01/16/2023
Jackie & Waldo (Beagle Mix/4)
Waldo came into my life in 2019. I had just moved to a new area, and after many years of living in apartment complexes that didn't allow dogs, I finally found a place where I could have one. After settling in, I decided to visit my local shelter one morning “just to look” before I met some friends for lunch.
The volunteer introduced me to Waldo first, and we had an instant connection. Since he wasn’t on their website yet, I had no idea he was there.
He seemed to melt when he saw me, and he gave me tons of kisses. I met two other dogs, but none of them stole my heart the way Waldo did. I took him for a walk around the grounds, and we started bonding, but I was apprehensive about adopting the very first dog I met at the first shelter I visited.
I was going to think about it over lunch, but the staff told me that, "Dogs like him don't last. If you like him, you should take him now, because he'll be gone by the time you get back." The thought of someone else taking him home broke my heart, so I let my friends know I was going to be late, and that they were about to meet my new dog!
After a day or two of acclimating to his new surroundings, he was laying in my lap, snuggling as I watched TV. But a few weeks later, he started to give himself "projects" to do around the house, like chewing furniture, baseboards, and even the carpet!
No matter what I tried, he wouldn't stop. I finally realized why he had been in and out of several homes before: he was destructive, and his previous owners didn't invest in training to correct the issue. I thought about taking him back, but I had already fallen in love with him, and I knew I couldn't give up on him.
The trainer I hired told me he's a very smart dog, and he just needed to be tired out physically as well as mentally, in addition to being crate trained. With a lot of hard work, we were able to irradiate his bad habits. Now he's a happy dog with great manners, and I couldn't imagine life without him!
