This isn’t your ‘dog meets human and love at first sight’ kinda story. It’s actually quite the opposite yet a love story, nonetheless. The story is about rescued dog Zack, a Pitbull mix, and his humans. A volunteer at the animal welfare centre that rescued Zack, when his human first walked him, she thought to herself: “Who on earth would adopt this dog? Whoever adopts him would be nuts!”
The boy had several issues including leash reactivity, constant humping, ripping apart everything in his reach, severe anxiety. His medium-to-large size compounded things further. Basically, whoever decided to foster/adopt Zack would have to deal with a lot. But guess what the same person who thought “who on earth would adopt this dog” ended up adopting him within two weeks.
“Within two weeks of meeting Zack we ended up being the nutty people,” his human joked.
Also read: Human + Dog Story: Every dog deserves a chance
How has life changed since you adopted Zack?
Hooman: Everything has changed. My entire life revolves around Zack and his well-being. My love for him has become the biggest definition of selfless love. I do things that I’ve never done for anyone (confession of a workaholic hoomum). I’m his chef, nutritionist, his poop-cleaner, personal trainer and his driver all wrapped into one. I’ve become a professional multiple-hat-wearer just taking care of him and his needs.
What are some of your favourite things to do with Zack?
We love our 5 AM walkies when it’s quiet and calm just the birds chirping and diving at us. Zack and I love training together during this time too. It has become our special way to bond with each other, absolutely uninterrupted.
What are Zack’s goofiest traits?
Hooman: Where do I even begin? The boy loves to yell at me. Late for a walk – yell! Opened a packet of chips and didn’t share – yell! Ball stuck under the couch – yell! We don’t wake up calmly in our home. We either have his hot stinky breath on our face, or we get body slammed. No in-betweens. It’s a great way to start the day.
On days you feel blah (we all have such days) how does Zack inspire you to still get up and show up?
Hooman: He just yells at me, and I know it’s time to go. But in all honesty, bad or good days, if I don’t show up for him, I know that nobody else would, and that’s been my biggest motivator. He’s my everything – stinky kisses are a bonus.
One big lesson that only a dog could teach you.
Hooman: The patience you never knew you had will shine through with a rescue dog. I do not have the patience for a lot of things in life, but for my dog I’ll wait till the end of time for him to be his best self.
While having a dog in life is truly incredible, its a huge responsibility too. Could you please share some thoughts especially for humans considering fostering/adopting a dog?
Hooman: Different dogs = different needs – that’s the first thing I’d like to say. Not everything that has worked for other dogs would work for your dog. So, be patient, learn and try different things that best suit both your and your dog’s needs. Love is hard work. Do not go into adopting/fostering thinking this is going to be easy. This is hard work and loving someone means putting that effort and hard work. Train consistently. Your dog will be as good as you take the effort for them to be.
Finally, as human of a beautiful dog what’s that one message you’d like to send out to our readers?
Hooman: Irrespective of the breed training and education is the foundation of your dog’s needs. Your dog craves for structure and consistency. So, do not underestimate the time you spend training them, this is your moment with them.
