Dudley may look like a dud, but appearances can be deceiving. The dog, with deformed front legs, is a love boat.
Rescued in California, Dudley found a foster home in Lynnwood where he is king of the castle. Does Dudley want to lie on the couch or lounge on a lap? It’s all good in the home of Bob Wright and Margaret Rose.
Rose agreed to foster the dog when her oldest son, Timothy Harding, who lives in Mountlake Terrace, told her the dog’s story of early abuse.
A Microsoft systems engineer, Harding learned about Dudley when a plea for a foster home circulated via e-mail at Microsoft. A softy when it comes to pets, he has fostered several dogs for Rescue Every Dog, www.rescueeverydog.org which has three branches in Washington.
"Dogs give you unconditional love," Harding said. "Too many people think animals are just some disposable thing. Hey, guess what? They are not disposable. They feel, they express happiness, sadness and love to play."
There is joy in fostering dogs, he said, when you see them emerge from their shells.
"They realize bad treatment and pain are gone forever," said Harding, 37. "They learn to play, sit, shake, walk on a leash and go for car rides that end at home, not at some kill shelter."
Harding asked his mother in early December if she could take in Dudley for a couple of months. Dudley needed a quiet home with no other dogs. Little did Margaret Rose know that she would fall hard, like a piano off a roof, for the crippled mutt.
The dog was saved from a California kill shelter by Pasado’s Safe Haven near Sultan, www.pasadosafehaven.org, thanks to Pasado supporters who donated airfare and volunteer time to retrieve the crippled canine.
No watch dog, the hobbled pooch let me through the door at a recent visit, then curled up on the couch like he owned the place. It was difficult to look at his knurled, bowed front legs, which cause him to limp on the side of one paw. When he decided to visit the backyard, we followed the slow-moving pooch outdoors.
"Oh, oh, oh, oh" was all I could say when Dudley played with his favorite toy, a stuffed hedgehog, in the grass. It looked like each step hurt. The dog fetched, but only for a few minutes, then tripped back inside for a rest.
When Dudley plopped onto the floor, he carefully licked his giant paws. Rose invited him to snooze on her lap, and he happily climbed aboard.
"Somebody loved him along the way," said Rose, 58. "He’s a brave soul."
But if the dog is in pain, why not put him to sleep?
"Yes, he’s hurt," she said. "He has a problem. But he can be a friend."
It’s believed that early on the possible beagle-basset hound-corgi-border collie mix was malnourished. Rose said a vitamin deficiency may have caused his front legs to wither. There was no puppy bounce in his stride.
"Dudley has a quiet temperament," Wright said. "He’ll howl, but he has to work up to it."
Wright, Rose and Dudley spend a lot of time together, since Wright, 70, and Rose recently lost their jobs managing a storage facility. She said they were considered too old to do the work, a claim they both deny. Both are looking for employment, but said it’s slow going.
Taking in another mouth to feed was a sacrifice in hard times, but these animal lovers dusted off the welcome mat. It’s paid off for the foster dog who slid into their lifestyle like bratwurst in a bun. Just because Dudley is a short-timer in their arms is no reason to hold back love.
An animal can tell if you hold back, Rose said.
But Dudley isn’t a total angel. He’s a bad car dog. When they take him for rides, Dudley wants to sit in the driver’s lap. Rose gets behind the wheel and Wright sits in the back with the pooch. The dog will soon be taking a ride to undergo surgery at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine in Pullman, where veterinarians will attempt to repair his limbs.
Dudley will probably recuperate at Pasado’s Safe Haven before he is put up for adoption. The Lynnwood couple, with tight finances, hadn’t wanted to become dog owners. But love seemed to arrive in a big, furry package.
"It’s going to kill me if they get him adopted," Rose said. "I’ll be a babbling idiot."
So take him back, I said, as Rose scratched Dudley’s upturned tummy.
Don’t go there, she said with a smile.
Columnist Kristi O’Harran: 425-339-3451 or oharran@heraldnet.com.
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