So, I wasn’t born in a shelter or in a home like most doggos. I was actually born out in the wild. My parents were stray dogs, and while we had a pretty nice home in the forest, it was sometimes hard to find enough food for all of us. Me, my parents and siblings would all search the parking lots of fast food restaurants to find leftovers to eat, and sometimes people would be nice enough to leave out chicken scraps or something. We had each other, but it was a hard way to live.
Then one day, a lady pulled up in a van and offered to take one of us! She spoke slowly so we’d understand her – all the time we’d spent around humans helped us to understand them a little bit. She said that she had a family that was looking for a new friend, but that they could only take care of one of us.
I was the youngest in my family, so everyone insisted that I go with her. I was nervous and confused, but as soon as I was in the van, she gave me kibble from a bucket in the backseat, and I knew I was safe.
The Bath
As soon as she took me home, she got me in the bathtub. She used this really sweet-smelling soapy water and cleaned my back, belly, legs and face. It felt like those days when I’d get caught in the rain, but the water was much warmer!
She used this special shampoo to get all these bubbles all over me. She said the bubbles would pick up all the dirt on my body, and then get taken down the drain. It felt soooo good to get washed. I felt way cleaner than any rain bath I’d taken in the past!
After the bath, she used a towel to dry me off. I tried shaking some of the water off, but her towel did a much better job of keeping me dry. And then, she used this thing called a “hair dryer”, and had this cool air blowing on me to dry off my hears, tail, toes and anywhere else that was still a bit wet. I felt like a car! Back when I’d lived on the outside, I’d see these cars getting washed and cleaned with these big machines, and I felt just like that!
The Haircut
She also cut my hair and shaved me down. She said I’d get too hot in her home if I kept all my fur, and that I’d get dirty really fast again. She said that if I really didn’t like the way it looked, I could let my fur grow back, and she’d just trim it instead of shaving. It felt weird losing all my fur, but wow I didn’t realize how heavy it was! As soon as that fur hit the ground, I felt like I could run a million miles faster. It was nice to be able to see my face, too!
The Finishing Touches and the Bandana
After I was all cleaned up, this nice human added a collar, leash and bandana to finish the look. I officially had a home now!
She then said I needed to go to the doctor to get some medicine, so I wouldn’t get sick as much, and gave me a name. I’d always been called Youngest One by my family, which was nice, but it was cool to have a name of my own.
I was still thinking about my family, but I recognized where this human lived, so I knew I could visit my family again in the future. After getting my medicine, of course!
After all that, I found a new family in just two days! I finally have found the forever home that I didn’t know I needed.