Goldifur and the Three Scares

Once upon a time, there was a dog named Goldifur.

After Goldifur had his neuter surgery and was up-to-date on all his vaccines (thanks to American Animal Rescue Society!), he was ready to look for a new home.  Many people fell in love with his big, handsome face through his online photo album, and scheduled an appointment to meet handsome Goldifur.  

The first potential home was of two firemen who were looking for a companion to wrestle and play with.  Goldifur greeted them with wagging tail, but when they bent down to pet his face he grabbed one arm with his mouth and wouldn't let go.  "This family is too big!" Goldifur exclaimed as I pried his jaws off of the firman's forearm who, fortunately, was just fine after that brief, scary moment.  The two men stuck around for a bit to watch him run and play, but it was clear that this was not the family for Goldifur.  

The second potential home was with Auntie B, who loved that big stupid face from the day he was found.  B had never owned a dog of her own, but lived in an apartment with two cats and a roommate and was willing to give Goldifur a try.  He came over to meet the cats and thought they were so interesting!  While one cat hid in the bedroom, the other wasn't about to be caught playing with a dog and smacked him right on the nose, leaving a single red streak of blood.  Goldifur was shocked, and kept a safe distance from then on.  Note to self: cats are pointy!  Things were going well enough and B decided she would keep Goldifur for the weekend while M and I were gone for a wedding.  Things were looking up for Goldifur!  

However, at this point, the tawny scrawny dog that we once knew had become quite a bit stronger and heavier, weighing in only about 25 lbs. lighter than B herself. They had been out for a walk when Goldifur began to have one of his now-infamous "leash meltdowns," grabbing the leash with his mouth and pulling backward with all of his might.  Luckily B was able to wrap the leash around a nearby neighbor's fence until he dropped the leash, but when I received a phone call from B retelling the story through giant sobs I knew that this would not be the right family for Goldifur either...this family was too small.

And so, the search continued and none of the families were just right for poor Goldifur. Where were we ever going to find a family with enough dog handling experience who didn't already have dogs of their own and had the time to give Goldifur the training and attention he needed?  How could we find him a home with a canine brother who tolerated loved him and a mom and dad who couldn't live with themselves if he were put down would do anything for him?  Though we still weren't ready to admit we loved the big idiot, we were starting to realize that maybe our family was the family that was "just right."