Crusoe (Cruz) joined our family as a foster last Saturday after a long journey from Turkey.  Considering that everything in this sweet boy's life has changed, he is doing so well.

Crusoe is approximately 3 years old and little is known about his early life.  However, the events that brought him to the attention of local rescuers in Turkey are tragic.  When he was found by a kindhearted person, he was in terrible shape.  He had been shot in his right shoulder by someone with a shotgun,  resulting in a massive, infected wound.  Due to the severity of the wound, there was doubt he would survive and his rescuer was told that the most humane thing to do would be to euthanize him.  Crusoe, despite his pain, had a spark of life in his eyes and a team of amazing vets dedicated themselves to saving him.  He received weeks of intensive care and eventually the infection left his body and his wound closed enough that they could stitch it together.  

The entire vet team cheered when Crusoe was finally healed enough to leave the vet office and go home with his rescuer.

It was the combination of great medical care and Crusoe's strong will to live that made him healthy enough to travel to Minnesota last weekend.  Much of his fur has grown back to cover the scars and the memories must be fading, as he is just about the happiest, sweetest boy around. 

Crusoe is really adjusting to life inside a home.  While many stray dogs in Turkey do begin their lives as family pets before being abandoned, I do not get the feeling that Cruz had lived in a home before.  While he was not necessarily fearful of everything in the home, it appeared that everything was new to him and had to be explored.  He was panting and pacing a lot the first few days while in the house and was always going to the windows and doors to look out.  Once outside, he was much more relaxed.  He no longer does this and has discovered how nice it is to be inside, especially on rainy days.  He loves sleeping on the couch by us and sighs as he snuggles in close.

As the days pass and Cruz gets more comfortable, he is showing a silly, playful side.  He is a fantastic fetcher and will bring the ball right back to you.  He loves to play with toys and will toss them in the air and then pounce on them.  He will do a little dance and whine when he sees the leash come out that we use for walks.  Cruz loves, loves, loves his walks.  He initially pulled quite a bit and so we are now using a Gentle Leader and he is doing much better.  Yet, if there is a squirrel or bunny spotted, all bets are off and you need to plant your feet or get pulled along for the chase.  Yesterday was the first time that I was able to distract him and continue walking without him pulling.  He is learning very fast and today has been even better on walks.  I think it is really helping him have our two resident dogs along on walks because he sees that they just ignore them and so he is beginning to also. 

Since Cruz has not been here long, I know that there is so much more to learn about him to help him find the perfect home.  Yet, in the short time he has been with us, this is what we have learned:

• Cruz does great in a kennel.  We feed him in his kennel and that helped him begin to get comfortable.  He sleeps in a kennel in our bedroom at night and doesn't make a peep.  Since I work from home, I am making an effort to leave for periods of time every day so that he becomes used to staying in his kennel while home alone.  He has done well for the 1 1/2 hours I have left him.  I anticipate he would be fine for longer, but most likely not a full work day yet.
• He is not housetrained.  By this, I mean he does not signal when he has to go outside.  Because I keep all my dogs on a set schedule, he has not had any accidents in the house.  However, I would not trust him on his own yet as I am not sure he "gets it" yet.  He is always with me in the house or kenneled when I cannot watch him and he would need the same in his forever home for a while.   
• He needs a family that will commit to taking him to obedience class and continue with his training.  Cruz is a very smart boy, but basically a blank slate when it comes to knowing commands, plus there is the language difference - he has no idea what we are saying.  He is just now learning his name, but that is a work in progress.  He does know sit, but his recall is sketchy, and he does jump when excited ( but this is getting so much better).
• He must have daily long walks.  Since he was a street dog, he is used to be out and about.  He loves his walks and needs the mental stimulation they provide.  I would love to see him in a family that brings him lots of places so he is always exposed to new people, places and experiences.  A quiet home life with little outside exposure is not the right home for him. 
• A privacy fence would be the best for Cruz.  He is used to a life wandering and that instinct is still with him.   Throw in the enticement of squirrels and rabbits and he just feels the need to run.  He spends much time outside walking the perimeter of the fence looking for a way out.  On his first full day here, he actually did find a way and wriggled under the fence.   It happened so fast and I was standing right by him by couldn't stop him.  Luckily his tether caught on the bottom of the fence so he couldn't run, but it was a scary moment.  Because of that, Cruz is now on a very long tie out within the fenced yard and is never outside unattended.  He is getting used to it and still has lots of room to run and play.  I am thinking that with a privacy fence, he could not see critters on the other side and feel the need to take off.   An invisible fence would not be a safe option for Cruz - I truly believe he would run right through it.  He needs the  physical boundary a physical fence provides. 
• He is a very healthy boy.  His vet appointment went great and except for an ear infection, he is in great health.  He weighed in at 57 pounds and does need to put on about 5 pounds to reach his ideal weight.  He does still have shotgun pellets in his body, but the vet has said that his mobility is perfect and so they are most likely not anywhere around his joints or bones.  Dogs that have been shot do live perfectly normal lives and the pellets do not affect them. 
• Cats are not safe around Cruz according to his rescuers in Turkey, so he will need a home without cats. 
• Other dogs are great and he does love to play.

As Cruz settles in more and I learn more about him, I will update.  In the meantime, even though he is not yet available, he will be attending the meet and greet in Edina this weekend.