Hank

Hi, my name is Hank. Please forgive me if I have a hard time getting
my words out....see new people make me very nervous, and thinking about
how many people are out there reading this (or so my humans hope!) is a
little overwhelming.

Maybe if I just stick to the facts, this will be easier. I was born in
the middle of the woods in South Carolina, along with more puppies
than I was able to count. See, this old man kept about 40 dogs in one
pen, letting them make babies and more babies, and every few days he'd
throw food over the fence, when he remembered. It was really sad and
scary, because lots of dogs died, for all kinds of reasons, including most
of the little babies. It was a really rough place to live, and I'm not
sure how I made it. My mama must have really looked out for me when I
was tiny, because I really was one of the few babies that grew to see
adulthood.

Thankfully, a rescue group came and helped, and they took me away from
that scary place when I was about 4 months old along with 22 others. 13 of us did not make it. To the best of
anyone's knowledge, I had never been touched by a human in my life at that
point. Needless to say, I was scared, and it took lots of time and effort
to show me that humans could be OK. Everyone was so excited when I
got adopted, and I went home with a nice lady and her young son. I did
really really well with them, but there were a couple of big
problems....they didn't have a fence and they didn't have any other dogs. See, all
I know is dogs, having grown up for more than 40 around me at any
given time. So, when this lady had to go to work, I would get so so so
scared about being alone. It was awful! I couldn't help myself, I chewed
things up. The lady tried putting me in a crate, but I just couldn't
tolerate it...it scared me so badly that I just couldn't take it, so
crating was not an option. This lady and her son tried very hard to make
me happy, but being alone and not having a fenced yard to run in was
just not OK with my brain. So, even though it broke their hearts, my
family took me back to the rescue.

So, now, here I am. Some people say that I will never find a home
because I was too "damaged" as a puppy, but I know I can do it!! I just
need the right place to try again. Some people even said I should be put
to sleep because of my fears, but how is that right? I am not scared
with other dogs....I LOVE other dogs....ALL other dogs! And once I get
to know a human, I love people very much too. It takes me some time
to warm up and feel safe, but once I do, look out! I love to be pet and
loved on! I will crawl in your lap and lick your face and snuggle up
close. That just doesn't sound like things to put a dog to sleep for,
does it???? I have never lived with a cat, but the people who know me
say that I act like a dog that could live with kitties....I never
bother Thomas....he is the kitty that lives here at the rescue with us.

Phew, OK, that wasn't so bad afterall. Thanks for letting me tell you
my story. I know I am biased, but I really do think I deserve another
shot. I do think that there has to be at least one other dog in my
Forever Family, and a fenced yard where we can play. In a perfect world,
it would be great to have a family that could take me lots of places
with them so I wouldn't have to be home alone a whole lot. Some of the
dogs told me that there are humans who take their dogs to work with
them, and on vacation and to the store and stuff....that sounds so
wonderful! Oh, a boy can dream...