A Rags To Riches Story: Smiley aka Leroy Brown aka Stig

i got a message in my inbox this morning that simply said:
"Thank you for helping us find our sweet pibble. He's a blessing."

that message was in regards to a dog i saved a year or so ago, with the help of Two Loons Rescue, Melissa Kramer Barnes, and Kristin Marion.  that dog was smiley.

when smiley was at the shelter, he was ANYTHING but smiley.  rejection, desperation, and fear were written all over his face.  he barely ever moved, much less made even a peep.  i fell in love with this frail boy immediately, and set out on a mission to save him.  i knew he did not have much time, and he knew this as well.

so thus, the mission began as i posted his pictures in desperation on Facebook, hoping someone would step up for this sweet little boy.  no one did (but luckily a lovely couple did take notice of him and his eternal cuteness).  so i pushed on, begging the shelter not to put him down, reaching out to every 'dog person' i knew.  after some heavy-duty negotiating, Two Loons rescue stepped up to help me pull him from the shelter and Melissa Kramer Barnes agreed to foster him.  now all we had to do was find him a home - still a daunting task!

with all the pieces set in motion, let me take a quick step back and tell you that when i picked smiley up from the vet after being neutered, i encountered a dog i had NEVER met.  smiley KNEW he had been saved, and despite being stiched up and drugged up, this guy was so full of energy and life i could barely get us home safely - it's kind of hard to drive with a firecracker of a pit bull jumping all over you and your car while you're driving (i literally had to pull over on the side of the road twice to avoid an accident).

once, safe, the first thing to do was get this boy a new name...SMILEY?! i mean, it doesn't get much worse than that!  because of his frail appearance, and to make up for being named smiley, we had to go to the opposite extreme...Melissa Kramer Barnes came up with the name Leroy Brown.  that's right, bad bad Leroy Brown, baddest pibble in the whole damn town.

after only a few weeks of foster, we were lucky enough that the couple who noticed Leroy on Facebook contacted us and said they were interested in meeting him.  from the moment they met, see pictures below, it was clear it was a perfect fit!     

                        

so off went Leroy to his loving home with two amazing people!  we they first got him, he was so shy and didn't make a lot of eye contact (much like at the shelter). he hated to go near the street and would cry at night. but, after a lot of love and attention he has done a complete 180!



his new parents, Leslie and Glen, renamed him Stig, and affectionately call him a perma-pup because he still looks, acts, and smells just like a puppy! according to Leslie "He is so animated I'm still not sure he isn't a cartoon dog. He is the sweetest and most cuddly little boy ever. He sleeps in the tightest little ball and is sooooo quiet you can barely hear a peep so he makes an excellent snuggle buddy."

oh, and did i mention that he now has a SISTER, Georgia!?  Stig loves his big sis and follows her everywhere, which annoys her because although she's bigger and stronger; Stig is MUCH faster and likes to steal her toys and run around the sofa as fast as possible. go Stig!!

leslie says he has grown leaps and bounds in the short time they've had him and each day they wonder, how could anyone have kicked this little guy out?!

"we are so lucky to have found him! he completes our family and brings us so much joy each day. thank goodness he was saved, and then fostered because if he wasn't we would have missed out on a great gift and many years of silly puppy love." - Leslie

i just LOVE happy endings!