag flapping would set him off. He was terrified of any crunching, rattling, or sharp sound that we sometimes couldn't even hear. He still trembles so hard at times that it feels like we are both vibrating. I'm sure there was gunfire in his former life. Slowly he is learning that distant thunder is no threat but he is still not willing to go outside even if mist starts getting on his back, let alone any amount of drizzle or sprinkles.
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| Wolfie in his Poppa "Santa's" arms at Christmas time. |
"When we adopted Wolfie he was very happy to be going home with us. When we got him home I put him down on the driveway and he walked right in the house with us, no hesitation. We cage trained him and he was potty trained very quickly. Not long after we had his teeth taken care of I met the vet out shopping and she asked how he was and if he bonded yet. I told her he was fine and that he bonded with us right away.
Wolfie loves to go places.
When he sees us getting dressed to go out he starts begging to go with us. When I take him for walks he loves to meet people. He is a little shy of men at first, we think he was mostly chased by male animal control people when he was a stray, but once he accepts anyone he will sit to be petted for as long as they are willing to do it. When we encounter someone walking their dog Wolfie will greet the other dog and then the dog's owner. If the other dog's owner should start petting Wolfie he "adopts" that owner and will protect them from their own dog, warning their dog off if they get too close. Wolfie also likes to be petted by small children and tolerates their sometimes not so gentle petting.
When I take Wolfie up the hiking trail on Cowles Mountain he loves to go up even the big steps, but when it's time to go down he will stop and wait to be put down the big steps. He also does not like to go back the way we came, so if there is a loop trail he is happier to just keep going. Because he is black he gets pretty hot in the sun so he knows what shade is. When we are hiking on sunny days he will go fast until we get to shade and then he will slow down or stop, so we go fast in the sun and slow in the shade. He can find shade on the sides of the trail from the low bushes lining the trail.
When we are at the end of a long hike he will be walking very slowly and stopping to rest quite a bit, but when we get back home he will go tearing around the house like a maniac so I wonder how tired he really was. When I take him to a park I like to end at a big grassy field and let him off leash and then run. He loves to show off by running past me and then turning to stop and wait for me to catch up. When I get past him he takes off again and repeats the taunt. It's funny to watch him on those short legs tearing across the grass and then spinning to a stop, belly on the grass and legs splayed out.
Wolfie is fearless when it comes to meeting dogs bigger than he and establishing the fact that he won't be intimidated. Some of the bigger dogs he has met have ignored him when he acted like a mad dog and eventually he realized they weren't going to react, and they became friends. There is one dog, a big chocolate lab, who comes lumbering towards us when he sees us coming, barking a big deep ominous sounding bark. Once Wolfie realized it was all show he stopped reacting, virtually ignoring that big dog just like some of them ignore him when he is acting crazy. It's always nice to meet a dog whose owner is not upset by any of this because with only a few exceptions they always become friends after a few meetings even if it seems at first like they would be mortal enemies forever. "
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I’m going through some stuff but I will peek in now and then and will be back when it’s over..