It’s been 4 days since Mowgli moved in to his forever home. When I first came across Mo on petfinder, something told me that he was the one. I’ve been considering adopting for many months now but it was him who made me go all in.
We had to drive 2 hours to go meet his foster mom at a park in Washington, it was raining so aggressively that we could have taken a jetski there. When we pulled in they were taking shelter under a covered area in the park and I saw Mowgli for the first time, unphased by the new environment and torrential downpours. The car ride back was slightly more complicated, between him trying to climb into the front seat and the radioactive stress farts he was letting out the whole time, it’s safe to say we were all relieved to get home.
I tried my best to establish a routine right off the bat and his anxiety seemed to fade once he realized this was a safe and comfortable home filled with toys and lots of love. I have to thank his foster mom for training him and loving on him so well because its extremely apparent that he trusts people who care for him.
So, what is Mowgli’s story? Well, the first 3 years of his life are a mystery. He was found as a stray in Texas. The woman that helps run the Faith & Hope dog foundation was the one who found him. He was clearly in pain and limping around, she knew he needed to go to the vet asap. The vet appointment yielded some unfortunate results, he had a very old shoulder injury that he had been living with for who knows how long. They didn’t know what happened to him but based on the injury, they think he may have been hit by a car. It was clear that amputation was necessary and the dog foundation paid for it out of pocket (if anyone is trying to adopt I would highly recommend working with them, they genuinely want what’s best for their dogs and will do anything for them to find their forever home).
After recover, he was sent to his first foster mom. After a few weeks of having Mowgli with her, she was coming to the realization that a small apartment which was already shared with her other large dog was not the best place for Mowgli to thrive. So that’s when he went to his second foster mom. She has 8 cats (yes 8 cats I know, holy cow) 8 cats who had a deep hatred for this 3 legged canine who invaded their home. Mowgli and the cats got into fight frequently, he has some old scratched on his side, I suspect those are from the not-so-friendly interactions he had with the cats. His foster mom loved Mo SO much and was so sweet when I was communicating with her. He clearly loved her too and it broke my heart to sperate the two but, it was time for Mo to find a home where he could be the center of attention.
So here we are, 4 days in to having Mowgli at our home. He sleeps through the night, lets us know when he needs to go potty, is extremely gentle & kind, smiles and plays like a puppy, and has already exponentially improved my life. I am so excited that I get to be a part of his journey & document our activities and adventures here. I love this 3-legged Texan more than anything and I can’t help but think that we were meant to find each other. Here’s to the journey ahead and the leg left behind!
Welcome home.