Things didn't start off well between me and Houdini… In fact, he wasn't always named Houdini…he earned his name.
After Bagel and Marty both got adopted on the same day I decided to go get another dog. This time, I decided to try Bayou Animal Services(BAS). There are many reasons why I decided I'd give them a shot. First, League City has several volunteers and more funding and I thought BAS could really use the help. Second, I wanted to help out my community and BAS is right around the corner from where I live. Lastly, it was Sunday and League City is closed on Sundays. The people at the shelter were incredibly nice to me and very appreciative. They even gave me coupons for pizza! So I walked around the shelter and talked to them for a while and decided to take a dog home that day: Dusty. Dusty wasn't like the other dogs at the shelter. He was very quiet and calm, even in the hectic environment. I didn't want him to spend any more time in the shelter so I decided I would break my female only rule and foster Dusty. Dusty was extremely skinny and very dirty. He had matted up hair and you could feel every single one of his ribs.
On the way home we stopped by PetSmart where I got him a toy and some treats. Kids seemed to like him quite a bit since he was so fluffy. He was very sweet with them. After that, I was feeling a bit hungry and decided to pick up a to-go order. I was inside for a couple minutes. When I went back to my car, Dusty wasn't there. I started to freak out. I had left the back window open and I did not expect him to jump out nor that a dog could even fit through there! I ran around the restaurant hoping that I could see him but nothing. I called the shelter and broke the news… What a great first impression. I felt so unbelievably horrible. Dusty had a leash but no tag and he had no microchip. We were next to a big street and I just had a terrible sinking feeling. I kept running around the restaurant and saw one of their employees on a break outside. I asked him if he had seen a dog and he said yes! He said it had pooped in that grassy area off to the right and then a family picked him up. I kept looking for Dusty but no luck. I came back to the guy and asked if he knew what the car looked like. He said yeah, it was grey, an SUV and actually… it looked like that one over there! He was pointing to a car that had just pulled up… I ran towards the car and saw Dusty through the window… I was so incredibly relieved! I couldn't believe how lucky I had gotten. I thanked the nice family relentlessly for helping me out and immediately called the shelter with the good news. On my way home, I decided to swing by the shelter and apologize in person. They were really nice about it and I don't think it harmed our relationship.
Once I had gotten him, I introduced Dusty to Luna and Nova and that went okay. There was one instance where Dusty put a paw on Nova as if to try to hump her and Nova was having none of that. She immediately snapped at Dusty! I was incredibly proud of her! I want Nova to take care of herself and was very happy to see her do that. Dusty learned pretty quickly and that was the only time he tried. After they were getting along well I went inside and laid down on my couch to relax. I was watching TV and would occasionally look at the dogs through the window outside. Well at one point when I looked, I saw Dusty with his head stuck between my gate as he was trying to escape yet again! I couldn't believe it! I helped him get unstuck and immediately got my tools and left over wood and dog proofed the perimeter of my fence. After that incident, I named him Houdini.
After that, Houdini was one of the easiest dogs I ever had. Extremely laid back. Didn't chew anything, didn't bark. Just an easy going dog. He was also a cuddler and would always try to get close when I was going to sleep or watching TV. Also, Houdini had 3 white socks which was super cute.
After just under a week, I got a call from a family who was interested in adopting Houdini! After talking for a short time I had a feeling they would be a fantastic fit together. The lady was retired and disabled and was looking for an easy going dog that would keep her company and was good with her grandkids. I think they will be very happy together.
That wasn't the last I saw of Houdini... but that's a story for another time.
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