Wiggles came to RHS in August 2011. I began fostering him in September 2011 “to see how he would do at my house.” He was adopted yesterday, by a dog-loving family, who literally stopped in their tracks and gasped when they saw Wiggles at Collin Creek last Saturday. They said they had been waiting 1 1/2 years for the “next dog to melt our hearts.” Wiggles is now known as JAGGER, as in Mick (LOVE his cool new name) and has a new best pal, Toni, who looks like his long-lost, older, bigger sister.
More about Wiggs, if I may….
Wiggles and I had a lot of fun the past 3 years. We went through an 8-week training course at PETCO, where he learned “sit,” “down,” “stay,” (sort of) and most importantly mastered “leave it” and “drop it,” as he had a habit of picking up and protecting things that didn’t belong to him. Yes, he still walks on the leash on his back legs like a toddler, but we graduated. ;o)
After I had been fostering him for awhile, I started wondering more and more about his mix. He’s such a smart, gentle, loving, playful little dog with the craziest hairdo. Another rescue group was having a fundraiser (canine DNA tests with part of the testing fees going to the rescue group). Wiggs came back as primarily poodle/chihuahua with a few other breeds mixed in, including Chinese Crested. The “reveal party” was fun, and – 100% accurate or not – his results explained a lot – his mohawk, his hair texture, his crazy intelligence, his small stature, and his “territorial” streak.
Sorry to go on and on, but Wiggles has a lot of history. Stop here if you are bored. ;o)
So, if you are still reading, here are a couple of examples of his intelligence –
I could be anywhere in my house or backyard and tell Wiggs to “find your ball,” “find your toy,” “find your bone,” “find Dewey” (my cat who loves dogs), and he is right every time. He doesn’t retrieve Dewey, thankfully, ;o) but he will go to where Dewey is in the room and sit by him or nudge him.
Wiggles’s showed us all his curiosity and street smarts (and previously unknown escape artist tendencies) for the first time when my friend Penny volunteered to foster Wiggles and possibly adopt him.
Wiggles had been at Penny’s house for a very short time – a day or two tops (meaning he barely knew the house, the yard, the neighborhood, etc) – when I got a call during one of our first adoption events at Collin Creek Mall. Wiggles and Penny’s westie, PJ, had escaped from her yard.
Penny and her friends were out frantically looking for them and got a lead – someone had spotted a little black dog and a little white dog crossing Garland Road. They were so lucky to cross safely. We found out later in the day that someone on the opposite side of Garland Road from Penny’s home had found them and put them in her backyard until she could call the numbers on their tags and help them get back where they belonged.
After searching the area, Penny went home, hoping to find PJ and Wiggles. Well, Wiggles was there. He made it out of the other lady’s yard, crossed back over Garland Road, and went back through/under/over? Penny’s fence (we’re still not sure how they got out….prior to his introduction to Wiggles, PJ had never shown interest in exploring outside his yard), through the doggy door, and was waiting inside for Penny. No PJ. 🙁 Through a series of coincidences, neighbors helping neighbors, etc.Penny got a call from someone who knew the lady who had picked up the two dogs, and PJ made it home, too, a little bit later. We can now joke that Wiggles led PJ astray, then abandoned him across the tracks. ;o)
In a very small nutshell, that is the story of the special little dog I grew to love as if he were my own. I miss him terribly, but he got a dog-loving home and will have a great pal in his lookalike, Toni……and that’s why we do what we do.
Thank you to EVERYONE who helped and loved Wiggies along the way – Pat for rescuing him; The Vet House and Richardson Shelter for understanding how special he is; Sue and Bobby Knight, Penny Manly, and Gladys (we have you listed as one of his fosters, too, so you helped care for him somewhere along the line). ;o) Thank you to Deb Bosco for coming up to the adoption to see him off and for helping with photos; and to Leasa Isom for going on the home visit with me and for doing the adoption contract yesterday.
Category: Happy Beginnings
