Jump Three Bogart

In the Summer of 2016 when Pokemon Go came out, I read an article about a shelter encouraging players to come and walk a dog while they walked their Pokemon!  My partner, Thomas, and I always knew we wanted to have a dog, but were waiting until we could provide a stable home.  That article jump-started a renewal for that goal.  We loved the idea the article presented and decided to start volunteering at our local shelter, Pets In Need.

Our time spent at the shelter was an amazing opportunity to learn more about dog care and training, and we evolved as dog lovers! We both came from families who valued dogs as tools or objects to have around the home and vowed to break the cycle.  When we finally got our dog, they would not be outside, they would not be confined to a crate their entire life, they would get proper exercise and walks, they would get trained.

In December of 2016 we began taking dogs home overnight for Sleep Overs to give them a break from the shelter, and give ourselves some puppy time. One Saturday evening we were all set up to take home a cute older dachshund but he ended up getting adopted earlier in the day.  A senior volunteer recommended we take home Bogart and introduced us.

An early photo of Bogart in the shelter before we met him

We had seen Bogart on the shelter’s website a month prior and had been avoiding him like the plague. Every once in a while a “heart dog” enters the shelter, you know the kind, the one who you immediately fall in love with and are absolutely devastated when they leave your life and you always wonder how they are doing?  We knew instantly that Bogart was one of those dogs.  Our shelter mostly deals with smaller rescues, they occasionally take in a bigger dog who is easy to adopt out.  They tend to go quickly, sometimes in a matter of days.  Because of this, we didn’t bother meeting Bogart cause we knew it’d break our hearts.

Despite getting looked at daily by potential adopters, Bogart never left the shelter.  People would enter, see his beautiful face, meet him, then leave with another dog.  He was there for about a month when we finally opened up his kennel for the first time to take him for the sleepover.  When we approached his kennel, he was sitting patiently, thinking and watching, waiting to see if we were there for him.  He continued sitting and watching and as soon as we get inside he came alive.  He was so excited and bouncy and jumpy and his paws were flying everywhere! It was at that point we knew why he hadn’t been adopted yet.  He was labeled as a 1.5-2 year old who was absolutely wild, untamed, and full of energy.

Thomas was in love instantly, I was a bit more apprehensive as he had scratched my arm when I entered his kennel with his paws.  The senior volunteer lead Bogart out to the yard and we followed.  In the yard, Bogart played with the toys and the volunteer showed us the training he’d been doing with Bogart.  He would have Bogart drop sit, focus on him, and retrieve the toy. It was astonishing watching Bogart go from energetic and bouncy to sitting still and being focused on his handler!  I wasn’t too sure, but Thomas insisted we take Bogart home with us that night.  I relented and we left.

Bogart’s Sleepover – Link to Gif

Our first night with him is a little fuzzy in my memory, but I remember taking him out to dinner with us and he was simply perfect. He sat quietly and watched people go by as we ate, got pets from strangers and was a gentleman, and walked nicely on the leash. We took him home and he played in our incredibly small yard for a bit before bringing him inside for bedtime.  Bedtime with Bogart was a nightmare. He was full of energy and didn’t want to settle down.  The senior volunteer, before leaving, had recommended putting him in time out if he was acting out so we let him outside for 2 minutes.  When we let him back in he calmly walked in, jumped on the bed, and went to sleep.

We tearfully brought him back to the shelter early that morning so he could be there when it opened.  We had loved our time with him but had a Superbowl Party to go to later in the day.  I wasn’t interested in going and convinced Thomas to let me skip it if I went back to the shelter to see if we could take Bogart out a second night. He relented this time, and I went alone to bring Bogart back home.

The second night with Bogart was just as magical as the first. He fit into our home so wonderfully! This time we stopped off at a local school with a fenced in field and let him run around and play.  He was such a good boy!  The energy out helped him remain calmer in our house and he snuggled with us all night long. It was at this point we knew we couldn’t let anyone else have him.

Early Monday morning we returned him once again to the shelter, and let them know we were serious about wanting him.  They couldn’t put him on hold for us, so we quickly contacted our landlord to make arrangements.  Thomas wrote her a long letter detailing the time we had spent at the shelter, the effort and work we had put into learning about dogs, and how we couldn’t live without Bogart.  She wasn’t convinced and after a long phone call and the promise of an unreasonable Dog Deposit amount, she agreed to let us have him in our home.  After two days of worrying Bogart would get adopted while we tried to get him, it was seriously one of the best feelings in the world knowing we would have him all to ourselves!

Tuesday Paper Signing

We signed the papers on Tuesday, but the shelter agreed to hold him for us until Thursday so we could get our home ready for him and I could arrange to take off work Friday. Our first night with him was spent getting his energy out.  He was so happy to come home with us!  I think he knew he was going to his permanent home and settled right in.  This by far was the best decision we’ve ever made as a couple.

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