The Story of Pedro

You may or may not have heard, but our German Shepherd, Pedro (Pete), is very sick. He's dying. We took him to the vet because he had stopped eating and was behaving very strangely. They did an x-ray and found cancerous tumors in his stomach. The veterinarian gave us bottles of steroids and pills to increase his appetite, but they weren't working. We figured we would have to put him down today, so last night we got together at my Dad's and had a Pete-za party in his honor!

Something happened. We started feeding him toppings from a Meatlover's pizza, then bites of turkey, then he ate a whole bowl of crunchers! I dunno if it was the delicious meat, or the pills kicking in, or he just wasn't ready to give up yet, but our sweet boy made such a comeback in the span of a couple hours that we've postponed putting him down!

So I thought I'd tell you a little about this good, good dog, who NEVER gives up.

We first met Pedro years and years ago. I don't know if he was dumped out  over by where we lived or he ran away from a very bad home, but we started catching glimpses of this skittish, handsome German Shepherd, running around outside. He was skin and bones, and very shy, but he fell in love with my dog, Otis. He constantly hung around our dog pen, until one day we came home and he was IN the pen with our dogs! When he saw us approaching, he leaped up and over the 6 foot fence and disappeared in the trees.

Then! One bitter cold December evening, the wind was howling and bits of icy snow flew through the air. We were inside by the warm fire, but guess who should show up in our dog pen! I spent the better part of an hour sitting on the frigid floor of our garage, trying to tempt this homeless German Shepherd into coming inside, out of the wind. Finally, I grabbed a can of cat food and took the lid off. I stuck my arm out of the dog door, holding up the smelly can, trying to entice him. I thought he might smell it and lick at it and I might be able to grab him, but imagine my surprise when he snatched the whole can and took off!

Luckily for me, he was still very hungry and came back. I was finally able to grab him and pull him inside the garage, and we shut the dog door. We finally got a good look at him! He was truly emaciated, and his thick coat was covered in mud and brambles. He was very scared, but not aggressive at all! We could tell he had been abused, because any time he saw someone approaching, especially men, he would shy away. To this day, he is still scared of brooms and rakes and loud noises.

We were fans of Napoleon Dynamite, so we named him Pedro! After feeding him all the crunchers and cat food he could eat, we let him inside. It was Christmastime, and our house was warm and bright and decorated. Imagine our surprise when he approached the Christmas tree.... and lifted his leg and peed on it!

He quickly adjusted to life at our house, and became much less shy and much more playful. But we were on the hunt for his owners! He's such a gorgeous, sweet dog, we figured someone somewhere must be missing him! We put up flyers all over and got a few calls, but mostly from weird people we didn't feel comfortable giving him to. Our neighbors volunteered to take him, so we took him to their house, stayed with him a few minutes and gave him a sad goodbye. As soon as we drove off, he hopped the neighbors fence... and beat us home!

We took that as a sign... and kept him!

He took to us like a fish to water! And we loved him right back. He did have a few odd habits... for example, for a while he enjoyed sneaking into my sister's room and pooing in her shoes. We never did figure that out...

And of course he loved relaxing in our horses' water tank. But what dog wouldn't?

We teased him sometimes, calling him "emo" because he could be a tad dramatic...

But everyday we've spent with him was a gift. Really.

He adopted us, when we didn't know we needed him... but we did.

I don't know if he will be with us a few more months, or a few more days. But he has been such a good, good dog. His sweet and goofy demeanor has positively impacted everyone who got to know him. You can bet that his last days will be full of good food, good company, and good love. He deserves it, a million times over.

You're a good boy, Petey.

Love forever,

Sarah