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Some of you may know, I do dog sitting. Along side that, I also do fostering for dogs. In February I took in a dog. He was a 5 year old pit bull, who's owner was tired of him and told animal control that he was a stray, so they would pick him up (Their AC does not take owner surrenders).
Of course, he was intact. Covered with scars that made it obvious he had been abused. There were circular scars that looked like cigarette burns. He had a metal choke collar embedded in his neck that they had to cut off. His fur was thin and scraggly, and it was obvious that what little food they fed him was crap.
Even with how scared he was, and everything that happened to him, he was nothing but sweet to the staff at the impound. The volunteer who takes pictures of the animals named him Kenzo.
He also was a spitting image of my current dog, Spud. I begged the rescue to take him in, offering to foster him even though I already had a foster dog. So, I took him home and set him up in my spare bedroom. When my husband came home from work, of course he wanted to meet Kenzo. That's when we learned that he was terrified of men. My husband took one step into the guest room, and Kenzo started barking. His tail also glued itself to his stomach and he ran as far away from my husband as he could. When my husband took a couple steps into the room, Kenzo fell to his belly on the floor and peed all over himself.
Husband set out to win Kenzo over, and the process of teaching him how to be a dog again began. Husband took him up into the office with him, set up a kennel so he could hide, and ignored him, occasionally tossing treats in his direction. We had him sleep in a crate in the bedroom so he could be near us/watch us while we were sleeping.
About a month after we took him in, we found his pleasure in life. Tennis balls and tug ropes. When we introduced them to him, he became another dog completely. When we were playing, when he was running, he was free. All of the stress, all of the worry was gone from his face.
Considering he spent the first 5 years of his life tied up in someone's back yard, he was surprisingly good with other dogs.
After 6 months, Kenzo was still with us. Homes for older dogs are hard to come by normally, but toss "pit bull" into the mix, and 6 months or more can go by before you know it. A family came and filled out an application for him, everything went great with the meet and greet, and the home visit, except for one thing. The thought of him leaving ripped my heart into pieces. I was so happy for him, but he had become just as much my baby as Spud. The two of them had become inseparable. They did everything together, and Kenzo took comfort and his lead from Spud. If Spud was okay with a new thing, so was he.
I didn't know how I was going to give him up, but I knew I had to. He had his own family waiting for him. But then it happened. Just a couple days before he was going home with them, they decided against adopting him. It was suddenly not the right time for a dog. After it was sure that they were not going to adopt him, I turned to the rescue and told them he was not going anywhere - he had found his home.
So now, my pack has gained another member. Kenzo is a completely different dog now then he was 8 months ago. He welcomes people into the house with excited barks and tail wags instead of fear. He runs up to strangers, begging them to throw a ball and offering kisses in return. He is a huge momma's boy - he loves my husband but he is my shadow.
(Kenzo is the big brown guy in the back)
Of course, he was intact. Covered with scars that made it obvious he had been abused. There were circular scars that looked like cigarette burns. He had a metal choke collar embedded in his neck that they had to cut off. His fur was thin and scraggly, and it was obvious that what little food they fed him was crap.
Even with how scared he was, and everything that happened to him, he was nothing but sweet to the staff at the impound. The volunteer who takes pictures of the animals named him Kenzo.
He also was a spitting image of my current dog, Spud. I begged the rescue to take him in, offering to foster him even though I already had a foster dog. So, I took him home and set him up in my spare bedroom. When my husband came home from work, of course he wanted to meet Kenzo. That's when we learned that he was terrified of men. My husband took one step into the guest room, and Kenzo started barking. His tail also glued itself to his stomach and he ran as far away from my husband as he could. When my husband took a couple steps into the room, Kenzo fell to his belly on the floor and peed all over himself.
Husband set out to win Kenzo over, and the process of teaching him how to be a dog again began. Husband took him up into the office with him, set up a kennel so he could hide, and ignored him, occasionally tossing treats in his direction. We had him sleep in a crate in the bedroom so he could be near us/watch us while we were sleeping.
About a month after we took him in, we found his pleasure in life. Tennis balls and tug ropes. When we introduced them to him, he became another dog completely. When we were playing, when he was running, he was free. All of the stress, all of the worry was gone from his face.
Considering he spent the first 5 years of his life tied up in someone's back yard, he was surprisingly good with other dogs.
After 6 months, Kenzo was still with us. Homes for older dogs are hard to come by normally, but toss "pit bull" into the mix, and 6 months or more can go by before you know it. A family came and filled out an application for him, everything went great with the meet and greet, and the home visit, except for one thing. The thought of him leaving ripped my heart into pieces. I was so happy for him, but he had become just as much my baby as Spud. The two of them had become inseparable. They did everything together, and Kenzo took comfort and his lead from Spud. If Spud was okay with a new thing, so was he.
I didn't know how I was going to give him up, but I knew I had to. He had his own family waiting for him. But then it happened. Just a couple days before he was going home with them, they decided against adopting him. It was suddenly not the right time for a dog. After it was sure that they were not going to adopt him, I turned to the rescue and told them he was not going anywhere - he had found his home.
So now, my pack has gained another member. Kenzo is a completely different dog now then he was 8 months ago. He welcomes people into the house with excited barks and tail wags instead of fear. He runs up to strangers, begging them to throw a ball and offering kisses in return. He is a huge momma's boy - he loves my husband but he is my shadow.
(Kenzo is the big brown guy in the back)
I'm happy you and hubby have Kenzo in your lives! Dogs are wonderful creatures! Congrats!! 
So we're getting him into a class they have specially for dogs like him to help us out.
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