Meet the Critters: Mojo - Part 1

Mojo the Pound Puppy Poodle

On the afternoon of April 1, 2011, Mama and Dadda were driving home from Grandma’s house, and they were a long, long way from home.  Suddenly, Dadda got an idea. He felt like they should stop at the nearest animal shelter…just to look at some adoptable dogs.  He said he was feeling some interesting mojo and something was telling him to stop - right now - and look...so they located the nearest animal shelter on Dadda’s GPS, got directions, and went to look at the adoptable dogs. 

Sure enough, Dadda was right. 

When they arrived at the shelter, they did meet a little dog that captured their hearts.  It was an 8 month old male poodle puppy with long, curly brown hair and a little white beard.  His hair had never been brushed and it clung to his skin in tight matted clumps. The matting was so bad that he had dreadlocks behind his ears.  To top it all off, he smelled like he had never had a bath in his life.

But even in this condition, he was an adorably sweet, endearing little dog. 

When Mama and Dadda met Mojo, he looked like this:

 His previous owner had dropped him off at the pound, and now this sweet little boy needed a home. How could anyone leave a precious little face like this in a pound?  Mama and Dadda certainly couldn’t, so they adopted him and decided to name him Mojo.   

They would call him Jo for short.

Mojo was perfectly well behaved on the long ride to Mama and Dadda’s house.  He sat with Mama in the car, napping most of the way. When Mojo finally arrived at his new home, he was introduced to Murphie Bunn, who growled at him and tried to punch him through the bars of her hutch. Then, he met Beaker, who sounded the ‘Chicken Alarm’ and attacked him on sight. 

Discouraged and confused, Mojo hid under the coffee table until Mama and Dadda pulled him up onto the couch to cuddle. 

In the days following Mojo’s arrival, it became evident to Mama and Dadda that Mojo’s first owner had been less than kind to him. Mojo was afraid of sudden movements and loud noises. He was afraid of his collar and his leash, and every time Mama picked them up, he would run to hide under Dadda’s chair. He was afraid to go potty. He didn’t even know what to do with the new toys Mama and Dadda bought for him.  Mojo was afraid to be a dog.   

He didn’t know how to be a dog. 

Furthermore, Mojo was unusually well behaved for a puppy.  He was calm; he was quiet—he literally never did anything wrong.  He was so well behaved, in fact, that Mama began to worry that something might be wrong with him…so she took him to the vet for puppy shots and a thorough checkup.

The vet took his temperature and ran lots of tests.  Aside from an ear infection and a mild case of kennel cough, Mojo was in good health. The vet gave him some shots, he gave Mama some ointment for Mojo’s ears, and he strongly recommended that Mojo come back for a haircut when he was well.  

On his first trip to the vet, Mojo weighed in at 7.6 Lbs…most of which was probably hair....

....the rest, of course, was pure awesome.

Over the next two weeks, Mama and Dadda nursed Mojo back to health.  They were very kind and gentle with him, and Mojo began to realize that no one was going to hurt him anymore.  He began to feel safe and comfortable with his new family.  He began to really love Mama and Dadda, and he decided that they were very nice people.  

 

When Mojo started to feel better, Mama and Dadda took him on lots of exciting adventures! They went for walks through the neighborhood every day. They went ‘bye-bye in the car’ all over town.  They went to pet stores where Mojo got new toys and a nice, soft bed of his very own. They went to parks with big open fields, where there were lots of nice people, and little kids, and other dogs…and everyone loved Mojo.  The world existed to pet him.  He was so happy in his new life that he could hardly believe it was real.

And then…the unthinkable happened.

Mama awoke earlier than usual one morning and announced that they were going ‘bye-bye in the car’.  Mojo was so thrilled at the news that he bounced around the room like supercharged Flubber.   

‘Bye-bye in the car’ was always awesome!   

Mojo and Mama walked outside, hopped in the car, and drove away on what was sure to be another legendary adventure…but it didn’t last as long as he had hoped.

After a disappointingly brief ‘bye-bye in the car,’ they arrived at the place where they had gone before—the place where he had been poked and prodded.  Only moments after he and Mama stepped into the waiting room, a lady in a uniform came walking towards Mojo.  She was holding a leash….

....and it was identical to the one used at the pound.  

Mojo’s heart sank into the pit of his stomach as he realized in horror what was happening:  Mama was getting rid of him.   

Mama was leaving him!  

As the lady in uniform slipped the Horrible Thing over his head, he stood on his hind legs and frantically pawed at Mama’s knees, his dark, sad eyes pleading with her in absolute desperation.

“No, Mama…don’t leave me! I love you! Whatever I did, I’m sorry! I promise I will be a good boy! Just please, please don’t leave me!” he whimpered.

“Blah wah wah, Mojo.  Mama wah blah blah blah,” Mama said, as she petted him on the head.

And then….the person in uniform took him away from Mama.  She led him into another room and put him in a cage…and Mojo knew he would never see Mama again. 

To be continued...