"Pudgy"
Adopted August 11, 2001

Pudgy is looking for his "forever" home.  He has not had such good fortune so far.  I personally saw him several times in the "Sandy Ridge" section of Lee County near where I live - "running scared" and he appeared lost, like he was looking for someone, especially any cars approaching.   Twice I stopped my car and tried to get him to come to me, but he would not come any closer than about 6 feet from me.  He would snatch the food I offered and run away again.  He was not the stout little boy that you see in the picture above then, but several pounds lighter.  After spotting him 3 or 4 times in a week, I did not see him again.  Apparently he was abandoned and was later picked up by animal control.   When I went to the pound about another dog - I spotted this dog immediately!   His time was up and no owner had come to claim him.  Our rescue group pulled Pudgy from the pound on February 21, 2001.

He was adopted almost immediately to a woman locally who wanted a small house dog.  She said he was housebroken and that he sat up to beg.  Everything seemed fine.  The woman said she was happy with him and she was seen taking him for leash walks often in her neighborhood.  We stopped by twice to check on how he was doing.  However, after about three weeks we learned from one of her relatives that she had been leaving Pudgy alone  for two and three days at a time with huge pans of food and water left for him.  But he could not go outside to relieve himself!   We immediately took Pudgy back since this was not a good home for him.

Pudgy has been neutered and is UTD on vaccinations.  He is doing well, but we think he should lose a couple of pounds.  The "free-feeding" was not in his best interest.  Also, he may need some work now on housebreaking because of his experience of being left alone and unable to go outside.

He gets along well with other dogs. For the short legs, he is quite a jumper.  He surprised me by leaping about 3 feet onto a pet carrier.  Pudgy is not a "yapper".  At present he is being crated at night.

Please, please ....Do not apply to adopt Pudgy unless you are commited to seeing that this boy can come to feel secure and that he will never be abandoned again, nor that he will get attached to someone that then leaves him alone for days at a time. He loves affection and will return it many times over.  We feel that the best home for Pudgy would be where he can be the only dog (he wants all the attention w/ no competition) and no small children.

Update: Pudgy was adopted August 11.  His new "mom" drove from eastern Virginia to get him.  She spent several hours with him getting acquainted before leaving, walking him around the field and down the lane,etc.  When I asked his adoptive mom what she thought of him now after seeing and meeting him "in person" - she replied "Oh, he is just perfect."

Several weeks later Alexandra wrote that Pudgy is a lot of fun, that he finds new toys in the house about everyday - most of which she lets him keep - that he discovered a Tupperware lid and it became a Frisbee.  She says that she "cannot imagine life without him" now.

Alexandra and Pudgy (aka Watson)