Unwanted dog is so gentle with new family
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00:00 He had been passed around.
00:02 His original family used him for breeding.
00:05 I'm Katie and this is Benji's story for GeoBeans.
00:08 When they were done with him, they gave him to a friend who thankfully was able to hold
00:12 on to him until they could find a shelter to take him in, which is how he ended up with
00:17 the rescue that I was working with at that time.
00:20 The only way that the rescue was going to be able to accept him because they were full
00:24 at the time was if they found a foster.
00:27 I had previously adopted a dog.
00:30 She was neurologically disabled and she passed away this past October.
00:34 Having lost my dog two days prior, I was thinking, "Should I do this?
00:39 Maybe it's too soon."
00:40 But I said, "You know what?
00:41 No, I'm going to do it."
00:42 He came home with me and about two months later, we ended up adopting him.
00:47 He was pretty easygoing.
00:49 He was really happy to just be with people.
00:52 He's equal parts couch potato and equal parts puppy stuck in an adult body.
00:57 Would you like to try some carrot?
01:00 When we give him a vegetable, he takes it so gently like you're giving him an egg and
01:04 he can't break it.
01:05 Would you like to try it?
01:07 Benji's favorite vegetable is carrot.
01:09 He will sell his soul for a carrot.
01:11 Cucumber?
01:12 He'll eat just about anything that's produce.
01:15 Would you like another?
01:17 Broccoli?
01:20 It's really good timing too because he has horrible allergies and we're doing an elimination
01:26 diet with our vet right now to figure out what he's allergic to so he can only have
01:30 his prescription food and then fruits and vegetables.
01:33 He's getting a lot of fruits and vegetables right now.
01:36 He's a very communicative dog and I think that was a lot of the reason why we fell in
01:41 love with him.
01:43 We always know how he's feeling because he tells us.
01:45 When he's happy and he's relaxed, he's cuddly.
01:48 He needs something.
01:49 I think he prefers his bed.
01:51 They just immediately bonded.
01:52 Within the first day, he was trying to teach Benji tricks and they were going on runs and
01:57 just all sorts of stuff like that.
01:59 He fights for his spot on the bed.
02:01 He's pushing me off all the time.
02:02 If we were both holding food for him, he'd probably run to him.
02:07 He's a daddy's boy but I still think he's a mommy's boy too.
02:13 We have a lot of friends in the neighborhood who are so excited to see him.
02:17 There's an elderly woman who tends to the landscaping here where we live.
02:21 She always brings him treats and she asks him to sit and she gives him head rubs.
02:26 But there are unfortunately times where people will cross the street or give us dirty looks
02:32 and that's hard.
02:33 It's hard to see.
02:34 We love him.
02:35 We love him a lot.
02:36 I'm proud of him for going through a lot of inconsistency and instability.
02:41 He really helped me out of one of the darkest parts of my life.
02:44 I felt guilty for moving on so soon after losing my previous dog and I worried that
02:49 that would make me love him less.
02:51 But now I know that that's not true.
02:53 That wasn't gentle.
02:56 And I see it as healing that I do love him just as much even if it's in a different way
03:01 because he's a different dog.
03:02 [Music]