Two years ago today, my little wild child joined the pack.
Taken his first day at his new home.
To say he's a handful, doesn't even begin to describe Deuce. He is quite literally a wild thing! He was left to his own devices for the first three years of his life. He had a route where he could get food and water, but other than that he had complete freedom. No owner, no rules, no limits. When the residents of the area he was roaming started threatening to shoot him, a young man with a kind heart decided that tipping over garbage cans wasn't reason enough for Deuce(then known as Bandit) to die. So he tied Deuce up in his yard and kept him safe until the shelter had room for him.
Deuce had never been confined in any way, shape or form in his entire life. Going from that to a chain to a tiny kennel caused some major behavior problems. Some of the shelter staff thought he was aggressive. Stuart, who worked there at the time, asked me to take a look at him. I saw not an aggressive dog, but one with absolutely no manners and boundless energy. A bad combination when confined to a shelter! So Deuce came here. I had to change his name since I already had a Bandit. Deuce didnt' care. He had no idea he had a name anyway!
About 30 seconds after he met Raven. They've been at this ever since. Raven beat Deuce up once after he challenged her as boss of her pen. She put him back in his place and he has never questioned her authority again!
They are the best of friends. I'm not sure what we would have done with Deuce if Raven hadn't accepted him. He has some issues with some other dogs. Predictably he doesn't like the dominant males, but he also hates Sundin, who doesn't have a dominant bone in his body; he wants a piece of Founder and barely tolerates Earle, who everyone adores!
Two years later, he's still a bit of a wild child! He's full of energy, unending, always on the go energy. He loves to work and puts everything he has into being in harness. Taking Deuce for a run requires a handler though. He adds a whole new level to the chaos of hooking up a team! He has learned some manners. He knows the basics now, though he doesn't always do them. Not jumping up on people he's happy to see has been difficult for Deuce to master! He has sit, down and "git away from the gate" mastered though.
He's a big handsome goof.
He's always happy and seems grateful not to have to worry about his safety or where his next meal is coming from. Occasionally he drives me to tears, but I am grateful to the man who saved him from a bullet and glad I got the chance to know and love Deuce.
Happy Gotcha Day, doofus boy!
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Happy gotcha day, handsome Deuce!
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