Other People's Kids

Character: Chewbacca

I just realized I haven't put up a sketch of Chewy yet, so here it is.

A couple of months ago, I went to pick up my new monsterdog. I missed Bo so much for so long, I just couldn't be without at least 150 pounds of love anymore. While perusing the excellent petfinder.com, I came across "Homer", who was found nearly starved and brought to a shelter near Bemidji, MN. A week or two later, I headed up to get him.

You would not believe how thin this dog was. Their vet said he was about 2 years old...and he was 100 pounds. To give you an idea, the same vet said that his full-grown weight should probably be pushing 200 pounds, and at 2 years he should have been over 150 AT LEAST. His whole spine stood out through his fur, and his hips were like giant shoulders sticking out of his but. His fur was poor and bedraggled, and he was just a pathetic sight.

And yet, when I met him, he gave me a big fat (and very wet) kiss. He's the most gentle of gentle giants, and he was ready to EAT. He hasn't stopped eating since I brought him home, as a matter of fact, and we've now got him up over 130. I don't know if I agree with the vet's estimation that he should be 200, but we'll definitely get him up over 160 and maybe to 180 anyway. He's got wonderful Saint markings, complete with a dark "mask". He's got black fur mixed in with the brown on his face and ears, and The Wife has nicknamed him the "s'more dog". This goes along with Willy, which is nothing if not an "oreo dog".

Chewy also has very poor muscle tone, and though that's gradually improving, I have a feeling he's never going to be the strong, sturdy animal he should have been able to be.

But the thing is, he loves me already, and he's my buddy. My monsterdog. All is good in the world when you have a monsterdog to sit at your feet and share your snack while you're watching TV together, you know? He will now be the thing that, along with The Wife, holds me together as we face fostering and other life challenges for the next 7 or 8 years.

posted by Dan @ 7:32 PM