I’m sure there will be many disappointed people, but I must formally announce that Lincoln has indeed found himself a wonderful home. A lovely family from Austin, TX has adopted our special boy. Their young son couldn’t’ be more perfect for this dog. What a team they make!
Not long after I posted the video of Lincoln at the park, I was contacted by Katherine about Lincoln. I asked about their home and lifestyle, and it seemed to be a match made in heaven. Both adults work from home, they have a young son who has been wishing for a dog since their last dog passed away of old age several years ago. The only possible issue was that they had never owned a large dog. Lincoln is so calm, so sweet, I felt it would probably work. They scheduled a visit right before our vacation and if Lincoln liked them, they would take him for a test run while we were gone. He was a little cautious at first, but within a few minute had warmed to the entire family, especially their son. I felt comfortable that they would give him a fair evaluation and were serious about adopting a dog. When the time came to load up the car, Lincoln jumped in with no issue and took the entire day in stride. There were a few questions over the next few days, but all in all, it went as smoothly as any new placement, with both dog and people learning how to adapt.
This past weekend I visited them and we finalized his placement. We did work on his walking nicely for them on a leash… he tried to convince them he didn’t have good leash manner. Of course they knew better, because the video of him at the park doesn’t lie. As I tell people often, a smart dog is so much harder to live with than a dumb one! Lincoln is very very smart. When I walked in he was very happy to see me, but he was also very happy to have his new family. He freely interacted with them all, playing fetch, showing me what was working and what they needed help with. I showed them the correct way to walk him, which was humorous because as soon as I put the leash on him he was already walking like the dog I knew. He knew there was no fooling me! I made sure everyone was able to walk him with confidence, then we sat down and had a lovely chat. As I was leaving, we loaded up the crate they borrowed during the trial period. Lincoln followed us outside of leash and watched me load the car, but never did he attempt to jump in. As they walked into the house, Lincoln stepping proudly at their side, tail up, smiling… it was clear to me he had found his home.
Placements like this makes breeding dogs something special. To help this family find a good dog that could fit into their life, fill their son with joy, but be trained enough that they could handle such a large and intelligent dog… it makes me feel that maybe I should think hard about keeping one puppy from each litter to give them this head start. What do you all think? Is this something that is needed in our world? Sheer number of emails I received on Lincoln that week after I posted the video of him at the park speaks volumes to me. I think I stopped counting at 30 and was practically sending out a form email stating that I thought Lincoln had a home, but I would let them know if something changed. So many people are looking to skip the puppy phase, which most of us will agree is often painful and draining. In any case, it is something I am considering.
The only thing I totally forgot to do was to snap a photo of his new family!! Maybe I can convince them to send one my way, at least of Lincoln and Oliver, his new ‘boy’. 🙂
As to the lack of blog post, I promise to be back to a few post a week soon. This past week I tried to simply recover from my wonderful vacation! The pups need training, no rest for the weary!
~Becky