Rufus has an outing

Green Dogs had an adoption event at Natural Pet Essentials in Charlottesville today. I had initially planned to take Melly, but she was already adopted so I took Rufus instead. I don't think I've been to any adoption events since Covid first hit. For years I did them nearly every weekend with Virginia German Shepherd Rescue and Promises Animal Rescue. Green Dogs doesn't do them nearly as much and I'm ok with that.

Some dogs are great at adoption events. I was regretting not being able to take Lexie out to events when I had her because she would have been great at them. She likes people and is very friendly with strangers. Dogs like that sell themselves and all I have to do is stand there holding the leash. Melly would have been good at adoption events too, for the same reasons. I wasn't sure about Rufus. Shepherds tend to be one person dogs and often they just aren't interested in meeting strangers much less being pawed at by them. That's why shepherds often need to be adopted to "shepherd people" who understand that they will need to put some time and effort into building a bond.

I remember when I first adopted my Gypsy. She had been kept outside in a pen her entire life and had never developed a bond with a human. She didn't know how or even that she was supposed to do so. When she first came home she seemed to regard me as a tolerable stranger but really had no real interest in me. We were living in northern Virginia then and had horses. She was interested in the horses and liked going outside with me to see them. I'd throw a stick for her, over and over. She finally got the idea that the stick was important to me so she carried one with her always after that. It probably took a month, but that German Shepherd bonding instinct finally kicked in. She never took her eyes off of me after that. 

Rufus had been very bonded to his prior owner. She was an elderly woman, not in good health, who required a lot of in-home care and not infrequent visits from EMTs. He became very protective of her to the point that it was interfering with her caretakers' ability to help her. When I took Rufus and Melly to meet Erika for the first time, Melly has her happy and friendly outgoing self. Rufus was much more reserved, wondering why we were there, and why would he want to meet this stranger? He was all right, not outright aggressive, but the difference between Rufus and Melly was readily apparent. 

So I wasn't sure how Rufus would be at his first public outing, but he was very good! There were several other dogs there, of course, and he greeted them all appropriately and he was good with people too. I did some brushing on him in the parking lot when we first arrived, but he still had plenty of loose hair on him and I think it even dissuaded one person who had wanted to meet him. That's just as well because fur is a fact of life in any home with a German Shepherd Dog. We didn't stay too long and he was quite happy to get back in the van and leave with me, but overall he did very well. 

The thing about a German Shepherd is that they look good from any angle. 

He kept his eyes on me most of the time, wondering why we were there

and when were we going to leave to go back home.