Entrant's Name
Joel

Animal Bio
The best dam dawg I have ever been lucky enough to find, a petfinder one in a million!

Saved from a kill shelter in Texas and transferred to a small pet shelter in Libby Montana. He was under a year old when he was first picked up by a local family but he returned shortly after as the child in the family would shoot him with a bb gun for fun.

I found his profile on petfinder and made the decision to drive 12hrs from East Van to the sleepy town of Libby to purchase him for $50 and he came with half a bag of kibble called ‘Red Flannel’ (I think it was actually made with old flannel shirts).

He was timid as we took that stroll down the snowy road together…you’re mone I told him and 5 minutes later I paid the $50 and had to pick him up to get him into the backseat of my car. We drove for 14hrs back to Canada stopping along the way for bathroom breaks and building trust with snacks. When we crossed the border I had his paperwork ready but the guard saw him poke his nose out the back window and just motioned us to go ahead..you are officially a Canadian citizen now little man.

We arrived back in the city and parked on east Georgia outside our little apartment, he had never been in a city of this size and when I opened the door to let him out of the car he bolted in a panic and ran away in terror down Georgia street. I chased after him but realized he was terrified of all the lights, cars, unknown smells. I stopped in my tracks and called his name softly ‘Winston!’, he stopped in the middle of the Georgia street and turned to look back at me.

Tail down, unsure of his surroundings but he knew me, the guy that showed him love and rescued him from the pound. Slowly, I coaxed him back to me and grabbed his leash. I gave him a loving hug and could feel his heart beat racing, ‘I almost lost you’ I told him and we’ve just arrived at your new home.

We walked around the block together in the dark to give him some sense of where am I. I called up to my wife and she buzzed us in the front door of my building, he was scared of the elevator so we took the stairs up to our floor.

Down the hall smelling each closed door until we reached our suite, I opened the door and let him into our life and the warm embrace of my partner who gave him a reassuring hug and brushed him to calm him down. He was exhausted from the whole ordeal but little did we know that little skinny lost and abused hound would grow up to be loved and spoiled everyday of his life. It’s been 12 years now and to this day the adventure still continues.

We now live in a small house in Nanaimo with a yard he can sun bath in and howl at the moon until his heart is content. He’s a little more grey around his mouth and his arthritis keeps his adventures at a slower pace but his love for us boundless. Enjoying his days snuggling on the couch or just sun tanning out on back patio. His meals are home made and he’s treated like the king he is, we should have renamed him Reiley because that’s the life he lives and deserves.

I think back to the first day we met and have to ask myself ‘who rescued who?’.