Beware of People Who Dont Like Dogs

As many of you know, I am crazy in love with my dog! I have had dogs my whole life and even ran my own dog walking/pet sitting business. But I have never loved a dog more than this little creature. Noodle has changed my life. It was a strange chain of events that he even came into my life. After my last dog passed away it took me eight years to even consider getting another dog. After rescuing a dog for my parents I decided it was finally time for me. I was on the list to adopt a little Maltese, Buddy. I was approved but had to wait about 10 days until he recovered from being neutered. In the mean time, Noodle (formerly knows as Shaggy) was being networked like crazy on Facebook. I was laying by the pool one day when my phone was beeping incessantly by a chain of people offering to help save Shaggy from the kill shelter he was in. It was his last day there. He was on death row and his cell mate had just been adopted. There were so many volunteers who offered to pull him from the shelter, take him to the vet, pay for his neutering, etc. So many people to help but nobody could keep him. I chimed in to this chain and informed these kind people that I could foster him in the interim as I was about to adopt another dog. Sure enough, they took me up on my offer. He was delivered to me in less than two days. He was a mess, as you can see from his before picture. He had a cone around his neck from just being neutered. His fur (if that’s what you want to call it) was completely dreaded out and matted. He was full of fleas and ticks and smelled like, well, the streets. Knowing I was not going to keep him I made it a point to not get attached. However, this dog would not have that. He followed me everywhere, jumped on whatever furniture I was on to sit on my lap, and basically started his mission of brainwashing me. I was instructed not to bathe him for at least 10 days due to his neutering. On that 10th day I brought him to the groomer, who proceeded to shave him down to resemble a large rodent. He couldn’t thank me enough. In fact, his whole rescue posse showed up for this event. Who knows where he came from, but Im sure he never received this royal treatment he was so demanding. Well, at this point not much continued with the efforts of finding him a home. Hell, there were other dogs who needed help and he was out of danger. We tried giving him to one family, however their dog did not like Shaggy. So he was returned to me. At this point I was thinking that Buddy would not be in my future. I hesitantly called Buddy’s foster and told her my situation. She understood and found Buddy an amazing home. After 3 months I realized Shaggy wasn’t going anywhere. And HE made that decision, not ME! And that’s where I succumbed to foster failure. Yep, he adopted me.  I figured I better name him. Because he can bend every which way like a wet noodle and his fur grows in like a pot of noodles, he earned his name. Fast forward I have never been happier. He, by far, is the absolute most affectionate dog. Like most dogs, he loves me unconditionally. He is happy ALL the time. He loves everyone, including the vet, the groomer and big scary people in the park. He makes me laugh with the way he sleeps, how he talks in his sleep, his funny positions and his famous dance. The way he greets me at the door makes me feel like a rock star. When I am sad or upset he is right there by my side trying to make me laugh even if I dont want to. He wakes up every morning with hugs and kisses. These are all ways of thanking me, but I owe much more thanks to him than he does to me. My message to you: if you are considering a dog, please rescue! They are the best pets and they thank you 100 times over. You can see the before/after pictures here. Every day I think about how this precious guy almost didn’t make it. There are so many dogs and cats who don’t make it. Please think about rescuing if you plan on adopting. It breaks my heart that people pay thousands of dollars for a dog when there are millions who don’t make it. Thanks for reading time to go walk the dog!