StormKatz
Super Boxer
I like to imagine Johnny was born to a beautiful, pampered Boxer girl. Loved by a big family she gave birth to her puppies on a big soft palete of warm blankets, to the encouraging words of her owners. I like to imagine Johnny & his siblings nursing, sleeping & growing in the exact enviorment in which puppies should be raised. Lots of love, good, healthy food, & regular trips to the vet to make sure they stayed healthy.
I like to imagine his breeders carefully screening new families, to ensure the puppies would always be cared for... sadley this probably isn't the way it was.
When Johnny was five months old his "family" walked into a vet clinic & stated that they were going out of town & needed to board Johhny. Underfed & infested with parasites, the little pup with the sad eye's and broken spirit, huddled in the farthest corner of the steel kennel, terrified of humans. The office staff spoke softly to the pup, & tried to get him to eat, & feel more safe. But soon they grew bored when he refused to play. So weeks past, & Johnny's owners never returned. All atempts at contacting them failed, & nobody wanted the little Boxer pup that was so afraid.
A few short days before Johnny was going to be taken to the pound, one of the lady's on staff decided to take the pup home for her grandchildren. In this home Johnny was a "bad dog". He barked "to much" when the kids were
napping, so he was "taught" not to bark. He snatched snacks that the children left laying around so he was on a constant "diet". He messed on the floor in the small room he was kept in all day long, so he was left to "clean" it up himself. He "didn't like" the man in the house, so he had to be "taught lessons" about growling most days. When he was a little more than a year old, his owner called rescue, because no one else would take him & she couldn't keep him because he was "too wild".
I had applied to adopt a Boxer Boy a month before, so you can imagine my excitment when the lady from rescue called & told me they had a boy I might like. It was love at first sight. The lady from rescue said "I've never seen him kidney bean before" I quickly signed the papers, & loaded Johnny up in my car for the drive home. Once home I unsnapped his leash so he could explore. But he didn't, he walked into the spare bathroom (the smallest room in the house) as if he was resigned to live there. When he found his feeder, he inhaled the food & water until he was sick, he pottied in the bathroom & quickly tried to eat it, he looked at all his new toys & big dog bed as if he didn't know what they were. If I raised my hand the "wrong way" to brush hair off my face, or pet him, he hit the floor, & if there was a man within 20 feet of him, he went into defense mode, (although he never tried to attack).
After weeks of soft words, & "coaching" on my part with no results I decided I was gonna make him enjoy his life. I took him everywhere with me, I took him to the park & turned him loose in the ball field, I'm sure I looked crazy to others, here I'd be running around the feild like a mad woman trying to get him to play, it wasn't long before he followed suit. He'd run as fast as lightening, & soon he learned the joy in fetch. I'd sit on my kitchen floor & hand feed him his dog food twice a day, soon he learned to savor each bite & began to eat normally. I carried his toys everywhere, & would lay one in front of him every chance I got, until he realized how much fun the "softies" were to chew on. I'd smear his rawhides with plain yogurt, or the sauce from canned dog food, & soon he realized how fun they were to demolish. I'd sit my alarm clock for every two hours threwout the night, & I'd have to go downstairs to the bathroom, & bring him back upstairs to sleep on his bed. Finally I just started putting him in the bed with me. I'd cover him with the blankets & cuddle close. Soon he realized how much better the bed was than the cold bathroom floor, & most nights I'd get out of the shower to find him already curled up in bed asleep. I put some stuff in his food to make him not want to "clean up after himself" & within weeks, he was completly house trained. I enrolled him & I in Basic obidence classes, & soon he started looking forward to going. Six months after I got Johnny I met my husband. I had explained what Johnny had been threw, & how he was, & Chad understood that. He had a Boxer girl himself, so he loved the breed. Johnny took to him instantly, he would get a little jealous sometimes, but within a week they were the best of friends, playing & wrestling. We would take Johnny for playdates with Koda, & the four of us would get down on the floor & wrestle & play.
Today Johnny is a healthy, happy 6 year old at 75lbs. He is the best dog I've ever known. He's sweet & oh so smart. Everywhere we go he's a star. He adores children, & other animals, & although he's still protective, he knows when to be & when not to be. In two years he completed basic & advanced obidience, he completed some basic search/rescue & protection classes, & flew threw bite work with flying colors. Just this year I noticed his muzzle was starting to grey, & I think to myself although he never won any shows, & although he's never sired a litter.. he has forever secured his legacy on this breed. For everyone who has met him & everyone who will meet him, will remember this beautiful Boxer named Johnny-Bravo.
Shannon
Mom To Johnny-Bravo Fawn/White Neutered Natural Docked Rescue (June 1999)
I like to imagine his breeders carefully screening new families, to ensure the puppies would always be cared for... sadley this probably isn't the way it was.
When Johnny was five months old his "family" walked into a vet clinic & stated that they were going out of town & needed to board Johhny. Underfed & infested with parasites, the little pup with the sad eye's and broken spirit, huddled in the farthest corner of the steel kennel, terrified of humans. The office staff spoke softly to the pup, & tried to get him to eat, & feel more safe. But soon they grew bored when he refused to play. So weeks past, & Johnny's owners never returned. All atempts at contacting them failed, & nobody wanted the little Boxer pup that was so afraid.
A few short days before Johnny was going to be taken to the pound, one of the lady's on staff decided to take the pup home for her grandchildren. In this home Johnny was a "bad dog". He barked "to much" when the kids were
napping, so he was "taught" not to bark. He snatched snacks that the children left laying around so he was on a constant "diet". He messed on the floor in the small room he was kept in all day long, so he was left to "clean" it up himself. He "didn't like" the man in the house, so he had to be "taught lessons" about growling most days. When he was a little more than a year old, his owner called rescue, because no one else would take him & she couldn't keep him because he was "too wild".
I had applied to adopt a Boxer Boy a month before, so you can imagine my excitment when the lady from rescue called & told me they had a boy I might like. It was love at first sight. The lady from rescue said "I've never seen him kidney bean before" I quickly signed the papers, & loaded Johnny up in my car for the drive home. Once home I unsnapped his leash so he could explore. But he didn't, he walked into the spare bathroom (the smallest room in the house) as if he was resigned to live there. When he found his feeder, he inhaled the food & water until he was sick, he pottied in the bathroom & quickly tried to eat it, he looked at all his new toys & big dog bed as if he didn't know what they were. If I raised my hand the "wrong way" to brush hair off my face, or pet him, he hit the floor, & if there was a man within 20 feet of him, he went into defense mode, (although he never tried to attack).
After weeks of soft words, & "coaching" on my part with no results I decided I was gonna make him enjoy his life. I took him everywhere with me, I took him to the park & turned him loose in the ball field, I'm sure I looked crazy to others, here I'd be running around the feild like a mad woman trying to get him to play, it wasn't long before he followed suit. He'd run as fast as lightening, & soon he learned the joy in fetch. I'd sit on my kitchen floor & hand feed him his dog food twice a day, soon he learned to savor each bite & began to eat normally. I carried his toys everywhere, & would lay one in front of him every chance I got, until he realized how much fun the "softies" were to chew on. I'd smear his rawhides with plain yogurt, or the sauce from canned dog food, & soon he realized how fun they were to demolish. I'd sit my alarm clock for every two hours threwout the night, & I'd have to go downstairs to the bathroom, & bring him back upstairs to sleep on his bed. Finally I just started putting him in the bed with me. I'd cover him with the blankets & cuddle close. Soon he realized how much better the bed was than the cold bathroom floor, & most nights I'd get out of the shower to find him already curled up in bed asleep. I put some stuff in his food to make him not want to "clean up after himself" & within weeks, he was completly house trained. I enrolled him & I in Basic obidence classes, & soon he started looking forward to going. Six months after I got Johnny I met my husband. I had explained what Johnny had been threw, & how he was, & Chad understood that. He had a Boxer girl himself, so he loved the breed. Johnny took to him instantly, he would get a little jealous sometimes, but within a week they were the best of friends, playing & wrestling. We would take Johnny for playdates with Koda, & the four of us would get down on the floor & wrestle & play.
Today Johnny is a healthy, happy 6 year old at 75lbs. He is the best dog I've ever known. He's sweet & oh so smart. Everywhere we go he's a star. He adores children, & other animals, & although he's still protective, he knows when to be & when not to be. In two years he completed basic & advanced obidience, he completed some basic search/rescue & protection classes, & flew threw bite work with flying colors. Just this year I noticed his muzzle was starting to grey, & I think to myself although he never won any shows, & although he's never sired a litter.. he has forever secured his legacy on this breed. For everyone who has met him & everyone who will meet him, will remember this beautiful Boxer named Johnny-Bravo.
Shannon
Mom To Johnny-Bravo Fawn/White Neutered Natural Docked Rescue (June 1999)
