a good guy brindle from a far away land

We woke up with a strange dog in our house the other morning. That happens a lot around here, but this one confused me for a quick minute. "Whoa. Who is this and how did he get here?'

Cobwebs cleared, it all came back. Chopper is his name and he just flew in from Indianapolis. It's a crazy story, but - ahem - while Tim and I were hurting from the loss of our husky Simon and scouring rescue websites in search of a new family member, we came across the story of a very handsome sled dog who was saved thanks to the good deeds of a Good Samaritan and a male brindle pit bull. A pit bull who helped save a husky? A husky who likes intact pit bulls? Our ears perked. It seems that the dogs became fast friends while skittering around in an Indy neighborhood together, trying to stay alive in the mid-winter freeze. Good Samaritan Renee has a history of helping wayward dogs and saw fit to lure them in to safety. Problem was, the Husky was the shy type and too afraid to approach her, but after some convincing on the pit bull's part, he finally followed his lead in and found himself in a warm garage with square meals and new human friend. Mutt and Jeff. Or, Chopper and Adai. Two peas in a pod, safe at last.

Renee located a husky rescue to help with the furry one, but the pit bull was big time out of luck. Indy pit bull rescuers were stretched to the max with the task of helping dozens of dogs from a huge bust, so pickins were super slim and the Good Sam was on a tight time table to find them new digs. And so, in march the suckers. After watching the dogs' videos again and again and melting over the story, Tim and I made plans to bring both to CA -- the husky, to adopt as our one and only, and the pit bull to place. Oh wondrous happy happy joy joy.

Chapter Two: It turns out the husky was destined to stay in the midwest. (Sad for us, but happy for him) And the pit bull? How could we say no? He's here now. Not quite what we were expecting to do when shopping dogs, but who are we to thumb our nose at such a special little guy after all he did to help a husky?

Now that he's landed, we see that Chopper is one of those "I need to please you" types, ... a bit of a Yes Man, actually. He's so far dog tolerant if not dog social (updates later) and he's big on licking his lips and dancing back and forth on his little white feet to show you how much he appreciates your friendship - and your treats. And, he's a senior. His unregistered microchip traces back to an adoption from Indianapolis Animal Control eight years ago. Somewhere between that adoption and this rescue, he learned some impressive obedience skills. Always a mystery, these dogs.

So! brindle lovers! ...We'll be holding him here at the house for some more get-to-know-you time, then we'll be searching out foster or foster-to-adopt options for him. Let me know if you have a heart for his type; we'd love to introduce you.

To be perfectly honest, I felt a mild panic when we woke up to him the other morning .. "Oh NO! another dog to find a home for - What have we done?" but thanks to a strong Peets coffee and a big slurp or three from Chopper, it all made sense. He was destined to come to CA, even if it meant hooking up with a wayward husky who won our hearts online in order to get us to notice him. Nice job, boys - and thank you Renee.