Benji, Blanca and Bella participate in “Teambuilding” workshops at home! Floating together so closely helps them to accept each other. What are you going to do? Pick a fight and risk the float capsizing? Bella’s even nice when floating with the others!
We made a decision to adopt another pet when the time was right. Blanca likes to play but Bella is serious minded so she is not interested in menial activities such as playing with fellow dogs. Because of this, we felt it was a good idea to find a match for Blanca’s playful spirit!
Don’t get me wrong, I am not excited about creating more housework or dusting duties for myself…but to be able to give a sweet little dog a home – so be it.
There was a pet adoption event over a month ago, and I made the mistake of going to take a peak! I saw this little guy with his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth as if there was something wrong. Whatever the issue, I didn’t care. My heart had already chosen him.
As it would turn out, Benji was picked up after about 4 months of having been abandoned in an apartment complex parking lot. He was a ball of severely dirty and matted fur along with a broken jaw. The jaw was shattered into so many pieces, nothing could be done to save it, so they removed all of the bone fragments instead. He also tested positive for heartworms.
Due to the generosity of donations, the Texas Animal Society had the funds to spend $4000 on Benji’s recovery from the shattered jaw, to heart worm treatments. There was almost a month of waiting involved, but Benji finally came to his fur-ever home a week ago!
I learned that it does make more sense for people to donate to pet welfare organizations in their local areas because if everyone did that, their own neighborhood pets with housing problems could be taken care of. That being said, there are places in foreign countries that do amazing work for animals as well so it is hard to decide who to help out with donations.
My other dog’s names are Bella and Blanca so I thought it was cool that Benji was already named, but also he was named after the dog of my favorite movie ever… Benji !
When I was a little girl, I declared that the Benji films were my favorite movies of all time and that one day I would have my own Benji!
So here we are…a home with 3 rescue pets. And finally, my own Benji! The 3 of them combined equal 25 pounds so you would think it’s the same amount of work as having one 25 pound pet. I assure you…it is not! I’ve got 3 personalities with expectations and needs and emotional support is needed in different ways for each individual.
Benji was needed by Blanca for friendship and watching them play as I’d hoped…is so rewarding! At night this past week, the dogs have been totally sleepy by 9pm from playing hard throughout the day. They dive-bomb each other and play tug of war with toys. It’ grueling work being a dog in this house. Benji is so sweet and loving. He tries to kiss you but all you get is teeth because his tongue is hanging sideways since his jaw bone is missing on one side, he can’t control his mouth too much, but maybe over time. So he kisses with tooth nibbles while his tongue is flailing sideways out of his mouth!
When I say to people, to “adopt, don’t shop” it’s for this reason…breeder’s (not all) need to be more careful who they sell puppies to. And pet stores? There’s no ownership requirements whatsoever. Further, the first year of dog ownership is the worst in my opinion. This is the part where proper communication and training make the difference between coming out of the first year with a pet with manners or a wild animal living in your house. If you have a person who isn’t intelligent enough to train their puppy, then they usually end up tied to a tree on a chain in the backyard or worse…they end up abandoned in the street only to end up at a shelter waiting for the needle of death.
All dogs do not make good pets. That is the beauty of a rescue group. They weed out the ones that have a high likelihood of aggressive behavior or other issues, and they desperately try to match the good eggs with families. Sometimes the abuse and neglect is so harmful that the pet simply is too wild for home care.
A lot of people want a full blooded breed so they do not want a “used” animal. There are rescue groups that rehome certain breeds. There was an older woman who had gone through a divorce late in life, and she was renting my house. She had mentioned wanting another designer dog as she once had, so I referred her to a rescue group for that particular breed. She ended up flying to Los Angeles and back in one day to pick up her new dog! The money she spent was 1/4th of what a new puppy would cost, and she got to avoid the dreaded puppy years. The dog had been rescued because it was a perfect pet, but the owner was older and had to go to an assisted living facility, so had to surrender the dog.
There are so many creative ways to enhance your home life with pets but being wise is the key. Before embarking (get it?) on dog ownership, ask yourself the following:
- Am I financially sound enough to properly take care of a pet?
- Is my current living situation stable?
- Do I realize that there is work involved with pet ownership?
- What are my plans for pet sitting if I travel?
- Do I have the mindset that I will take care of this pet forever? Through a move? A divorce? Until death do you part?
My little pets are my world. They love me. Of course…I am the food-meister so they must love me. I am calm, quiet and a safe place. They fill my home with love and fur balls. When I see little Benji happy and playing, it disturbs me that he had such a terrible past. He lived homeless and abandoned in a low end apartment community parking lot with a broken jaw for 4 months before someone called for help. It was amazing how he would have narrowly escaped death by needle – especially with the expensive medical needs he had. That a dirty, broken ball of filth turned into a prince in his very own home…that’s priceless! Strays seem to make the greatest pets sometimes because they are so grateful.
Benji was being taken care of during his medical treatments, by a woman who I admire, but could never do what she does. She currently fosters 11 dogs. Most will never get taken into homes so she has to keep them so they can have a life. All I can do is give a home to a pet every so often but to foster wouldn’t be a fit because I work and 3 dogs is my absolute limit. My fear is also that I would end up on the news with 40 dogs being taken from my home !
Hoping that Benji would be well received by Blanca was another key concern. Benji came over for a visit, and Blanca protected Benji from Bella (my insane chihuahua). It took our breath away and we knew then that she like him! Benji is happy and learning the ropes here at home. Blanca directs him a lot on certain things, such as taking turns when snacks are being passed out. He didn’t initially get it that we smoothly wait for our turn… a friendly snap here or there showed him to wait until his name is called! My fluffy kitchen rug has turned into a Wrestlemania spot for the dogs. Blanca comes with her new pink gorilla…basically begging Benji to play tug-o-war. There are snacks, and wrestle sessions, there are pool floating “teambuilding” sessions with all three and there are naps and “movie nights” where we are all piled up in the bed. I am not really concerned with how Bella (my Chihuahua) feels about Benji because she is mean o everyone! She makes a crazy, mean, growly face when she’s irritated. She bit me a few months ago as I tried to put her collar on her for a walk. Fortunately, her bite is laughable because she has maybe two tiny teeth. I adopted her for Jazzy about 10 years ago. Her primary function was to be a companion for sweet Jazzy. Bella would lick on Jazzy’s coat and groom her as she got really old. Bella had previously been a breeder dog in a puppy mill so her people skills have always been lacking and we just sort of deal with it. She had to wear a diaper for two years before she decided to be potty trained. Now, she’s near perfect in that area because she cares enough to please me. It’s weird with her because she desires love and attention but she gives off virtually no love. Blanca thinks twice before sitting next to her.
I feel that legislation should be handed down, that Breeder’s and Pet Stores must be made to force them to take back any returns before the one year mark. My reasoning is that they will choose the buyers much more carefully if they knew it mattered to their bottom line who they sold pets to.
We are not sure how old Benji is, but based on his immaturity and the way he plays, my guess would be one year old. His vet thinks older. Who really cares…the point is that if something happened to him next week…he at least got a time of happy. Would I like to know what idiot hurt him and threw him out like garbage? Yes, but it would be dangerous for the fool because I have no mercy for a person with no compassion for a sweet little animal. Why is it so hard to get people to take an animal they no longer want to a shelter? Isn’t that the least we should expect? Initially, he is scared of all men, but in time he learns to trust.
This was my little story of Benji, the rescue. He has moved in and fits in perfectly. His life is a success story. This is only one little pet. By adopting him, that was one less sold in a pet store. That was one less to die by needle and broken heart. That was one less that was sold by a breeder. There are millions more out there who need a chance. I am so thankful for those who donated to the Texas Animal Society on Benji’s behalf. They saved a life. Everyone can play a small part in animal population control. Mine is to give a home. Other’s may chose to donate or volunteer in their own district.
If you’ve adopted…please share your success story in the comments below! If you want help finding a new pet, please email me and I will try to do whatever I can to find the perfect pet for your home!
-Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.3 million are dogs and 3.2 million are cats. We estimate that the number of dogs and cats entering U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 7.2 million in 2011. The biggest decline was in dogs (from 3.9 million to 3.3 million).
-Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats). The number of dogs and cats euthanized in U.S. shelters annually has declined from approximately 2.6 million in 2011. This decline can be partially explained by an increase in the percentage of animals adopted and an increase in the number of stray animals successfully returned to their owners.
-Approximately 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year (1.6 million dogs and 1.6 million cats).
About 710,000 animals who enter shelters as strays are returned to their owners. Of those, 620,000 are dogs and only 90,000 are cats.
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