Axel

His name is Axel and he's mine, all mine! It took me nearly a week of meeting, greeting, walking and thinking to decide to take him on.

I didn't mean to fall for him. I went to the SPCA to look at a dog that might be a good fit for my parents and after they turned out to be less than ideal, I set my eyes on this friendly guy and was instantly hooked. Axel came from the Similkameen Valley where he was found as a stray. After being in a shelter out there for a while with no one coming looking for him, he was adopted by someone who owned a small farm. Unfortunately Axel got a taste for chicken and they ended up having to give him up since he was a repeated offender in the chicken coop. They shipped him to the Trail shelter in hopes of finding someone here who wanted to give him a home.

Axel had an award winning personality that I could not help but instantly enjoy. To him, every person that he meets is an incredibly exciting moment which is a change from the dogs that we have had in the past. Rizzo was always really person friendly but the others...not so much. When he gets really excited he smiles and shows his teeth, which is something that I have never seen before. It's pretty cute! He's got goofy lopsided ears, natural camouflage and lots of energy. He's a mix of Australian Cattle Dog and Blue Heeler, which means that he might be a bit of a handful in terms of needs for exercise, but I am up for the challenge. So far he's proving to be quite easy to handle and I am so happy to have a dog that already knows all of the basic commands. I also really love that he's excellent with kids and other dogs. Bonus!

One of my favourite things about dogs is how adaptable and flexible they can be. I really don't know anything about how this guy was raised but he came into the house and immediately made himself at home. I was worried that he might not like where I put him to sleep for the night, but he was quiet and didn't make much of a peep the entire night. He just seems so happy to have people around that actually want him to be close by. I am also loving how quickly he is catching on to the routine and the things he is learning. For example, he knows nothing about toys, fetch or playing tug-o-war. I threw a ball for him yesterday and he just sat there and watched it bounce away without a hint of recognition of what to do in the situation. After some time in the yard with the ball, he is not starting to figure out that this is meant to be fun and he gets excited to see toys around. Sort of.

Welcome to the family Axel! I hope we are all you wanted in a family!