Ramsey's Story

I was recently lucky enough to foster an amazing pup named Ramsey. We had no intention of fostering a dog when I first stumbled upon his page on petfinder. In fact, the only reason I was on petfinder at all was because I wanted to help Kyler find a puppy!

While I was browsing petfinder I stumbled upon Ramsey's sister Ellie and her page read "URGENT: Just discovered Ellie and her siblings are living outside in the cold! Need foster homes ASAP so these babies can have a warm place to stay when the cold weather hits!".

I immediately copied the link and shared it on facebook, hoping that somebody I knew would be able to foster the poor cold puppy! Not really thinking  I'd be able to do it.

Well my roommate Lauren responded with "Why can't we foster her?!".  And after discussing it we realized that none of us could resist! So I e-mailed the woman who ran the rescue organization (which was based in Arkansas) and inquired about Ellie.

It turned out Ellie already had a foster home lined up (Yay!), but her brother Ramsey hadn't received any inquiries. So the woman asked if we'd foster him instead. Well, OF COURSE! She told us his entire story. He was the product of an accidental litter and the owner of his mother was keeping him and his siblings locked up outside in a kennel. He had never been inside before. Never walked on a leash. Never interacted with any other dogs besides his siblings. And the worst part? The woman tried to have them euthanized! She brought them to the vet to have them killed, but the vet refused because they were healthy, non-aggressive dogs.

The woman running the rescue was very honest with us. She told us that he was very fearful, refused to walk on a leash, and wasn't house trained at all. We were a little worried, but at the same time that just made us want to help this poor guy more!

So a few days later Lauren and I went to the parking lot of a Walmart in Hudson, New Hampshire to pick up Ramsey. He was brought up to New England by a group called Alpha Dog Transport. An amazing group that makes weekly road trips up North to rescue dogs from kill shelters in the South.

It was incredible watching all of the dogs being uploaded from the trailer to greet their new families! We were about third in line and a very sweet man carried Ramsey out of the trailer saying "This one is just a big baby!" before setting him down in front of us.

Poor Ramsey was clearly terrified, but we did our best to comfort him. In time he started to follow us on leash and we joyfully encouraged his every step. Eventually we got him into our car and soon discovered his keen interest in Lauren's apple juice. He happily lapped it up then slept the entire ride back to Boston.

Once we got home it was astonishing how quickly Ramsey adjusted to his new life. Initially he was wary of Maestro, but after a day or so they were romping together just like old friends. Not only that, but Ramsey started picking up on house training right away. Sure, he had accidents, but we started making progress with him immediately. And he was smart! Already learning sit and down within the first couple of days! We were so proud of him!

After only a couple of days with Ramsey we had somebody interested in adopting him. A kind gentleman and his wife who lived out in Western Mass. They had a big fenced in yard, another dog (named Betty!), and the man was looking for a doggy companion to accompany him on his fishing trips.

It sounded like a pretty perfect match. So they came to meet him and even though Ramsey was very shy with them at first, they decided they wanted to adopt him! The wife hugged me and said "Thank you so much for taking care of him!" and I knew Ramsey would be happy in his new home.

So how's Ramsey doing now? Well, it seems like he's fitting in with his new family perfectly! They e-mailed me this past weekend and said:

"Marie wasn't thrilled when she learned "Ramsey" was also a condom. So we changed his name to "Jake". Simple, and also slang for firefighter. He's doing just great, we love having him".

Ha! We had no idea Ramsey was also a condom, but I sure am glad he got a nice new name. He's pictured here with his new big sister, Betty. I swear he already looks bigger than when we had him! I'm so happy that Jake got to be a part of our lives, even for a short time, and it's amazing to know that he wound up in such a great home.