My Boy Joe

[AdSense-A]

By Stacy Koruba

My life has been blessed with an overabundance of joy, love and comfort from pets. I got to experience my first love as a pet owner at the age of 24 and since than my home has always been shared with a furry friend. Over the past 26 years I have had the honor of sharing my life, love and space with 23 cats and dogs, I currently have 6 dogs and 6 cats. Sadly, we lost 2 of our fur babies over the past few months to old age and cancer and as strange as it may sound, our home feels empty without them here.

Today I would love to share my boy Joseph with you! He also goes by Joe, Jo-Jo, Big Guy and Baby Boy. We rescued Joe from the Arizona Saint Bernard Rescue on October 17th, 2013. At that time, he was 3. He was born on July 4th, 2010 and was turned into the rescue with his sister about 8 months before we adopted him because his previous owner met a man that did not like dogs, so she no longer wanted to keep her fur babies. During their time at the rescue Joe’s sister got cancer and passed away, being surrendered to a shelter and losing his friend was exceedingly difficult for him to handle and he became depressed and stopped eating. His weight began to decline and so did is spirits. The folks at the St. Bernard Rescue took wonderful care of him and even took him to McDonalds often because he would give in and eat an ice cream cone occasionally, but Joe’s health and mental status was quickly declining.

On Oct 2nd, 2013 we lost or 12-year-old Newfoundland, Payton. We had him from 12 weeks old and he was like a child to us. He was extremely ill most of his life and spent the last 5 years of his life needing a lot of extra attention with feedings and with getting up and walking due to laryngeal paralysis. He had surgery at the age of 7 and we were told to not expect him to live more than 6 months, well Payton was as tough as nails and just like his namesake, Walter Payton, he never gave up and lived another 5 years. My husband and Payton were best friends and shared a special bond and soul connection. When Payton died the emotional impact was rough for our entire family, but the most difficult for my husband. At that time, we also had 3 other dogs, Max, Paulie and Ringo. The loss of Payton did not seem to effect Ringo or Paulie much, but Max was in a deep mourning, they had grown up together for 12 years and Max was refusing to eat and spending most of his time alone.

I stumbled upon Joe’s rescue page on Facebook and read his story of neglect and abuse and saw how he was refusing to eat. He was down below 100 pounds which is small for a Saint Bernard. We have never been a family to rush out and replace a pet right after losing one but something about Joe called out to me and my husband needed to be rescued as well. I quickly convinced him to agree to a visit to the rescue and we contacted them and planned for the following day. Mark and Joe were an immediate match at first sight. They bonded quickly, and Joe listened to every command given to him on the walk they took together. Joe was very disinterested in me and to be honest, he seemed grumpy and I was a bit afraid of him, I even asked Mark if he would like to visit with any of the other dogs at the rescue, but he said he knew Joe was meant for him. We went home to bring our other dogs to meet Joe to see how they would react, and the rest is history!

My fear of Joseph stayed around for the first few weeks, but only at bedtime. He slept in my bed and for some reason I was afraid to get into the bed with him. I had 2 large breed dogs before him, but I raised them from puppies, Joe was new and looked like a grump and refused to kiss me! I started sleeping in another room for the first few weeks and then decided I was behaving like a brat and judging him simply because his face was not the friendliest. Joe has never had a mean bone in his body and has been mild mannered since the day we welcomed him into our home.

He fit in with the other dogs in the pack right away and soon became the Alpha dog. He started eating again as soon as we brought him home and gained back the weight he had lost. We found out he did have some environmental allergies and allergies to food but once we addressed those his health has been perfect. We have always had a house full of cats as long as he has been here, and he has always loved them. He enjoys giving them kisses, cuddling with them in his belly and sleeping with them. I will tell him to go find his babies or give his babies kisses and he goes right to the cats. He enjoys the company of a 7-pound cat far more than the company of his 125-pound canine sibling. Joe is a gentle giant. He takes treats gingerly, waits patiently for his meal bowl and listens to all commands. He is not the biggest lover as far as affection goes with only ME, but I respect that and try my hardest to give him the space he wants. If I am lucky, he will snuggle me when he is ready.

Rescuing Joe has brightened our lives and made our home a happier place. He has a special connection with my husband, like Payton did and I like to believe that they saved one another. I will continue sharing my love and life with animals as long as I can provide for them because I am a better person with them in my life than without them.

[si-contact-form form=’2′]