Dogs are deemed unadoptable for many arbitrary reasons – they bark too much, are too skinny, have a funny nose – but luckily, many people look past these so-called “bad” features and see a wonderful pet. In this week’s reader rescue story, that’s what happened to Petey. No one wanted him, but he was given a second chance and found his place. We hope you enjoy reading Petey’s story as much as we did.
If you’re the pet parent of a rescued dog, we want to share your story, too. You just might inspire someone else to save a life! For information about submitting your rescue tale, click here.
Petey and Ginger
Petey’s Second Chance
By Ann Rudasics
Petey is a rescued white Boxer who will be 7 years old in June. This is our story.
Like many magical stories, it starts with a little toy store, where I, Petey’s mom, was working when Petey was brought in for a pet adoption event by an animal control officer and his wife, who worked at the store with me.
Petey wasn’t really the best choice as a potential adoptable animal, since he was emaciated and covered with fly bites. This 3-year-old, shy, unsocial white Boxer was brought along anyway, because he wasn’t doing well in the South Bend Animal Care and Control shelter, and the officer wanted to give him a chance.
Well, of course it worked!
I took one look at that pitiful pup and knew he would be joining our family. I named him Petey after the dog on the Little Rascals, and he joined my old Black Lab, Joe, and stray cat, Frankie.
I am very lucky to have found Petey, who was more than willing to take a job outside of the home to help his new family. Petey is the official shop dog of my art store, called Made in Michiana. I even have a dessert topping named after Petey. A portion of the proceeds goes to the shelter he came from.
Petey has been good for business at Made in Michiana. People come to the store to get their “Petey fix,” and we also do pet adoptions the second Sunday of every month.
Petey is becoming world famous, with fans on his Facebook page from England, Australia, and Italy!
Petey’s fame actually led to a connection between me and Petey’s original owner, who had given him to someone else he thought was responsible but obviously was not. Petey’s original human was thrilled to see him thriving and happy.
Thanks to Petey, in 2013, The 360 Project was born. It’s a program that pairs at-risk teens with shelter dogs. Petey became one of its first ambassador dogs. He also welcomed his foster sister, Ginger, with open paws. She is a deaf Boxer mix (she has no clue she is deaf) who came into the shelter as a stray.
The same animal control officer that helped me adopt Petey saw Ginger as a great pup to put through The 360 Project. It’s a really cool opportunity for the kids to work with a special-needs pup.
Ginger spent a couple of months with Petey as her mentor, and has just started her training with the teens, learning sign language and getting lots of love.
I knew that adopting a shelter dog promised more reward than risk, but who could have foreseen how wonderfully things have worked out for Petey? He is living a happy and blessed life, and paying it forward at the same time. Petey is a remarkable advocate for rescue dogs.
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