Breakthroughs and Toys!

Toys!  What dog does not love to play with toys?  Well Scout doesn't.  She's much too sophisticated for such childish play.  She would much rather be chasing an actual squirrel than playing with a stuffed one.  But Theo loves toys, especially of the stuffed variety and particularly if it includes a squeaker. 

 Most dogs I know, with the exception of Scout, love playing with toys.  Harvey, however, did not seem to understand the concept of a toy.  Luckily Theo was more than willing to educate him.  In the past two days I have noticed that Harvey has taken a rather timid interest in toys after having shown no interest whatsoever up until this point.  He likes to run away with them and chew on them in private.  Such a bashful guy.  Today, however, Mr. Harvey Danger, had a breakthrough!  He actually played with Theo's toys in front of me!

Harvey is checking out the stuffed squirrel.

Scout has always been the referee when dogs play.  You see she's above playing with toys and generally looks down on dogs who partake in such activities.  Don't get me wrong she loves to wrestle with Theo but if she is not in control of the play she doesn't like it. 
So Scout tolerated this play from the big chair.

 Harvey is playing with the stuffed lion.

 Scout tolerated this from the ottoman.

And finally all three dogs together.  Harvey seems to be making sure everything is okay with me.  Theo is probably thinking up a new way to get more food.  Scout, well she's tolerating beagle play in her house by refereeing from the ottoman.  I believe she's saying "I got this, Mom."

The bottom line, Harvey is making progress!  He is learning to play, taking social cues from Scout and Theo, and becoming more and more confident in himself.  What a great little guy!

Special update!  I just captured the following photo!

Talk about breakthroughs!  We may have moved from Scout bestowing tolerance on Harvey to the beginnings of affection.

The Cast of Characters

To understand why I am unable to provide a forever home for Harvey Danger you have to understand my two dogs Scout and Theo.

Meet Scout.  My eight year old blue heeler/beagle mix.  My first dog.  My one true love.  This is my girl.  Isn't she cute?!

So cute!

Anyway, I digress.  I could post a million pictures of Scout.  This dog may be cute but she has the unfortunate distinction of being half blue heeler and half beagle.  I did not know it when I got her but this is a dangerous combination.  This mix means she has the super smart loyalty of the blue heeler with the stubbornness, craftiness, a manipulative-ness of the beagle.  Needless to say this dog has caused me lots of grief.  She whines.  Almost constantly.  She pulls on the leash.  She doesn't always get along with other dogs and sometimes scares them by chasing them and barking at them.  She has been in fights.  Her bark is high pitched and annoying.  She has more energy at eight years old than Theo has ever had.  She has run away (but has always come back).  She doesn't like cats.  She jumped in my brand new car after being sprayed by a skunk...twice. She refuses to get in my car after a two hour run in the park because she is not ready to go.  Needless to say she needs a boatload of exercise.  And she gets it.

She may be a handful but she is the most loyal, lovable, smart dog I have ever met and she stole my heart.  I have been told she has "bucketfuls of personality."  This is true.

Next let me introduce you to Theo:

Theo is a six year old full beagle.  He is gentle, slow (at everything including walking, eating, and pooping), and a cuddle bug.  He would like nothing more than to cuddle with you all day long.  He doesn't really ever bark, he will occasionally whine, and everybody loves him.  He walks nicely on the leash, he doesn't run away (he doesn't even run really), he sleeps all the way under the covers in typical beagle fashion, and he is kind and gentle to every person and animal he meets.  He's just a lover.  The exact opposite of Scout. 

Awww...how cute!  He is practically perfect in every way...except when he's not.  Our most recent incident happened just this past Sunday.  Theo got into rib bones my boyfriend brought home for the dogs and ate all of them.  Then puked all over the house for two days.

For this incident he got publicly shamed on Facebook (all in good fun of course!).  You see while this beagle boy has a such a charming personality he has one thing on the mind: food.  He will get it any way he can.  I have to have a child lock the cabinet under the sink where the trash can lives.  I have to bungee cord my fridge shut.  Think I am overreacting?  Take a look at this:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2059047029873&l=4831552122571940175

This is a video of Theo opening the fridge.  I set up a video camera and left because someone was getting in the fridge on an all too frequent basis and making a giant mess all over my house.  I had to know who was behind this mayhem.  Since I have two dogs I did not know which one was responsible.  I took bets.  The overwhelming majority voted for Scout as the culprit.  Theo's lovable, gentle demeanor fooled them all.

My point is I have my hands full with these two characters.  Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way.  These are my buddies.  And they love each other:

Theo has even taken to Harvey a bit.

Scout tolerates him.  

Harvey would make a great edition to any home and he is a welcome guest for as long as he needs to be here but my hands are full with the hi jinx of the two I have.  I do think Harvey will learn a lot from these two though!

How Harvey Came To Be

Harvey Danger was a stray beagle running around my neighborhood.  While out for a walk with my two dogs (also beagles), we found Harvey dirty, scared, and hungry.  I couldn't walk away from those sad beagle eyes so I brought him home.  I also couldn't keep another dog, having two beagles myself, and a relatively small home.  I contacted Last Day Dog Rescue and they agreed to help me find a home for this wayward beagle.  So this blog was created to document this journey and find a home for Harvey.  The photo above was taken on the first day I brought him home after he had been bathed.  He was timid and kept to himself and although he did seem to be interested in my two beagles he did not seem to know how or want to play.

Harvey clearly had an eye infection in his left eye and I was anxious to get him to the vet to get him checked out.  I also really wanted to know his age because he seemed to me to be a "mature" beagle.  Last Day Dog Rescue is wonderful and immediately got him into the vet.  He did have an eye infection...and so much more.

Harvey had eye infections in both eyes, ear infections in both ears, had to get a tooth extracted because it was broken and he is on antibiotics. He is also on pain medicine after recently getting neutered.  He had a heartworm test and tested negative.  He is now on heartworm preventative and he's had a dose of frontline.  He has also been vaccinated.  Since then, Harvey's eyes have cleared up, his ears have improved, and he is noticeably much healthier and happier!  He is not the "mature gentleman" I thought him to be.  The vet estimated his age at around 4-5 years old. Since the medicine kicked in and he is feeling so much better I agree!  He no longer acts like an old man but a vibrant guy who is full of life and energy!

  

 Harvey now runs in the backyard and has a sniffer much like a bloodhound.  The first two days at my home Harvey opened the back gate and escaped.  Since then he has not tried to escape once.

 He enjoys being outside and has plenty of energy.

He enjoys walks and does nicely on a leash.  He does not pull.  He is content to walk at my pace and just sniff everything.

He likes to sleep on his back in his crate with all four paws up in the air.  (How cute is that!)

This blog will continue to post about Mr. Harvey Danger and his journey to adoption.  He is doing well now and every day he is becoming more adjusted to life in my home.  I will introduce Harvey's supporting cast of characters later because right now this one is for the star: Harvey Danger!