Entered: 07/06/2017
Status: Adopted
Age: 5
Color: Liver/White Springer Mix
Weight: 32 lbs.
Gender: Altered Male
Location: Salisbury, NC
Health: UTD, HW-, recovering from shotgun wounds on his back and legs
Temperament: Good with people as young as 1, good with other dogs, unknown with cats
Original: “Buddy was so patient with the children as they learned how to pet him gently. Good boy!”
To say that Buddy had a rough start in life is an understatement. His North Carolina “owners” housed him outside, let him roam the neighborhood, did not feed him regularly, and did not provide him with medical care for a broken leg and a shotgun wound. Luckily, a MAESSR volunteer’s parents and aunt lived nearby and often fed Buddy and took him to the vet for medical treatment. At the time of the shotgun wound, the emergency vet contacted the “owners” who relinquished ownership. This relinquishment allowed Buddy to become a MAESSR boy! Obviously, a huge thank you goes out to the volunteer’s relatives whose compassion and concern for Buddy made this possible.
Despite the rough life Buddy has had, he is the sweetest dog with a great demeanor! He is dog and child friendly. When he has encountered other dogs, big and small, in his foster family’s neighborhood, he has been perfectly mannered. He does bark if he sees a dog or person from afar, but that seems to be only out of excitement. Buddy is also kid friendly. When friends came to Buddy’s foster dad’s birthday party, they brought their children whose ages ranged from 1 to 5 and who had never been around dogs. Buddy was so patient with them as they learned how to pet him gently. Good boy!
Buddy’s housetraining and crate training have been going well. He has been doing great in his crate and hasn’t had one accident. Buddy spends time in the crate when his foster parents are out of the house, at night, and anytime when they are busy in the house and can’t keep a regular eye on him for house training purposes. To facilitate his training, he is limited to certain rooms of the house and his foster mom keeps a close watch on him whenever he is loose in the house. Furniture is mostly off limits for Buddy. Due to his wound being open and having some slight leakage and the fact that his family is working on teaching Buddy he has to be invited up on the couch—the house rule for the resident dog—Buddy is not allowed on the couch regularly.
Overall, Buddy is a very calm dog. He only gets excited when his foster parents come home and when he knows he is going to go for a walk. He walks pretty well on a leash, especially for a dog that has probably never been on one. When Buddy goes outside he is leashed and walked around the neighborhood.
Arriving without knowing any commands, Buddy is gradually learning the basics from his foster family. He is happy to go for a car ride, too, and is a good passenger. Most of the day he is content lying around napping and getting the occasional belly rub. As far as toys go, he has become very attached to a toy duck and loves to carry it around.
Buddy’s recovery is going well, but the wound on his back unfortunately opened up. His foster mom has been in touch with the vet regarding this. The vet said it isn’t surprising given the integrity of the skin from the infection and that the wound would have to be left open to heal that way. The sight of it isn’t for the faint of heart but it will eventually heal over. His other smaller wound under his leg is doing really well. When Buddy gave a bark while at the vet’s office, the vet said based on the sound of his bark, he definitely has some beagle in him.
Watch for more news about Buddy as his recuperation continues!