One of our veteran volunteers, Yoko, contributed this Success Story about her Muttville boy, Scrabble. Yoko and her furry kids, Scrabble and Ruby, will be moving to Japan at the end of the month. We wish them a fond farewell and all the happiness in the world, and Yoko promises to spread senior dog love across the seas!
I met Scrabble in an evening of early October 2009. I just adopted out my very first foster and was heartbroken as a rookie foster parent. A few weeks after my successful first adoption, I got an email regarding my next foster, a male Pekingese mix from Oakland Animal Shelter.
Headed to Muttville HQ on the day he arrived from Oakland, opened the door and saw a little half bald Peke mix with funny looking mass on his butt. The first impression was not good – he wasn’t friendly or affectionate. But his personality wasn’t the only issue – his physical condition was another problem. Upper part of his mass was fan-shaped and jaggy on the edge, and the base of his tale was swelled up. His stomach, hip, tail, and legs barely had any hair, and the baldness accentuate his mass as there’s no fur to cover the terrible looking bumps. His nickname at the shelter was “Monkey Butt.” According to the vet, the bumps were hormone growth caused by neutering and should disappear in 2-3 months.
I have taken him to as many adoption events as possible since his arrival. I put an oversized coat on him to hide his bumps and talked him up, but people were too discouraged to even consider because his mass were simply too gross, and unfortunately I couldn’t disagree. Although his mass was doing enough damage to attract potential adopters, his personality didn’t help much either. He would not wag or smile at anyone; moreover, he attempted to bite a few volunteers at his first event. It seemed impossible to find his forever home at that time – either he needed to lose his temper or lose the bumps.
A few months passed, and he was settling in nicely (yet bumps were still there). And long-awaited first application for him was sent. A lung cancer survivor was looking for a buddy to be out and about with. Within 10 minutes of her first meet-n-greet, she fell in love with him and said “he’s the one.” Scrabble went to his new home in the end of December, and everything was great. His new mom emailed me everyday to let me know how he was doing and how happy she was to have him by her side. It was a match made in heaven; however, he ended up coming back to me 2 weeks later as his new mom’s condition suddenly worsened, and she was no longer able to care for Scrabble.
3 months after his return, we received another application for Scrabble. The meeting went well, and new candidate seemed genuinely interested. But part of me was not thrilled about the idea of letting him go as my dog, Ruby, and I were very attached to him at this point. I was secretly hoping that this adoption wouldn’t happen, and I did not hear back after the meet-n-greet, so I was somewhat convinced that the adoption wasn’t happening. And shortly after, Scrabble went to his temporary foster care for 2 week as I was going out of town. At the end of my vacation, I got an email from Scrabble’s temporary foster mom saying the lady from the recent meeting wants to adopt him and was coming to get him before my return. My heart dropped. I wanted to claim that he is mine, but unfortunately he wasn’t, and I was not ready to have a 2nd dog just yet.
While Scrabble was gone, it wasn’t just me who didn’t enjoy his absence, but Ruby also had hard time without him. Usually she inhales her food, but she would not finish her food and didn’t seem too excited about her meal. Nothing affected her appetite prior, so I knew it was because Scrabble wasn’t around.
A few weeks after my return, I got an email from Scrabble’s new mom – it was about how things weren’t working and she wants to return Scrabble. I did not waste any time to ask when I can pick him up, and I went the right next day. I could tell she felt terrible to return him, but I was way too ecstatic to have him back that I wanted to thank her almost. I could tell Scrabble was thrilled to see me, and he jumped right in my car. We got home, and as I was watching Ruby and Scrabble reunited, I realized he completed my household. I knew he was meant to live with us, not temporarily, but permanently.
On 2010 June 30th, Scrabble had officially become my child. We have been very happy together since, and not to mention, Ruby got her appetite back the day Scrabble came back. My dogs allowed me to foster 4 dogs after Scrabble’s adoption, and they have been nothing but fantastic to all the dogs that came to stay with us.
Scrabble had finally had his ‘monkey butt mass’ removed 2 months ago, his hair grew back beautifully, and people we meet always compliment him on his beautiful coat. He’s been a loving loyal companion, and I cannot imagine my life without him now. We are moving to Japan in 2 weeks and starting our new lives together. Though I’m a little nervous about the move, as long as my furry children are with me, I know I can make it though. My happiness resides where they are!
If you adopted a Muttville dog, we would love to feature you in an upcoming ‘Success Story’. Please contact success_stories@muttville.org with the Subject line ‘Success Story’
4/19/12
Are you the proud parent of a Muttville dog? Send us your story! Include three of your favorite photos and send it to success_stories@muttville.org with the subject line 'Success Story'.
