I spotted him one afternoon after work. I came to the shelter, decided NOT to tell my husband because I was "just looking".
Ha! That changed quickly when I did my rounds of all the adoptable dogs and fell in love.
It really was love at first sight. Walker was in a large cage with a blue heeler in the far corner of the property.
I'll never forget. I walked up to the cage and the blue heeler was hyper and jumping and barking for my attention. Walker simply walked up, sniffed my hand, and turned around and went back into his doggy house and went back to sleep.
I looked him square in the eye and said, "There you are. You're the one I'm taking home with me."
I knew it. I could tell his temperament would mesh well with my husband and I, since we are easy-going people. I ran back inside to the front desk and asked, "Can you tell me about that Coonhound out there?"
The employee said, "Oh Walker?? He's so sweet. We all love him so much. He was adopted here as a puppy and the owner severely neglected him, didn't feed him, and used him as a hunting dog. He was shot at and abused. She returned him here claiming that he didn't get along with her other dogs and that he had been a stray for several years. Of course we think she's lying because he gets along great with other dogs here. He's our favorite. He's been here a while and we all say we would cry if he ever got adopted."
Well, we adopted him that day, and yes, the employees cried and all told us wonderful stories about Walker. We kept his name because he's 6 and we didn't want to confuse him. Plus, we like it. "Walker... Texas Ranger" lol...
It's been three months and he has never had an accident in the house, he sleeps most of the day but is athletic and energized when I take him out for a walk/run. He has great endurance and always keeps up with me on runs. He loves to pretend he's a lap dog and climb up on me while I'm on the couch. He LOVES belly rubs and when I scratch his butt lol.
Walker loves to follow me around. I've never owned an animal who was completely attached to me so this is new for me and I can't complain. He's a loving, affection companion who wants to smell EVERYTHING lol... Whether I'm doing the laundry or cleaning the kitchen, he needs to put his nose into what I'm doing.
Thankfully, he's been a wonderful indoor dog. He doesn't lick, chew, destruct, or bark. And he definitely doesn't bite. He does make a great guard dog though because, the rare times he does bark (which is when it's really necessary), it's a deep and assertive bark. We love it.
Everywhere I go, people tell me "That is such a pretty dog" and I have to agree. His coloring is beautiful and his build and stature are almost regal.
Oh my Walker, bud. You've been a natural anti-depressant for me. I am seriously a happier person because of him. Thank you God, for making dogs. Especially my dog.
