Drifter and Stranger must have became friends while they were both homeless, because they came as a package deal. If you read Stranger's story you have some idea of how they came to us. Max brought them home one day. We first saw Drifter, as a puppy, running down the road trying to follow two girls on bicycles. He was not doing real well as his little legs were only about six inches long. He was always about 100 yards behind and out of sight of the girls who could have cared less. We are talking about a distance of over 3/4 of a mile from where they lived to our house. This happened several days, then one day he stopped near our house in the shade of a tree near the road, his little tounge hanging out. This was in the middle of the summer, temperatures in the 90's. My wife carried him a bowl of water, which he was very glad to get. When the girls came back by, he again took in hot pursuit, his little legs trying to catch up to his "family". I use the term very loosely. The next time I saw the young dog was when I saw Max with two dogs down at the curve in the road below our house.
The way the little dog acted when he first got to our house, he acted as if he had very little prior contact with humans, while he was a little puppy. Drifter would keep a distance of about 25 feet between himself and any human. Even at feeding time you had to leave his bowl and walk away or he would not eat. We managed to get Driff and his buddy Stranger wormed without much trouble, but a bath was another story. Since you could not get close enough to catch him, we had to sedate him. After the bath and dip, while he was recovering, he seemed to like the hands that were rubbing him and loving talk that he was hearing. That helped a lot toward his getting used to us. After that he started to let you get a bit closer than he did at first. Drifter has been with us for a little over 2 years now and he has come a long way. He still is a little jumpy when you make a sudden movement around him. Old habbits die hard you know. There is no telling what Driff and his friend went through, or for how long, while they were homeless.
When a storm comes up, with thunder and lighting, he and Strange both go to the front porch. They get near the door if not against it. When the they hear gunshots or fire crackers, they come to the front porch. I go out and sit with them, talk to them, pet them, and tell them its alright. Strange will bury his head in my lap and Driff will lie at my feet. You can feel him tremble. After a little while they will relax a bit, and seem to understand that they will not be harmed, then I can go back inside.
Drifter is a mixed breed of some kind, its hard to tell. We believe he is part wolf, by the shape of his head, his hair, his feet, but mostly by his eyes. He has ghost eyes. When you look into them, you get lost. Drifter is as gentle as you could want a dog to be. He is a real sweetheart.