One night I was headed down to the barn to feed the horses, and, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white object. As I approached, I realized it was a large dog who appeared injured. The poor guy had a bad leg and was standing there like a statue. I couldn't just leave him!
He had a bright orange hunting collar but no identification. I quickly grabbed a leash and tried to lead him safely to my barn. He stood his ground. He had no idea what a leash was all about! He was, after all, a hunting dog that had, apparently, never been leash trained.
Between the injured leg and his unwillingness to move forward on a leash, it took awhile to get him safely in the barn. The next morning, I loaded him up in a crate (which he did willingly) and drove him to my vet's. Thankfully, his injury was not severe and he healed quickly.
Living in a rural area, sadly, we are no strangers to abandoned animals. We quickly went to work trying to find his owners, using FB, flyers, contacting the local shelters and word-of-mouth. Sadly, no one was willing to claim Boudreaux. (Of course we named him!) So, by default, he became a member of our family.
It took him a little while to understand simple commands like "sit", but we were able to transition him from a failed hunting dog into a very mouthy, but wonderful family pet. Now, we couldn't imagine life without him. He is such a good boy! We really feel like someone else's loss has become our gain. Rescue will always be my favorite breed!
SPARTA, TN
