Normally by now I would have posted another blog about Pal and blogged about Whitespot, but this last week has been hectic….crazy busy. Pal was my right-paw man while travelling around trying to find Whitespot. He walked many paths and streets with me and ran like crazy trying to keep up with Whitespot when we had our own sighting of him. He learned to like travelling and was perfectly comfortable if I left him in the truck briefly. He had a water container and a food container for on the road and I’m sure he must have thought we were living in the truck. He is the perfect sized dog….not too big and not too small. He is very affectionate and loved to prance alongside me when walking and nudge my hand to be petted while walking. With our excursions out in South Surrey/White Rock we bonded easily. The first application that was sent prior to Pal even coming to the Lower Mainland was the perfect match for him. What a great dog he is, with so many endearing qualities – like the way he looks deeply/soulfully into your eyes.
The couple that adopted him have named him Charlie and they have 2 other dogs. When Pal met them he instantly played with the younger of the two dogs and then when we were back at their house he started to play with his new older brother too. There are grown kids with their dogs, and grandkids…all creating a nice big family for Pal to be a part of. He will get daily walks, lots of playtime with the other dogs in the backyard and weekly trips to the beach. What a lucky dog and what a very lucky couple to have him.
And, now it is Whitespot’s turn. He is very affectionate. He solicits face rubs and will paw your unoccupied hand when he sees that you are only using one of two hands to shower him with attention. He gets so much attention on the street. People passing by stop and stare at him or they comment about how beautiful he is. I’ve been seeing his pictures over the last year so I forget just how unique he is to the person who hasn’t seen him yet. The good news with Whitespot is that his surgery is postponed to give him time to heal and see if he can mend without the surgery. Dr. Ubi sounds optimistic about this and he suggested aqua therapy or walking him in water at the beach and walking on the sand, etc.
This last week has been very tiring with one new foster dog, searching for Whitespot, trips to the vet, an adoption and then Whitespot taking Pals place right away. A lost dog generates a lot of phone calls (thankfully) and you feel like you drop the ball on calling people back, but all the offers of help and calls of concern are worth so much. They make you realize how great people are – how they pull together to fix a problem. We were driving caravan style with 4-way flashers on while Whitespot made decisions of which roads to run down. We had very few people honk at us for being in the way. It seemed that a community had come together and realized what we were trying to do. We had people nod at us and help us and cheer us on to get Whitespot back. I know there were lots of people involved that I never saw, who were conducting their own private searches added to lots of TG supporters that I did see. Whitespot's foster-to-adopt people were out there day and night searching and fielding the bulk of the 'sighting' calls. On the last day a guy named Dean brought people out to keep Whitespot safe and in their sight. I don’t think any of these people even knew about Turtle Gardens. I’m so glad that we have Whitespot back in the TG fold. He is tired and sore but safe and found.
I can’t say enough about how impressed I was with Al – our dog tracker. Any lost dogs? I say don’t delay….he is the guy to call.
I will provide a regular weekly update on Whitespot with some new pictures later. I want everyone to see what a great character he is ; )
I picked Pal up on Saturday in Delta. What a day that was….so many good matches for both dog and adopters. Lots of volunteers came out to help and my only regret from the day is that I didn’t have more time without being busy to have time to chat with more people. I have met so many great people through the TG network and would have loved to have had more time to stand around and talk ‘dog’. I took Pal home Saturday night and walked him around my neighbourhood hoping for that first squat or leg lift so we could go inside and have a relax after a busy day. After a couple of hours still no luck so I resorted to the 20’ leash and we had touch-down. So, inside we went where Pal explored, ate, drank water and then crashed. He slept quite a bit. 
