That is NOT a Shar Pei!
by admin
The Humane Society has an agreement with the local Hospice. If a dying patient has a pet with nowhere to go, the Humane Society will do everything they can to help. Fortunately, in the year that I was at there, this only happened once, because it was heartbreaking (not that everything there wasn’t).
The patient was confined to a wheelchair, lived in a apartment and was quickly becoming more ill. He was finding it more and more impossible to properly care for his dog, named Bulldozer. Without any family that could take him, Bulldozer (still one of my favorite dog names) needed to find a new home… fast. When the call came in, I desperately searched my head for exactly who could foster another dog on such short notice… then the Hospice worker said seven words that instantly put him at my house, “He is a pure-bred Shar Pei.” I knew that Scott would have a fit if I brought home another foster dog. He had told me a million times that we were totally full! But, a Shar Pei was different, he LOVES Shar Peis… I could definitely get his blessing on bringing this one home! All of these thoughts shot through my head in a matter of three seconds… those same three seconds often get me in trouble!
A few hours later, this arrived at the door:
- Bulldozer (pre eye-surgery)
My heart sank and I thought “that is NOT a shar pei”. Personally, I couldn’t have cared less what breed he was. But, I knew that Scott would not be pleased and it would be harder to find a home for a Shar Pei mix. Either way, he was coming home with me – period.
That afternoon, I went online and did some research… my to my surprise, not only was Bulldozer a pure-bred Shar Pei, he was a very unique, BEAR COAT Shar Pei. The coat only appears when both of the dog’s parents carry the recessive, long-hair gene. It turned out to be quite the honor to have such a special dog in my care.
Not only was Bulldozer an honor to foster because of his breed… but because of his personality. He turned out to be a wonderful foster. He was four-years-old, completely housebroken, very loyal, loving and social. He made me chuckle every time I looked at him. His coat required some maintenance and he had to undergo entropic surgery on both eyes before he could find a home.
His former daddy called on a regular basis to check on how he was doing. I was always thrilled to spend endless amounts of time talking about how great he was. It is so easy to talk about a dog when you REALLY enjoy them… and we REALLY enjoyed Bulldozer.
An Ideal Foster Dog
A few months after bringing Bull home, I met another Bear Coat Shar Pei, Simba, future brother to Teddy. His mama, K, posted Bulldozer’s information on the Shar Pei Forum and a few days later, I received a call from a couple in Virginia. They already had one Pei, Lucy, and were looking to expand their family. After an extensive application process, it was decided that they were a perfect fit. A volunteer with the Humane Society was headed their direction and took little Bull along for the ride. Letting him go was so much easier, knowing he was going to such an amazing home. The first update they sent was filled with pictures of him eating his first ice cream cone (unfortunately, I don’t still have that email).
Last week, this email came from his new mama and it made my whole week! (I posted Romi and Michelle on the Shar Pei Forum – those are the two peis she refers to. It is so awful that Lucy got hurt, but I could not be happier to know that they will do anything for their babies! Way to find a great home Bull!)
Hey Amber
I saw your post on the Shar Pei Forum regarding the 2 shar pei you are fostering and the reference to Bulldozer. He is doing wonderfully! He has been the best dog! He loves to just wander the back yard and play wiht Lucy and the other dogs behind us. He still does his “interestng chatter” when he gets really excited (which usually involves a ride in the truck).
He is my husband’s dog….he loves to spend time with him and lays right at his feet. Once it got cold outside it was hard to get him to come in..he loves the cold weather and snow was a real treat for him! He comes in every hour or so to check on us and then wants to go right back out!
We bought a camping trailer so we could take both dogs with us when we go away. Last weekend we wet to Myrtle Beach and used it for the first time. The dogs were great, they slept almost the whole trip down (12 hours) and acted like they had camped for years. Bully just sat and watched people wander by and every one wanted to know what kind of dog he was. The geese in the lake really caught his eye as well! Lucy and him get along wonderfully and they wrestle and play each day. Having a great time with him and he has settled in nicely.
Hope you made out well with the other 2 being adopted. I showed their pictures and hinted to my husband…he didn’t bite…. Two are a nice number, don’t think I could afford any more. Lucy had an accident in October. We went away and left both with a pet sitter. She called us 6 hours later to say Lucy had gotten out and was gone. We came home right away. We found her 3 days later in the woods. She had been hit by a car and had a broken front leg and her back leg had the paw pad ripped right off with tendons exposed. She has had 3 surgeries thus far and next week should be the last to remove the rod they put in her front leg. So…$5000 later…she should be good to go! That’s why we bought the trailer so they can come with us and no worries while we go away. Oh well, when you love him money is no issue….tell my pocket book that! Thanks again for taking care of Bully until he came to us.
We love him!