October 22, 2023: Sharky Sunday!

The plan was to wait until January before adopting a new dog but when Akemi caught sight of this little blind boy on the Pug Nation of L.A.’s website –

We knew we couldn’t wait.  So we booked our flight and, following our whirlwind visit to NYC, we made a whirlwind visit to L.A. where we picked up our little guy.  A video rundown of our first day: meeting him at the rescue, traveling from the rescue, short rib lunch, and relaxing in the hotel room…

 

I was, admittedly, a little worried before picking him up.  What was his true demeanor?  Was he housebroken and if not how long would he take to train?  How would he travel?  Would we love him?  Would he love us?

Well, for starters, he is an absolutely sweet soul.  Incredibly gentle and very affectionate.  And he IS housebroken, perfectly behaved in the condo, waiting until he is outside to do his business.  As for traveling – he was great.  Didn’t love being in the carrier at first but we gave him a half a Benadryl (as per vet’s instructions) and he slept through the flight, waking up shortly after landing….

He spent much of his first day mapping the place, walking around, bumping into things.

He is very gentle taking treats from your hand and is surprisingly amenable to having his nails clipped and his teeth brushed….

He sleeps on the bed with us of course.  We were a little worried about him wandering in the middle of the night and falling off, but he sleeps through the night and only wakes up when we do.

As for his backstory, Sharky was picked up as a stray this summer – which is somewhat baffling given his happy and trusting nature.  HIs attitude, and the fact that he’d had at least two surgeries suggest he once belonged to someone who took care of him.  He’s had several teeth removed (He has fewer teeth than Suji had in her old age!) and had an eye removed.  When he arrived at the rescue, his other eye was so badly infected that it had to be removed as well.  So, Sharky – who they estimate to be around 7 or 8 – has been fully blind until at least August.  But he doesn’t let lack of sight hinder him as he is a very confident walker.  He gets along well with other dogs and, while hasn’t interacted with any children, he perks up at the sound of kids – which also leads me to believe he may have been raised in a family environment.

Was he abandoned?  Lost?  Did he run away?  How did this adorable boy end up on the streets?  No microchip so I guess we’ll never know.

But no point in dwelling on the past.  Sharky can look forward to happy future with us.  He is a true momma’s boy, sitting in the kitchen with Akemi when she prepares lunch, crying for her when she’s in the shower, snuggling up in her lap when he gets into bed.  He loves massages – ears and belly.  And we absolutely love him.

The post October 22, 2023: Sharky Sunday! appeared first on Joseph Mallozzi's Weblog.