I’m Going Home from the Shelter!
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Wendy & Riley on Freedom Day!
Somehow I found myself at a shelter one day. They named me Riley when I was there since they had no way of knowing what my previous name had been. They took very good care of me at the shelter, but it was a very scary and noisy place and I didn’t like being there. They estimated that I was about 5 years old. It was obvious that I had been nursing puppies when I arrived, but they didn’t know much else about me. Oh, they also determined that I had heartworms and something wrong with my jaw which prevented me from being able to eat food properly. The shelter staff had to feed me with a syringe until a vet fixed my jaw. Boy was I glad when they did that!
My mom was a volunteer at the shelter, but I didn’t even see her for the first few weeks because she worked with the scaredy cats. Little did I know that she was keeping her eye on me and thinking about taking me home with her. It turned out she had recently lost her other Rottweiler named Sable, who passed away peacefully at her home. Mom was still grieving the loss of Sable when she came to see me at the shelter. She was concerned about me because an overcrowded county shelter is a very risky place for big black dogs that have heartworms. I never met Sable, but my mom gave me Sable’s collar to wear around my neck when she brought me home with her. It fits perfectly! I think I would have loved Sable!
There were so many dogs there at the shelter. It is a very stressful environment. I’m not sure why I ended up there and my mom says it’s hard to believe because I am such a great dog. She noticed that someone must have trained me to sit when people approach me. I love people and they always come to pet me when I sit, so I’m happy to sit to greet new people! When I arrived at my new home, I learned that mom doesn’t want me to get up on her furniture or on her bed. That’s okay because she gave me a really nice bed of my own which I love to lay on.
Here is the first picture mom took of me when I got home – she thinks it’s funny that I lay like this a lot! Mom encourages people to adopt dogs and cats from shelters – you should go see if you can find one to rescue! There are lots there waiting for a great home just like I got!
Riley’s 1st day home
