A year ago today we took Ferdie home from Dirk's Fund Golden Retriever Rescue. What a year it has been with this energetic, curious, playful and yet calm, dog.
Here's a look at his first day at our house, January 30, 2009.
Ferdie was found alone on a cold day/night last January, sitting by the curb in a Collinsville subdivision after having been abandoned by his owner. He was finally captured by local residents living nearby after he made several attempts to break free to go back to that curb. Thanks Tracy! He was taken to the Billhartz Animal Shelter in Collinsville where he remained for about ten days. This is where I first saw him. I had been going round to many metro animal shelters and humane societies and rescue organizations looking for a dog. How ironic that I'd find the one I wanted back in Collinsville. However, I was told he most likely wouldn't be put up for adoption, he was too good a dog and surely his owner would come for him. They would keep him for 7 days and if no one claimed him, then he'd be adoptable.
I pretty much gave up after that. He'd be claimed for sure. The next week as I was looking at online animal adoptions I saw Ferdie. This time he was up for adoption at Collinsville. Dale and I raced over there only to be told that someone from Dirk's Fund beat us to him.
In the end, we got him after he went through neutering and such at Dirk's.
At first he was sort of manic, moving fast, looking at everything, trying to figure out where he was and why. Some of the neighbors came by that first day with their dogs for a walk around the campus. He delighted in that and has ever since.
While at home he followed me everywhere. I couldn't even stand up from a chair but that he was on his feet too. Room to room he followed. For months he wouldn't sit anywhere he couldn't see us. He would not get in the car. It is still a battle to get him in the car, which I guess is not surprising since last January everytime he got in a car bad things happened. Abandoned, taken to a shelter, taken to another shelter, taken to be neutered, then back to a shelter.
He became extremely nervous and upset when he took him over to Collinsville. He paced and cried and paced. Back and forth, back and forth. It has only been recently that Collinsville does not bring on these panic attacks.
But, he's a terrific dog. Everyone on the Concordia Seminary campus knows him by name. "Hi Ferdie", he hears all day long. He is gentle and kind with tiny kids and babies, let's them climb on him, touch his face and ears.
He loves his daily playtime with neighbor dogs, he lives for this. He's shocked when someone new walks by with a dog and doesn't want to play.
He is not a night owl, by 7 in the evening, he's done, curled up sound asleep.
He is most especially drawn to men. He likes everyone, but any man is given a full body greeting which makes us believe his original owner was a man who really did love him, but for whatever reason, couldn't keep him and just let him out of his car and drove off.
We love Ferdie.
Here's a link to a video I took of him yesterday playing with Volpi and Ogie. Ferdie's the one who keeps squeaking the ball.
His official Seminary portrait for this year with the president.
If he could talk, I know Ferdie would thank everyone who has been a part of his life this past year, the Collinsville people who corralled him, the seminary community, the dog walking neighbors, friends and family.