Brr. I just hate looking at pictures of myself from that time. These first two pictures are how LBR first knew me. Hardly the handsome guy I am now, huh? Back then, I was called "Box." (I know, so creative.) My first owner got me as a cute widdle puppy. But then I did what all puppies do -- start to grow up! The shiny newness was gone, and I was banished to the backyard to be ignored. There were other dogs there, but there wasn't any grass or even shade, and a Texas summer was coming! I developed a nasty skin disease called mange, so I lost most of my fur. Finally someone convinced my first owner that I was sick enough she should surrender me to LBR. I'm so glad she did!!
LBR sent someone out to take pictures of me in May. Then I had to wait... and wait... and wait. See, LBR is always short of foster homes, and there wasn't anyone who could take me in. There were lots of dogs in shelters that people were afraid were going to die, so the foster homes took them first. Then in July someone came back out to check on me and realized I was in pretty bad shape. They let the other LBR volunteers know that I was probably going to die soon if I didn't get a foster home. So the most amazingly pawesome volunteers in the whole wide world stepped up and said they'd be my foster parents.
That's me with Uncle Kurt. He and Aunt Joni rescued me from that back yard and taught me what love and air conditioning were. I was scared of them at first, but then I realized that they were nice people and wanted to help me feel better again. Pretty soon I had my smile back!
I had to go through a lot to get ready to find my furever home. I had to get over my mange and grow all my fur back, plus I had to get neutered and have a broken dewclaw taken care of. Plus, you might notice I'm missing something in that last picture -- my tail! I got what we call "happy tail." See, boxer tails are so thin and unprotected that we can really hurt ourselves when our tail hits things. My aunt Kaitlin was a Labrador and hit her tail against things all the time without it bothering her, but my tail was a lot thinner! So I kept breaking the bones and breaking open the skin just by wagging my tail in my crate a lot. I had to get it amputated. But now I have the regular boxer crop, and I think it makes my butt look smaller!
Finally I was ready. I knew I was looking for something very important, but what?
MY MOM!! We found each other in December 2008, and we both knew from the start that we were meant for each other. She loves me and spoils me, and I protect her and snuggle her. It's a perfect partnership. And now I'm king of the castle!
It was a long, scary road, but LBR helped me when I had nowhere else to go. They healed me and taught me love, and even helped me recover my boxer spirit. I can't think of any better gift anywhere -- and they've done this for hundreds of dogs like me. Wow!
I'm proud to be LBR's Boxer Ambassador, and talk to all you pawesome people on my blog every day. Thanks for reading my story! Go to the Legacy Makeovers page to read even more stories about the dogs that LBR has helped over the years. I think you'll be as proud of these amazing humans as I am.
