2 + 2 = 4
The story of Tony & Moo Moo
After some unfortunate events with Kari (involving her moving to Florida) and her then husband (we'll just call him D-bag) ending up in prison again we got a call on a chilly mid-November morning in 2008 from Brad, Kari's brother. He told us that they had Tony & Moo Moo (as well as Buffy & Buddy) at the house and they were looking for homes for them and if we knew of anyone that might want them to let him know.
Well, at that time we had just moved in with Wayne's grandma a/k/a Green Grandma a month before, who happens to have 5 dogs of her own...Budz, Molly, Pokey, Sweet Pea and Snickers, plus we had our 2 (B&P). I'll admit, I pushed the issue first, but let me tell you it wasn't hard to get them on board with me. We decided that we wanted Tony & Moo Moo. I couldn't let go of the idea of them going to somewhere unknown and possibly NEVER seeing them again. It just didn't sit right with me. So Wayne called Brad back and told him we wanted to come and pick them up.
We headed down to Robbinsdale to the house and we both were a bit nervous because we knew they wouldn't be in the best of shape. Boy did we get an eyeful. As we entered the yard, all the dogs were huddled against the side of the house next to the door and SCARED out of their mind. They didn't know what to think. They were super hairy and dirty and didn't look like they had any sort of bath in months. I brought with a comforter to put in the back seat partly because I knew they were going to be dirty and partly to give them a comfy place to ride back to the house.
Wayne approached Moo Moo first and picked her up in his arms, he then walked over to me and transferred her into my arms. I then brought her to the car and set her in the back seat. She was shaking the whole time. We then went back and Wayne approached Tony...he was A LOT more skeptical than Moo Moo was and he let us know it. Wayne eventually got him into his arms and instead of transferring him to me, he just walked him to the car as I opened the door. He was so scared and also shaking. As soon as Wayne picked him up, he rested his head on Wayne's shoulder like he was trying to say "Thank you." I immediately BURST into tears cause I was so overwhelmed with emotion.
From there we had to stop and get gas (great timing). But it actually worked out OK because as I was continuously talking to them the whole time trying to keep them occupied as they were shaking in the back seat, Wayne came out with one of those beef stick/cheese combos. He started breaking it up into pieces and we sat there for a few minutes feeding it to them piece by piece. Wayne was so smart and thought we should try and at least gain their trust little by little. "Here have a piece of cheese...we come in peace" type of thing. We then continued on home and let them out of the car to be greeted by the other 7 dogs. We immediately gave each dog a bath and we even had to change the water in between each one. That's how dirty they were. The water was so black and gross. After we got them cleaned up a bit they started getting more familiar with their surroundings. I think they remembered Grams and her house because during the summer months they were there EVERY weekend visiting.
In the week that followed I made an appointment for them to see the vet and also the groomers. We also noticed as the weeks went on that Tony was very aggressive towards the other dogs. There were occasional fights and growling, but overall the transition went smoothly. He learned that he needed to share the house and us. At first when Tony ate, his whole body would just shake and he would not let anyone close to his bowl...it took him a long time for him to get better at that. Moo Moo was VERY timid and would not jump up on anyone on anything and would actually put her head down most of the time and not make eye contact. That has changed a lot as well and I have to say over the last 2 years they each have developed their own personalities. Tony is no longer so aggressive. He definitely has his moments, but nothing like when we first got him. Moo Moo has also come out of her shell and is a lot more outgoing. Here is a picture of them when we first got them after we gave them baths, but before their haircuts.
And here is a closer picture of Tony showing how hairy they were before haircuts.
This is a picture of Tony after his first haircut.
And this is a picture of Moo Moo after her first haircut.
So now as we're coming up on their 4 year birthday (November 10th) and we have had them for almost 2 years now (November 16th) (half of their life) I am so happy that we made the decision to go get them and "rescue" them. I love having all 4 of our dogs and with Gramma's 2 cockers (Sweet Pea & Snickers) we ended up with 6 out of the 7 of the litter. To me it's a happy ending for everyone.
Thanks for letting me share this story with you all.
Leah
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