Thank you Paula and Sally 😊

My hubby and I have just been so incredibly lost without Boone's big personality that when we saw Tuck on the rescue group's Facebook page asking for a foster, we knew Boone had something to do with it.

We still feel like we aren't ready for another dog but we can be a temporary home for a dog in need.

Tuck is a character. We see a little bit of Lexi (our 13 year old Rotty that we lost 2 years ago) as well as some Boone-isms. 😉

I'll share those tomorrow 🐾

Jeanette, Angel Boone & Foster Tuck

I promised to share a little of Tuck's personality that lets me know Boone's pawprints are on this (and that he's laughing from the Bridge). It's a long post....

I never really shared about how Boone came to be called our Bad Dog Bundle. But from the time we saw him at the shelter to his last days, he seemed to inherit every bad habit of every dog that blessed our lives. He was demanding, a counter-surfer, a shoe-stealer, a paper (and money) shredder, and was an expert at making beds "explode." And we loved him for all of it.

I pulled out one of my journals from 2010, and found where we'd brought him home from the shelter. My entries were something along the lines of, "Oh my gosh, will this dog EVER stop screaming at the top of his lungs because he's in a crate?" My neighbors once told me they could hear him howling and carrying on when we left. And it would go on for a couple of hours before he would settle down.

We went through puppy class, beginning obedience classes, and Rally classes. He was truly the class clown. Believe it or not, we did actually compete in AKC Rally events - Boone even earned 3rd place on his final "leg" of his Rally Novice title. Then we retired from competition ;-).

Boone stayed at a friend's house whenever we travelled. She has a nice indoor/outdoor kennel set up and is the breeder whom we got our sweet Lexi from (Lexi was 7 when we adopted Boone). My friend told me more than once, "If anyone else had this dog (Boone) they would have returned him to the shelter after a day or two." He was an expert at making every bed she put in his kennel explode. She would head out to the kennel only to find it filled with bed stuffing. Boone grinning from his accomplishment.

Knowing that brief history of Boone...here is a recap of our first few days with Foster Tuck and why I just know Boone is laughing hysterically from the Bridge.

Maybe I need to share a sweet picture before you read - this was Tuck in my office this morning 🙂

Tuck's Tails (Tales) - shared from a Facebook Post so you'll see reference to Boone's puppy/beginning obedience instructor who offered us a 50% discount on her next class.

Pick up day, drive home:
Screamed from the back of the car because I dared install the pet barrier for a safe 7.5 mile drive back from the rescue. About mile 3 he'd had enough, pulled the pet barrier back just far enough to squeeze through and attempted to raid the grocery bag in the back seat.

By mile 4 or so, he'd worked his way to the front passenger seat. OK, I thought, no biggie. Then my car started that annoying beeping and light flashing of "Hey! There's someone in the passenger seat without a seatbelt on!" For.The.Rest.Of.The.Drive.Home

Sigh.

Feeding dinner, first night:
Put Tuck in a crate with his food so he could start getting used to the safety and "goodness" of crate training. Ate his dinner and promptly began screaming at the top of his lungs at the injustice he was enduring. A pattern is forming here....
Let him out only after he stopped screaming for 5 continuous minutes. Left the crate door open so he could come and go as he pleased. He didn't.

Bedtime, first night:
Not looking forward to a full night of Tuck's screaming, we opted to try and let him sleep loose in the house. "Let's put baby gates up to keep him out of our room."

Fail #1: Short baby gate was easily cleared. Twice.

Fail #2: TALL baby gate not easily cleared, but by golly he climbed and jumped and pushed and pulled 'til that gate fell over and he was in our room.

Thankfully, he only jumped on the bed twice before we convinced him the floor was his friend. He slept through the night (phew!). Or at least 'til 4AM when he thought he could stealthily sneak out to the living room for a much more comfortable couch. Hubby got up to "ask" him to hop off the couch, after which Tuck made a beeline for hubby's spot on the bed (tail wagging).

Day #2:
Neuter appointment in Chugiak. Load crate in the back of my car (no repeats of the drive home, thank you very much). Put Tuck in crate. Let the screaming commence. Earplugs would have been a smart move on my part.

Have to be there between 7-8AM. No problem, a 30-minute drive. When the weather is good, that is. It wasn't. Spring snowstorm and we Alaskans ALL forgot how to drive again. 15-25 MPH on the highway for several stretches.

Tuck did variations of the screaming/howling for intervals. 10 minutes of screaming, 10 minutes of quiet. 10 minutes of screaming, 10 minutes of quiet...you get the picture.

Back to pick him up around 3:30 that afternoon. Loaded a somewhat sleepy Tuck into his crate. Hoping that the somewhat sleepy would translate into a peaceful drive home. Nope. Had to call Lenard so he could hear what I was enduring (he laughed uncontrollably, by the way). Me, not so much. Really kicking myself for not grabbing earplugs.

Back home, sleepy Tuck curled up on Boone & Lexi's old orthopedic mattress.

Night #2:
Tuck slept peacefully in our room on the floor. He prefers the floor over the $100+ orthopedic dog bed .

Day #3:
Time for vaccinations at the local vet clinic. Load the crate in the car, this time grab treats to make crates and car rides FUN!! It started out that way, then I closed the door. And the screaming commenced. Thankfully only a 10 minute or so drive to Palmer. The screaming came in shorter bursts this time.

I thought Tuck was going to be adopted in the waiting room. A retired couple really took a liking to him. The husband said if he'd seen Tuck in a shelter he would have brought him home. Tuck responded with a tail wag and a little wailing that he wasn't given free rein to roam the waiting room.

We got home and I head back to my office to work. Tuck decides he needs to go outside at least 8 times in an hour. I think he just wanted to play in the snow.

And he decided that after leaving the rugs alone in the bathroom, they might make good chew toys. So now the bathroom is off-limits.

By the way, he really is up for adoption. A super sweet boy. We are working on manners and if he hasn't been adopted by next week, will be in Lynn's basic obedience class (get ready for Boone 2.0 Lynn).

Hope you enjoyed this little tale of Tuck. 

Hugs,

Jeanette, Angel Boone & Foster Tuck