Some people have a special calling and if the stars align, they are able to pursue that path. I am not one of those people in the strictest sense. I have a good job, enjoy a steady work schedule and work for a company that encourages community involvement. Though I never expected to be in this industry, I’m fortunate to be in this situation. It allows me to pursue my animal care/advocacy avocation to a degree that makes me happy. It also allows for another in my home to fulfill his special calling from time to time.
When Julius came into my life, I’m convinced that he ran up to the right person but also convinced that it was because this person was walking a dog. Julius loves dogs. He loves going to day care, he loves people, life, children who are respectful, some treats, bully sticks, and all dogs. He is the dog who helped Ray deal with his reactivity and he is the dog who helps me welcome our temporary fosters. Juli’s calling is to be an ambassador of good will for all dogs.
Tora the A-Dora-Bull
When we brought in our beloved Tora, she was really able to shed some of her Mama persona and become a romping, happy young gal again with Julius. And if you are friends with me, or follow the boys on Facebook, you will have seen that we had anther visitor over the weekend.
Little Krispie captured my heart the moment I saw him. This sweet little puppy was sitting on his Kuranda bed, obviously overwhelmed and wondering where he was and why he was there. (Actually I think he was born in the shelter-the one we pulled him from-, adopted and returned with his collar imbedded in his neck-a lot in his few four months of life.) After visiting him a second time, he came carefully wiggling up to the door, so Asia and I entered his kennel and gave him some love and learned that he stunk. To high heaven.
We decided to bring him home for the evening for a bath and some puppy-lovin’ time but it almost didn’t happen. When I came to collect him he was afraid to leave his kennel and once out, afraid to walk past the other dogs to the extent that he pancaked. I made a calculated decision and picked him up and carried him to the pittie van where he settled happily into the cushions on the floor. We made a stop at greenDogGoods where he was gifted with some (much needed) shampoo and he helped me pick out a large rawhide for Ray, who he wouldn’t be meeting.
When we got home, Asia put the Peaceabull boys in the house and we let Krispie get acquainted with the yard and when he looked pretty comfortable, we releashed him and brought Julius out on leash. We did a few intros and after just a few short minutes we could tell by their body language that they were going to be great friends. While I knew Julius would be fine, I wondered about Krispie who seemed so tentative at first, but he quickly became Julius’s little shadow. They played and romped both that evening and the next morning before Krispie was returned for what was to be his last day without a forever home and there was even a moment when Julius had to “correct” Krispie which went well.
All in all, I’m just bursting with pride over how much Julius embraces this role and how easy he makes it for other’s to have a bit of a break from the kennels and enjoy the comforts of a home. Would Krispie been adopted so quickly otherwise? I have no doubt that he would have. Someone that stinking cute (well, less stinking after his visit) wasn’t going to stay homeless for long, but it was great to be able to give him some healthy interactions with Julius and with the baby.
Our calling. When I brought Ray home, I had visions of being a great team of Ambassadors for his breed. Now, I have two. Ray does really well in public in general. He has good leash skills, is quite calm and ignores most dogs but we keep him out of foster situations and extended one on ones. He is my shopping and event ambassador. Julius is my one on one dog ambassador and all around good party host who does well with most situations. I feel like I hit the jackpot.
What is your dog’s “appetite” for entertaining guests?
Peace-a-bull Assembly 
How amazing (and lucky)! This is so awesome! Ed is definitely the life of the party – unfortunately, it can never be a big party as he gets way overstimulated. Tess does great with dogs/people, but gets stressed so easily.
Ray gets stimulated easily too, but it is lessening as he ages. Thank goodness.
I love that they each have their specialties. The yin and yang of ambassadors! My boys only like humans, they do not enjoy their own kind (or cats, or bunnies, or frogs).
How funny, I call them my yin and yang dogs. 🙂
You’re here in Fort Wayne too! So great! Green Dog Goods is awesome…we just adopted our pibble, Gus, about a month ago and we are taking him to them for his obedience school. I really think that Gus has a lot of potential to maybe become a therapy dog. He has a ways to go yet, but he’s just so sweet, smart and mellow that I think with time and training he would be great! Time will tell…
Rachel, welcome! I hope we run into each other “for reals” one day soon. Did your Gus happen to have a playdate with Clyde recently?
Yes! That’s our boy! He just met Clyde last night. Clyde’s mama, Lisa, and I volunteer together at ACC 🙂
He is so handsome!!! We live NE and Julius is always up for a play date.
Thank you! We’re still getting to know him, but he did very well last night. We live in Williams-Woodland Park on the south side, but we are trying to keep socializing him regularly with other dogs whether it be for walks or play so, we would be happy to come up and see you guys sometime!
Perfect. We can also go in your direction. If you are interested in “pack walking” Ray would be our best bet. For play dates it will be Julius. I also have a friend with a young female who Gus might like to play with.
Walks would be great! We’ve only had him a short time, but thus far, he has done great with other dogs. We have three others at home, all rescues, all different breeds. He is friendly with everyone. Our hound, Sadie, is as well. The other two are hit or miss. However, if we are just walking they would probably be just fine once the initial introductions were over. We could start with Gus, Sadie and Ray though and maybe work the other two in as we go! Gus is currently going through obedience school and my partner and I really want to work on his recall and making sure he listens to us 99% of the time before doing too many play dates. We love him and want to let him do what he enjoys, but we want to make sure we understand him well to make sure he and any person or thing is safe. So far, it has been obvious that he wants to play with other dogs, but he is quite vocal once he gets going and he has a BIG bark! His intentions are good, but so far, we have found that other dogs can get a little intimidated by him for that reason. Anyway, let’s plan a walk sometime and we can build from there on play dates!
Oh my gosh, that is so funny! Ray is very growls when he plays which to the outsider sounds pretty intimidating. Julius screeches when he sees other dogs until he gets to play.
Yes! Gus sounds kind of scary, but he just a big, big baby! He still whimpers like a puppy when he gets really excited….usually when we get home from work or if we’re getting ready to go for a walk.
That’s awesome! Norman also has a knack for winning over dogs and people while Kaya tends to be either aloof or over-eager. Though both of them love visitors and attention from anyone. Kaya is my go to dog for learning (and showing off) tricks, impressive athletic feats, entertaining Norman and making me laugh. Norman is the one who I love bringing shopping and out and about because he is so easy going:)
Don’t you just love the different personalities?
They are the perfect pair of ambassadors 🙂
Our Argus is amazing. He has the best temperament with dogs, people…he is always calm and collective. Never barks unless there is a reason to, and only then he only barks with a warning. We don’t know how he really sounds if he’d bark ‘aggressively’, oh and he loves old people, especially old men (strange, we know). Tommy is a love bug, he loves everyone and wants to play with every dog he sees. If he gets a chance to sleep with you, he’ll either sleep right on top of you or with his head next to your on the pillow.