Back in January/February we answered an ad for an animal in need, on Petfinder. Petfinder is a website that lists the pets available at multiple animal rescue agencies. It’s a pretty awesome website you can add filters to and find the kind of pet your looking for. It’s not just for dogs either, it has many different types of animals: cats, dogs, pocket pets, barnyard pets, lots. I’m going to post a copy of the ad I answered, below.
Petfinder ad for Otis
Sable Golden Retriever Toronto, ON
- Adult
- Male
- Large
- Golden
About
COAT LENGTH Long HEALTH Vaccinations up to date, spayed / neutered. GOOD IN A HOME WITH Other dogs, children.
Petfinder recommends that you should always take reasonable security steps before making online payments.
Meet Sable
This is Sable. He was living in a school yard in Turkey. He was so nice to everyone and always so happy to see everyone and some people were not very nice to him. He was very skinny at the time but since being rescued he has gained weight. He is about 6 years old. He is your typical golden; not a mean bone in his body. Very easygoing, loving, happy and gentle. He is good with other dogs.
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Sable, now Otis, was a stray in Turkey, living at a schoolyard before he came to the shelter. Besides what was listed in the ad, this is all we know about him. We chose him based on the description of his temperament. We wanted a dog that was safe for Ollie, our puppy. To avoid stress on the dog, once they are adopted they go straight to your home from the airport. I believe this is called a blind adoption. You don’t meet the dog before you bring them home! EEP!
Otis was flown from Turkey to Pearson Airport by Homebound Houndz (the rescue agency we used). The flight was close to 11 hours long and he was held up in customs for another three hours. That is a LONG time for a dog to be in a crate and I’ve no doubt the whole experience was pretty stressful for him.
Once the dogs are cleared and ready to leave the airport, they bring them out in crates to the arrival gates where you pick them up. It’s a pretty busy road and I was really nervous about him panicking and running into traffic. There are volunteers with the agency that are there to help you and I am so greatful for that. They stayed really late with us while we waited for our dog to clear customs and got the dogs collared and leashed. They have you bring food and water for the dogs because after a long flight like that they are ravenous.
I was shocked by the condition Otis was in when he came out of the crate. They warned us the dogs would be smelly, and dirty (they are in an outdoor shelter and unable to give the dogs baths before they come (if you get your dog in Winter, which we did). We were warned by the rescue agency that our dog was extremely underweight. Otis was all these things, dirty, smelly, and emaciated. He was much skinnier than I had realized. I tried to give him water first, he didn’t want it. He stuck his head in the bag I had brought with me. He wanted the food. I had about two cups of dog food with me and he ate the whole thing. All this was happening on the sidewalk at the airport. There were people walking by constantly. At one point someone with a large cart of things needed us to move so he could get through. I was very nervous about moving the dish of food away from a starving dog, but Otis let me. He just followed the food.
It was around 10pm at this point and we were super tired and just wanted to go home. After Otis finished eating we opened the car door and patted the seat for him to get in. He came willingly and without any coaxing. Jay drove and I rode in the backseat with the dog. Otis wanted to sleep most of the way home, but would occasionally nudge my arm for snuggles and pets, while I told him about all the fun things we would do together. We made one pit stop to go to the bathroom (he never went in his crate on the plane WOW) and then we continued the rest of the way home.
We had planned on introducing our puppy Ollie, to Otis on a walk outside. We had not anticipated the delay in customs. We didn’t get home until after 1am. We were so tired we were reckless and just let them meet each other right away in the house. For the next hour we watched with knotted stomachs as the dogs met for the first time. It wasn’t a dream meeting of waggy tails and puppy snuggles. We basically watched Otis hump Ollie for the next hour. They didn’t seem to be trying to kill each other and we were exhausted. We decided to go to bed, I had a train I had to catch in four hours. They must have settled down soon after because we didn’t hear them for too long. Neither of us slept well that night.
While I was getting on the train and all during the day, my spouse was sending me photos and updates. There was still a lot of humping going on, but the two of them were getting along okay. Otis got along pretty well with my spouse too. He was so dirty he looked wet and he smelled really bad. I remember we had a huge snow storm that day and I was worried about the trains not running and not being able to get home. I also briefly fell asleep at my desk!
I was finally able to give him a bath the next day. He was a dream in the bath. He just stood there while we scrubbed him. The water coming off him was pretty nasty. You can see how skinny he is. Even after the first bath he was still waxy feeling and we would want to wash our hands right away after touching him. He had so many mats in his fur. Both my spouse and I slowly brushed them out during the next few days. He’s looking so much better.
We did have an incident on the way home from the vet’s office after a weigh in. Otis got some snow, or salt in his paw and we tried to help him out by trying to dig it out. It was extremely naive of us to think we could just go ahead and do that. Otis had only known us for less then two days, he was in discomfort, and we were both looming over him. He snarled and snapped at us. I was so surprised. He had been so sweet and gentle so far. We didn’t have his trust yet.
I was ready to call it quits after that. It’s really scary to have a large, adult dog snap at you (even if he is all skin and bones). I spent the rest of that weekend in tears and full of regret. What a mistake I had made! I was in over my head and so overwhelmed. What had I done! How had I thought adopting a strange dog from another country was a good idea!? My spouse was horrified that I was ready to throw in the towel. He loves Otis and wanted to give him a second chance.
It’s now a week and a half later. Otis is still here, he’s had a second bath and has been a real sweetheart. He’s gained over 2kg in the last week. He started out weighing 23kg and today he is weighing in at just over 26kg. My spouse was able to put his boots on with no problems and he was pretty good for the vet too. No snapping. This morning I was sitting on the floor and he climbed into my lap for snuggles! I’ve read that it’s pretty normal to feel regret after getting a new dog and usually it passes. I think we’re going to stick with it and I think it’s going to be okay. I love him too.
Lobster Shorts 
Poor little guy. He is so pretty. He will adjust!
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He’s gained over four pounds and doing really well. He’s a sweet heart and I’m really starting to adore him.
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