Hi All, Amanda here. I have changed the format of Pet of The Month to include the whole fur-family this month (and future months). There are two reasons for this change. First of all, I have realized that being the pet of the month is an extreme honor but one that may be unattainable based on the number of applicants. Another words, I could do pet of the week with all the pets and probably still not get everyone in a year! The second reason was pointed out to me by this month’s winner (their Mom, of course.) By asking for a little more information about each fur-family member, I am getting to know each animal a little better. I mean, I know each animal pretty well after my pet sitting escapades with them; but I don’t ask about their life B.A. (Before Amanda). Turns out they had a life before me! Not as exciting, I am sure, but still…
So let’s get back to Leo. Leo is sharing the spotlight with his sister Brandi and his brother Rocky (postmortem 😦 ). I met Leo and his family in September of last year. Leo’s Mom, Donna, answered an ad I have placed on Thumbtack for pet sitting and dog walking services. I knew right away that I was going to love this family; Donna asked all the right questions and had all the right concerns. Her first question was not, how much? It was how long would I stay? Not that I hold it against anyone to ask how much it costs, that is one of the first answers I want to know myself! I am sure that if I charged a crazy amount it wouldn’t really matter how long I was going to stay. The point is, her first thought was how long the dogs would get to spend with me. That makes me happy 🙂
When we met for the meet and greet, she had everything I could possibly need ready for me. A bunch of the pet sitters I know email the agreement and client/pet contact info. ahead of time so that the meet and greet isn’t all about filling out the paperwork. It streamlines it a bit so the focus can be more about seeing everything instead of answering tons of questions. I have thought about doing that but as of now I don’t. I really enjoy filling out the paperwork…it gives me a chance to talk to people about their pets and their home. Plus, I am an auditory learner and I will remember (almost) everything when it is spoken to me. Of course, Everything is entered into our database by me or Mary so I have access by my smartphone if I forget something, but I usually don’t. It’s a Rainman kind of thing…haha. A downside to not emailing the info ahead of time would be that sometimes a person thinks of something afterwards and has to call me to tell me. Wait, that gives me more contact…not a downside actually! And just like that first day, she has prepared for Leo’s debut. I am going to copy and paste what she wrote about him because it is perfect!
“Here’s the ad that started it all
Leo, has a bad case of those nasty heartworms but…..
Leo is approx. 2 years old and heartworm positive.
Leo was lucky to have been pulled from
Jackson County Animal Shelter in the nick of time
He is a Labrador retriever, Tuxedo Great Dane mix.
When we were looking for a small dog for our daughter to take to Law school with her we came across Leo’s posting: I thought it would be a great idea to adopt him since I needed a running and hiking buddy and he needed a home. I fell in love first then found out he could not exercise for a few months because he was still recovering from heartworm treatments. He was rescued from the Jackson MS pound. Luckily friends of Jacksonville fell in love with him, rescued him and he was brought him up North and treated his heartworm. The vet in Mississippi told me that the crushed skull you see in the picture is the result of being hit in the head with a 2×4 plank. I have no idea how someone can hurt an animal or human. He is such a good dog. He has a lot of energy and love! He got bossed around by our elderly pug and his sister Brandi rules the roost but he doesn’t care. She marches up and takes his toys right out of his mouth. He had lived outside loose in MS and had no leash training. We worked on getting him to walk calmly on a leash and to pass by strange dogs without pulling, squealing and wanting to run and to play. Loose dogs in the parks have set us back a few times. His greatest weapon is his tail! He wags it fast and furiously. We’ve learned not to keep breakables at tail height. He loves hiking with us and running with me. His favorite time of the day is couch time. He doesn’t bark unless he loses his toy under furniture or wants his walk. He loves to fetch, learn new tricks and play tug of war.”
I did not know about Leo’s abusive and neglectful start, I only know him as the well trained and rambunctious dog that I love to visit. I would never have guessed that Leo had anything less than a perfect beginning, he definitely doesn’t have any issues from his horrible experiences. True of many dogs that are rescued, Leo seems to not hold it against humans that there are some truly disgusting people out there that would hurt an animal. But, as Donna mentioned above, a lot of training and loving went into making Leo the dog I know today. He is a lucky boy to be found by his family (but I have no doubt that they feel just as lucky!) And I, also, feel this luck that his Mom found me!
So that is all for now about Leo. His Mom gave me some pictures, too; I will be posting them throughout the week on Facebook and Instagram so keep an eye out!