We Welcome Tucker to our Family!

We heard around 5:30 p.m. Friday that our new little rescue dog would soon be on his way. Stan from Turtle Gardens Animal Rescue was leaving from Topley soon, and our little guy would be the first dog dropped off en route to their new homes. We arranged that Stan would call us from Williams Lake, and that we'd meet him in 100 Mile to expedite the long journey south. We stayed up until we couldn't stay awake any longer, looking at the phone every few minutes, willing it to ring. We eventually climbed into bed, and at 1:30 a.m. we got the call. We left home at 2 a.m. and drove along deserted roads into 100 Mile (it felt quite clandestine!). We had arranged to meet in the Save On Foods parking lot, and parked so that we could see vehicles coming southbound down the hill. The first set of headlights appeared...and it was a van - but not the right one. After another couple of vehicles went by, the TG van arrived, and under a full moon slightly dimmed by a hazy layer of thin cloud, in the bitter cold, we met our new little dog. He was in a little crate, cowering at the back of it. Stan gave us some excellent information and advice, we did the necessary paperwork, and after wishing Stan and the other dogs a safe journey, we loaded the crate into the pickup and were on our way home.

We arrived home just before three, and brought the crate inside. The big dogs sleepily greeted us and were quite curious about the contents of the crate. Rather than drag him out, we took the top off, and saw Tucker (formerly Fragglerock) properly for the first time. He was terrified, and had vomitted on his journey. The dogs introduced themselves, and Molly the cat climbed straight into his crate with him. We took his sweater off, gave him some clean bedding, offered him a drink of water (which he declined) and tucked him back into his crate for the remainder of the night. We brought the crate into the bedroom with us and climbed into bed around 3:30.

Tucker is a poodle sheltie cross. He and his two brothers and one sister were rescued from a hellish situation when they were around three months old. He is now about a year old. (I will ask Yvette permission to copy some of his earlier photos from her blog). He is the last of the four to find ahome, and is a shy, timid little fellow. Yesterday he cowered in corners and behind furniture. We took him to Kamloops with us yesterday(in his crate), and he spent the night sleeping on our bed. Today he is being a little braver, and has been lying close by while I write this post.


He has his leash attached at all times for now, until he's settled and bonded with us. Once he's well established with the home routine, Mike will be taking him on his longhaul travels.

Welcome home, little one!

Yvette, Dave and Stan at Turtle Gardens do wonderful work for some of the most neglected and abused dogs in the province. Please consider supporting them in what they do.