Dudley's Rescue Story
I found Dudley on Petfinder.com, after an extensive search through breed rescues and other organizations.  I had really wanted to get an Old English sheepdog, but I wound up with a Dudley instead.  Sometimes I'm glad he's not pure OES because he doesn't shed and he doesn't have nearly the amount of fluff that most OES do.

I adopted Dudley through The Husky House.  They had placed him as a puppy, even though he wasn't a husky.  I am told that he was the only pup from his litter that wasn't adopted right away, and that when he was young the Rescue founder, Lorraine Healy, fostered him her her home.  Dud's mom was an Old English Sheepdog, and his dad was a Boxer - he was born in Jackson, NJ. (that's near Great Adventure) He was adopted by a family with children, and when his people got divorced, they returned Duds to the Rescue.  I suspect that he was a handful for their family - sometimes he's a bit much for me!   Dudley gets so excited and happy that he just cannot contain himself.  The tail starts wagging, then his backside, and then half his body is a wiggling mass!

I emailed to get an adoption form and find out about meeting him.  Lorraine said that he was being kenneled in Flushing, Queens, and that I could go anytime to see him.  When I called the kennel to setup an apointment,  I was told that he was worth the drive.  Although it is geographically close, the traffic turns the trip out there into a 90 minute ordeal - 2 bridges, traffic, highways, traffic, etc....  When I arrived to see him, I was surprised to find that he was a little taller than I expected, and quite a bit cuter than his picture on the website!  I'mg glad that my landlady and her daughter liked him as much as I did, so we decided that we would bring him into our home.

I had to wait 2 weeks before I could bring him home - there was so much to be done!  I needed to put up a baby gate, get him a crate, put his doggie toilet in the backyard, and get all the other doggie accessories that good doggie moms need to have.  Lorraine also haad to come visit us for a home inspection and go through all the other Rescue necessities.



On July 31st, I took the day off from work, and I hiked out to Queens to bring Dudley home.  When I arrived at the kennel, he was so happy to see me that he jumped up for a hug and promptly broke the special necklace my Godmother gave me for Christmas.  He was all clean and happy and more than ready to go home!

He jumped in my car without a second thought, and homeward bound we went!

On the way home, I took the wrong bridge, and we wound up driving through midtown Manhattan.  I'd never driven in New York City before, and it was a little scarey.  Dudley kept me company as we drove cross-town and unsuspecting people hailed us as if I was driving a taxi.  (I have a bright yellow car.)

Through the tunnel, and back to NJ we came - Dudley slept quietly in the back of the car.  I know that riding in the car can be quite an exahusting thing, but in this case, I was glad that he could finally be comfortable.  The kennel where he was staying wasn't bad and he was well-cared for, but I'm sure he was thrilled to be out of "jail".  He had been there for quite a few weeks.  Finally, I pulled my car into the driveway.

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