A Boy Named Blueridge

What can I say about this amazing little dog that has stolen my heart and left his print on the dogs both visiting here and my own personal dogs that work at the Desperate Dogs Ranch?

I’ll start with patience. Patience. Blueridge has taught me how to reach within myself and have more and more patience each day. When Blue first came to us here at Desperate Dogs as a foster from the Humane Society of Northeast Georgia, it took FOUR DAYS before he asked me to pet him, love him and give him the one-on-one attention. Something I so desperately wanted to force on him.

Four days of Blueridge dragging a lightweight 10-foot line so I could bring him back inside after our walks on the property because he didn’t trust me enough to follow me inside. Four days of hand-feeding him home-cooked meals 2-3 times a day to slowly build the foundation of trust he so desperately needed, building one small brick at a time.

Once he trusted me, Blueridge started changing month by month. The scared dog who would retreat, bark and huff at me, became a constant companion not only to me but my dogs as well.

My Boxer, Babs, is never one to snuggle with other dogs. Now, Babs regularly shares a bed with Blueridge and cleans both his ears and Blueridge’s daily.

Blueridge is silly. He constantly makes me laugh, yodels at me when I wake up to feed him breakfast and sleeps on top of me snuggled in my bed. It has taken TIME and PATIENCE to get to this place with Blueridge but I can honestly say that watching him grow and change has also changed me.

Blueridge will need a home with another dog as that is where he finds comfort. Blue gets along with every dog we’ve ever introduced him to and he has helped several, much like my boxer, Babs, soften and become more gentle.

Blueridge would thrive in a quieter home where there is not a lot of day-to-day change; change causes him setbacks, especially when he is in the middle of adjusting to something like a new person and a new home. I wouldn’t recommend Blue to a home with younger children as their energy and unpredictable nature could be something Blue would find worrisome. Most of all Blue needs a patient home because he need time to adjust to his new family, his new schedule and his new home.

I have been fostering Blueridge for a little over four months and he is just now starting to seem at home and settled in. If you can put in the time to be patient with Blueridge, give him the space he needs to adjust and let him learn to love you at his pace I can assure you the bond, relationship and love he can give will be unlike anything you have ever experienced.

Kristen Snyder, Desperate Dogs/Blueridge’s Foster

Please email the Humane Society of Northeast Georiga at AnimalCare@HSNEGA.org or call 770-532-6617 if you are interested in adopting Blueridge.