Zake's big day

Jeb's crate was only empty one night. The boxer is named Zake. I don't know yet if that's supposed to rhyme with "bake" or if it's a misspelling of Zach. This is rural Virginia where the votes are red and the brains are mostly dead, so I'm inclined to believe the latter.

He was the result of a cruelty case in a nearby county and had been in a shelter for the last couple of months until the court case was resolved. I don't know any details. Zake (maybe Zeke?) seems like a nice dog. I took Theo along when we picked him up from Green Dogs. When we got home it was nice day and he had been confined for the last couple months, so I took him straight out to Daneland. He met Bessie and Journey immediately, and then I brought out Maya and Sam. He met the Danes through the fence. He enjoyed being outdoors, free to move around. 

Debbie, who runs Promises Animal Rescue, drove down from northern Virginia and brought me a lot of food for the fosters. We went out to Daneland and she sat with the four fosters, Zake, Bessie, Sam, and Journey. Zake warmed up to her immediately and even Journey came up and touched her hand. The dogs were all happy and comfortable with her and each other, it was nice to see. 

When I brought him inside in the evening he hung out in the kitchen for a while and then followed me upstairs. I folded a big blanket fresh from the dryer and put it in the crate. Zake walked in with just a slight direction on my part, settled down on the blanket and was fast asleep in a matter of minutes. He had a big day. 

Theo went along as my new official greeter dog. 

Journey is scared of people but he's very good with other dogs.

Bessie wanted to play with him immediately, even punching him like a boxer.

He looked worried and wasn't ready just yet.

Maya gave him a quick exam and probably laid out a few ground rules.

Sam (right) is a little nervous with new dogs but she's gotten a lot better.

Sam seemed to like him.

Debbie sat at dog level and soon had them all on top of her.

Sam in profile

They all wanted to play with the new guy.

He's a nice looking dog and he's neither deaf nor blind.

He gets neutered next week.

Four very different dogs, more variety than we sometimes have in fosters.