Welcome Obie!

Well, you'd never guess it from the first few photos below but Mr Obie is a poodle mix.  You see Obie was found in Alabama and brought to a shelter.  He was in rough shape.  He had fleas and his skin was raw from all the itching.  And, the itching created knots in his curly hair and those knots pulled tight against his skin and made things even worse.  Thankfully for Obie, Fluffy Dog Rescue found out about his plight and welcomed him into the program.  He was shaved down and given a flea treatment.  Now it's just a matter of giving him some time for his skin to heal. 

Obie arrived just yesterday from Alabama.  You see, almost every weekend a group of volunteers arrange transportation for about 50 dogs and numerous cats to get a ride from Alabama to the Illinois and Wisconsin rescues that have agreed to take them.  The van is loaded on Friday evening in Alabama and the driver drives overnight, arriving in Schaumburg about 7:30 Saturday morning.  Some of the dogs stay at rescues in the Chicago area while the rest stay in the van for another 2 hours heading to Wisconsin.  I volunteer a few times each month to drive that last leg of the journey from IL to WI, yesterday was my day and that's how I met Obie.  He rode shotgun and in just that 2 hour ride I could tell he was a special soul.  So, when the rescue asked which dog I wanted to foster there was no question I would take Obie. 

He's been here a little over 24 hours now and I can tell you that he's done great with the 4 other dogs in the house.  I have three of my own and I am dog sitting for another foster family while they are out of town for the weekend.  He is humble, happy and easy going.  He greeted the others politely and melted right into the pack. 

He has loved all of our family members and greeted everyone with a happy tail wag. 

He slept in a crate in our room last night and was quiet until it was time to get up.  While we were out of the house today I put him in the kennel and he was quiet until we got home. 

We have a bell on the back door that my dogs use to tell me they have to go out.  Well, I saw Obie ring it today.  Time will tell if he just got lucky or really knows what it means.  I tell you though that I'm partial to poodles because of their smarts and it could very well be that he understands exactly what it's for. 

I'll share more in the coming weeks as we get to know Obie better.  So, far I can tell you that we just adore him.  See the video and pictures below

Click here for video of Obie

This was Obie when he was at the shelter in Alabama

Here he is now!  Despite everything he's got a smile on his face

Napping on a rainy day while we fold laundry

Thank you for thinking rescue!