Last I posted, Romeo had been adopted. I dropped him off on a Saturday and my heart was broken. I did feel like he was in a good home so it was okay. That night, I was contacted by the rescue that saved Romeo about another dog named Zak. Zak was waiting for a foster home. He was 10 months old and had been in the shelter for 6 months. He had been rescued a couple months ago and was in a boarding kennel in California. I said we would take him and those wheels were in motion.
Monday morning at 10 am, my phone rang. It was Romeo's new dad, D. There was a problem - Sunday night, Romeo had bit him and ran away....and they hadn't found him. WHAT? He had been gone all night...my heart sunk. D lived right on the edge of a large wooded area.
I asked if he had called any of the shelters. I told him to put signs in the neighborhood and call animal control to report him missing. Then I said "I'll be right there" Maggie and I got in the car for the 30 minute drive to D's house. Romeo loved Maggie and I was planning to have her help me search. It was a long drive out there and I spent it calling the local shelter, the police and local animal control. I kept telling myself that we would find him.
I got to D's house and he was inside. I wondered why he wasn't out searching, but didn't think too much of it. I asked what had happened. He said that they had Romeo in the front yard late Sunday night, he got scared and ran to the neighbor's yard, hiding under a bench. When D reached for him, Romeo felt cornered and bit him. D yelled and dropped Romeo. Then he ran.
"How did he get away?" "Was he on a leash". I never got a straight answer to that but deep down, I knew the answer was no...he wasn't on a leash and that made me angry. There was no time for that, I had to find him and I knew Romeo would not come to anyone other than me.
I searched the woods, yelling his name. I stayed in contact with D via text message. Around 11:30, he said he needed to go to an appointment, so I was searching alone. Around 2, a neighbor came over and asked if I was looking for a little black dog. He had heard me yelling and said around 11, he saw the dog going north through his yard. I was SO relieved. That gave me hope that Romeo had survived the night.
North of D's house were a couple houses, then a big open field with briar bushes. Just past that was a long driveway with two houses kind of on an uphill.
In the middle of the day, I needed to head into town to get some water for Maggie. On the drive, I started to think about my little guy and how scared he must be. For the first time I totally broke down. Then I told myself to hold it together because I had to find him.
D had gotten home from his appointment and helped a bit more with the search. Everytime I went to his house to check back in, he was inside. That confused me. One time, I got there and he was just out of the shower - he had searched the woods and was dirty. As I stood there covered in dirt, scratches all over my legs from the briar bushes, I thought "are we done looking".
I kept searching. Maggie and I scoured the open field. Around 4pm, a pick up truck came over and an older man got out. He asked if I was looking for a little black dog. He lived up the long driveway and said Romeo had been by his house all day. He had just seen him 10 minutes ago. I thanked him and asked if he cared if I searched his yard. He said to go ahead.
I walked up the long drive calling for Romeo. I was supposed to teach cycling class at 5:30 and knew I didn't have much time. I knew that if I left, I wouldn't get back until almost dark and the thought of Romeo being gone another night was too much. I texted D and told him about the Romeo sighting. He said he would come up there.
I keep calling for Romeo. I had Trevor on the phone trying to find me a sub for my cycling class. At 4:30, I couldn't wait anymore, so I left. I told D that I would be back and to keep looking. About 15 minutes later, I found a sub for my class and headed back to the site of our search. D was no where to be found.
I decided to head into town and get a hamburger to try and intice Romeo. I stopped at D's house on the way back by and he wasn't there. His daughter said he had gone to run some errands. Again...why am I the only one searching for this dog. At that point, I decided that if I found Romeo, he was coming home with me.
As I pulled into the long driveway where Romeo was last seen, I saw him. He was sitting in front of one of the houses, looking down over the field. I stopped the car and got Maggie out. As I walked towards Romeo, he started to run. I sat down and called to him. He stopped running and stood up on his back legs as if to say "MOM?" You can see him here -
Then, little by little, he moved towards me. Closer and closer. Eventually he realized it was me and broke into a dead sprint. He said hi to Maggie first and then jumped into my lap, licking my face. I cried and cried. Then picked him up, put him in the car and headed for home. He layed on my lap and fell asleep.
"I'll always come for you", I said to him. I was SO happy he was home. And so we he.
I left a message for D and told him I didn't think it was a good fit and that I would refund him money. He didn't reply until the next morning and he agreed.
Romeo really turned into a different dog after his little adventure. He is much more confident and loves Trevor. Before he was kind of shy, apprehensive and didn't care much for his foster dad. He has settled into our home. I would love to keep him and I won't lie, it has crossed my mind, but my doggies need him to leave. He challenges Buster and that's not really fair. I will tell you this, I will only let him go to the most perfect home. The next one is forever...with no doubt forever.
He has a meeting next weekend with a promising family. In the meantime, he is making himself at home, loving on Maggie and playing with the cats. I sure an enjoying him, he is very special to me.
After my crazy day searching for Romeo, we had one day of peace and then Zak arrived.
This little doggie stole my heart too! The others brought him into our pack and showed him how to be a dog. He didn't know how to jump on the couch or go up the stairs and when I turned the TV on, it was obvious he had never seen that before.
Every night, I slept on the couch with Asha and Romeo. Zak slept right on my pillow, snuggled as close to my face as he could. I posted about him on facebook and within a day, a friend of ours said they wanted to meet him.
That weekend, I took both Zak and Romeo to the shelter with me. They were really good. When people came in, Romeo would get in a position to protect Zak. It was SO cute. On Sunday, we took Zak to meet his new family and he did great. They had another little dog who was warming up to him. The family took Zak as a foster to adopt - meaning they will foster him and plan to adopt if all goes well. I just spoke with them the other day and the adoption will be final this month.
I follow a woman on facebook who lives in Georgia and fosters dogs. She has five of her own and every time she posts a picture of her newest foster, everyone says how the dog looks so at home with her and she should keep them. She always tells them that she can't keep them, that's not what its about. I never totally understood that until now. While I would love to keep Romeo, our house is full and if we keep him, there is no room for others. And that is really what its all about. I'll update after Romeo has his meeting with his potential adopters and hopefully he ends up in a home where he will love and be loved forever.
I feel so fortunate to have been able to love these guys. They fill my heart with joy and give meaning to my life.
