ADOPTED

Update 01/07/2006:

As an avowed opponent of weapons and bloodshed of any sort, I found myself in a bit of a conundrum being the human for a dog named Hunter. I had decided that if Hunter was a name that my pup had been given when he came into foster care, I might possibly change it to something that sounded similar like Homer or Hondo, or at one of my sisters’ suggestion, Harper (though the latter was just Bazaar). But Mike Chamberlain - the very special foster dad (of a wonderful foster family) who Hunter was lucky enough to be with for his physical, emotional and psychological recovery in transition to his eventual permanent home - told me that Hunter had been the pup’s given name when he rescued him. So wanting to normalize his transition into a new life, I kept the name. However I have added an S, so he is now Hunter S (as in the gonzo journalist, Hunter S. Thompson).

This incredibly sweet fellow, who lies snoring at my side, head in my lap, as I write this update, is just the most wonderful pet I have ever had the fortune to know. His resilience, in overcoming the horrible beginning of his life, is just nothing short of remarkable. While he was not, apparently, overtly abused in his original home, the neglect he experienced - being tied up, never allowed inside, not ever walked, played with nor given virtually any contact at all with other animals or people, and allowed to almost die from malnutrition and severe anemia due to all the fleas and ticks which covered him - amounted to what could have been criminally prosecuted as abusive neglect amounting to a cruelty to animals charge. Had GRR been called by someone other than the owner to give Hunter S a chance in life, I am certain that such a conviction could have been secured in this poor canine soul's case. In any event, Hunter shows no scars of any sort from his initial circumstances (other than the fact that given his massive paws, had he been properly fed during his first year, he would probably be enormous; as it is, he is nevertheless a good size fellow, though a little funny looking for his large feet).

I said that I wanted to try to normalize his transition from foster care to his new life as much as possible, and to that end, I tried to keep as much of what he had come to experience as normal in life (his foster experience) in place as possible. So I bought him a kennel from GRR just like the one he had been sleeping in, used the kennel mat he was familiar with at the Chamberlains’ (which they were good enough to give us), fed him the same food at about the same time, and so on. I also kenneled him to sleep at night as he had been accustomed to in his foster home. But after about 5 nights of the latter routine, I offered Hunter S the option of sleeping elsewhere and just left the kennel door open. He opted, as I expected, to hop up and sleep on my bed. I’ll admit that I was a bit concerned about this change as I was worried that he would wake me up on his schedule, wanting to play (something he dearly loves after never experiencing it before in his lifetime prior to foster care), or just generally trying to impose his early morning energy agenda on the household. However this situation proved to just illustrate the sweetness of his personality as it turned out that he just looks to me, when I move in the early morning, to see if I am actually getting up. And if he sees that I am only rolling over to sleep a bit more, he puts his head down and does the same until I am ready to start the day.

I might add that it seems it is not just my bias towards goldens that predisposes my perceptions of Hunter S. He just absolutely charms everyone whose path he crosses, even my mother who has never let me bring another animal into her house. I go down to her home in San Antonio every year for a few days at Christmas time; and as I had just taken him in right around then and wouldn’t consider boarding him so soon, I told Mom it was a dealbreaker – either Hunter S stayed in her home with me or I couldn’t come. She relented and ended up just falling in love with him. He is truly a little canine ambassador for advancement in human-canine relations.
 

Hunter’s owner called our Hotline back in September, wanting to place her dog with “somebody who will care for him.” My wife and I volunteered to meet Hunter to see if he was suitable for GRR—and what we found in that San Antonio backyard was shocking. Our first reaction was: "What is that?" Hunter stood up, so skinny, legs shaking, whimpering. He was so muddy and dirty we couldn’t tell just how much of a Golden he really was. He was covered with fleas and ticks and close to death from malnutrition and severe anemia. He was crying softly, licking at the air with his ghost-white tongue. His gums were as white as we have ever seen … but we knew the moment we walked up to him that he had a truly Golden personality. Despite his condition, he had a smile for us and a wag of his skinny little tail. We saw a special twinkle in his eye, and we knew he was coming with us.

We made a quick phone call, gathered Hunter into the car, and headed for the vet’s. Hunter stayed there for a few days to get rid of all those awful fleas and ticks and get a little healthier—and then he came to foster with us.

In the beginning, Hunter was not very socialized. In his former life, he’d spent his days tied up in the yard with another dog; they could see each other, but not touch. He knew no commands, hadn’t ever been for a walk, had never lived inside. Now, things had changed completely! First, Hunter was surrounded by people and other animals that he could not only see, but touch. Second, he was living indoors. Third, he was enjoying ample amounts of nutritious food to help fill out that skinny little body of his. As he grew healthier and stronger, his energy level continued to climb and he started to learn good dog manners. He learned that outside is the place to potty; that counter-surfing, jumping on people, and chewing inappropriate items are not good things to do; and that good things happen when you DON’T bark at, growl at, or chase the cat! He quickly made friends with our three dogs and became an accepted member of the pack.

Hunter is making up for all the play time he missed during the first year and half of his life. He likes to play, play, and play! He’ll play fetch until whoever is playing with him is worn out. Hunter loves to be close to his people. He follows us around and brings over a ball when he wants to play—but if nobody wants to play, he just finds a place close to us and lies down quietly. He sleeps with the rest of our dogs in our bedroom; like the others, he has his own kennel and willingly enters it each night. He sleeps soundly (though he does snore on occasion!). He loves riding in the van, staying quiet in the back and looking out the windows. He adores brushing and grooming—he’s happy as a clam when the brush comes out.

There's not much more I can say about Hunter, except that he’s made an incredible turnaround and he’s a wonderful family dog. He’s great with children, though older kids are probably better, since he doesn’t have experience with real young children (my boys are ages 7, 9 and 10 and fairly dog savvy). The more attention and training Hunter can get, the better he’s going to be. He’s very trainable and eager to please; he knows the basics now, but going to training with his new family will help everyone build a strong bond. Hunter loves doing things with and for his people. He likes other dogs. He did start out trying to chase my cat, so a no-kitty household might be best, though a confident and dog-savvy cat would likely work out. His forever family should be active, because Hunter has a lot of energy and loves to go, go, go and play, play, play! Oh, and before I forget, he makes throaty, purring noises when he is being petted and is real happy.

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