Panic Settles In

Serena was the first to meet the new guy.

I'm not sure how it happened, but someone in South Carolina contacted Karin at Animal Connections about her brother's dog, a three year old lab mix named Pan. Pan and the caller's brother were stranded in Virginia with a dead truck. Karin talked to the brother, the owner of the dog, and got pictures, which she forwarded to me. Sunday morning I talked to Karin and soon thereafter to the young man who owned the dog named Panic.

The guy had fallen on hard times (divorced, and now dead truck, and I'm guessing no job and no place to live) and didn't really want to give up the dog but also knew he really couldn't provide for the dog any more. That sucks and he clearly loved the dog and had cared for him to the best of his ability, but he was in no position to have a dog at this point in his life. I felt bad for the guy but I was happy to take the dog.

Trooper was surprised to see him, but he always handles
it well.

Here's what I know about the dog's backstory. This guy found the dog on the streets of some city in Texas. He was about fully grown then, probably about a year old. The dog's excitable nature earned him the name Panic, but now he's mostly just called Pan. He has traveled with the guy from Texas to California, and back across the country to South Carolina and Virginia. When he was living out of his truck, the dog would stay in the truck while the guy was working. Apparently a marriage and child happened at some point so the dog had the experience of living with a child too, and a cat. The result of a rather chaotic life with a young man is a very well-rounded dog.

He hopped into my van quite readily to check out all the dog smells and he rode home in a crate without problem. He has met most of the other dogs and had no problems with anyone. The reality of his new situation has settled in and he's a bit anxious right now, which is understandable. He's quite comfortable and accustomed to living indoors, and he has no problem with stairs.

Meeting Trooper and Maya

To sum up the basic facts: Pan is about three years old, he's house trained, and he's already neutered. We will call him a lab mix for lack of anything more specific. I'll get him to the vet for vaccines and a heartworm test this week. Pan is dog-friendly, and reportedly is child- and cat-friendly as well. He's a bit overweight, but that's something we'll begin to address with diet and exercise. I have a feeling he will really enjoy our walks.


More pics will be coming, but he's your basic black dog. He's a very nice one. All I can say is that we didn't say at six dogs for very long.