My Favorite Breed is Rescued

The story of Simba...

Justin and I were at the Clawson Paws and Claws rescue dog walk 3 years ago with my MinPin Hailey. Best Buddy Pet Rescue was one of many there that day with crates of dogs looking for their forever homes. One dog caught Justin's eye. A 20 pound shepherd mix being hauled off in the arms of a young girl to get some privacy on a quick walk. Another walk by and we noticed this dog back in his crate. Justin squatted down to check him out, Simba the lady said. Simba pressed himself to the furthest corner of his crate to separate himself from Justin.

We went home and in no time Justin decided that he wanted Simba to be his. I was able to find Simba up for adoption through Best Buddy on petfinder.com. Best Buddy's next rescue show was Meet Your Best Friend at the Zoo the next day! What if someone else took him!? Justin had to work the next day so I drove to the Zoo adoption event early the next morning, parked among hundreds of other people looking for pets and ran like a maniac up to Best Buddy's tent. I found Carole, Simba's foster mom, who said she did not bring Simba that day; the zoo would have been too much for him to handle. I talked to her about Simba and she said Justin could meet him!

A few days later, Justin and his twin sister Kara met Simba at the local Petco and Simba came home with them as "Scooter."

Scooter was so scared he didn't bark for two weeks. He sat curled up in "his spot" on the couch and had to be fed pieces of his kibble by hand. Kara threatened daily that we would find Scooter out on the street with a "free" sign around his neck.

Scooter began to gain confidence by being around other dogs. Scooter and Hailey bonded quickly, although Hailey still won't admit she likes him, and Hailey taught Scooter many things including how to bark (unfortunately). Scooter needed to meet someone consistently at least 10-20 times before he could calm down after sounding the howling alarm and relax on the couch until someone looked at him. To us and those people who are in Scoot's close circle of trust, he is the most loving and loyal dog I have ever known. To outsiders, he is annoying and untrustworthy. He's so scary that as he barks at you he runs backward.

It's been about three years now since we've had Scooter in our lives and I wouldn't change a moment. Scooter's circle of trust has expanded and just this weekend he didn't bark at my parents and actually let my mom and dad pet him. This is an enormous improvement from the times my dad tried to walk Scooter on a leash and literally scared the shit out of him - literally. Yesterday, my girlfriend Stef came over and as she sat in the kitchen, Scoot came up to give her kisses and let her pet him and talk to him. This melted my heart.


Scooter enjoys long walks, capturing small animals, performing rapid-fire high-fives and roll overs until he gets the treat even if all that was demanded was a sit, he HATES sudden loud noises including thunder which he can never seem to find no matter how hard he looks for it, loves cuddling, wrestling, and snoring.

Justin has always said if Scooter could understand him for just one minute he would tell him that everyone loves him and not to be afraid. I think Scooter is slowly but surely learning this. He's gained a lot of confidence - always likes to be the leader on walks rather than overcome with fear and peeing on the city sidewalk. He lets me cuddle him every night like a little rag doll. He knows so many tricks and stays by my side when we camp without needing to be on a leash. Scooter is the epitome of a loyal friend and we are so lucky he came to us for his forever home.