Arrival Date: 25 September 2021
Adoption Date: 15 October 2021
I have never seen two dogs more scared than the day I picked up Mack (brown pup) and Nico (yellow pup) from the vet. When they were brought out to me by the vet tech they were shivering and doing anything in their power to stay huddled together. I was told by the vet tech that they were aggressive towards her when being removed from the kennel and harnessed so I was very careful when I strapped them into my back seat. It was obvious that they didn’t want to stay at the vet, but they also didn’t want to leave with me. They just wanted to go back to their home and their mom, but unfortunately that wasn’t an option for them.
I can’t imagine the confusion and unhappiness Mack and Nico were experiencing. They had been taken away from everything and everyone familiar to them and placed in kennels. Similar to LT (link), Mack and Nico’s mom had gotten sick and could no longer take care of them so the rescue stepped in to find them a good home. It’s heartbreaking to think how scared they must have been with such a rapid change in their little lives. Dogs have such little autonomy. The best they can hope for is that a loving person finds them. Thankfully, there are so many wonderful rescues and people working to create positive change to so many dogs in sad situations.
Neither Mack nor Nico made a peep the entire car ride. When we arrived home, they were still petrified so I set up a comfy and safe place in the downstairs bathroom where they could decompress with each other without the other dogs bothering them. I gave them food, water, and bedding and left the door open for them so they could venture out when ready. I checked on them every few hours and always found the two pups sharing one bed and stacked on top of one another. They were definitely bonded.
Nico was overweight and had an eye infection so I had to apply an ointment to his eye multiple times a day and not once had either dog showed any aggression towards me, my husband, or the other dogs. They had just been scared, but now we’re beginning to feel a little safer together away from the noise and smells of the kennel.
For the first three days they didn’t venture out except at night when we were upstairs in bed, but my foster coordinator told me to give them some time. There’s a popular saying with rescue dogs called 3-3-3: three days to decompress and not be fearful, three weeks to learn the routine, and three months to feel at home. This doesn’t apply to all rescue dogs of course, because I’ve had some come in right away and act as if they’ve always lived here, but it applied to Mack and Nico.
In the evening of day three, my husband and I were downstairs making dinner with our other dogs when we heard the pitter patter of paws on the vinyl floor. Nico came running out with Mack on his tail. They wanted pets, treats, and began to interact with our dogs. I like to imagine that they psyched each other up in the bathroom before they came out with Nico whispering “Let’s do this! Just follow me and everything will be okay.” It’s as if they made the conscious decision to join us and from that moment on, they were part of the family. They came on walks, ate with the others, and slept in our bed at night. We fell in love with them.
After a couple of weeks their adoption bio went live and I was told to expect that they wouldn’t get adopted for a few months since most people are not looking to adopt two dogs at one time (which is what we were requiring for this bonded pair) which was fine with me because I loved having them around. Surprisingly, only a few days later Mack and Nico received an application from a husband and wife that had recently lost two dogs. At our meetup, I learned that their dogs had not been bonded and didn’t always get along so they were excited to find two dogs that loved each other. I knew right away that this couple were the right mom and dad for Mack and Nico so after our meetup I left Mack and Nico with their new adopted parents. When I got in my car and drove off without them, I already missed them but I knew they were in good hands.
There are still dogs that my husband and I will reminiscence on long after they’ve left us and Mack and Nico are two of them. I’m very sorry that they ever had to leave their mom, but I’m so happy that they found a new, loving home to spend the rest of their lives together in.
