Bamboo and Johanna, a successful adoption
A few days ago, I shared with you the story of Jupiter, Laita and Julie: a nice trio formed thanks to a beautiful adoption. I chose to approach the season of abandonment by interviewing adoptive families to highlight these everyday heroes who give cowardly abandoned doggies a second chance... Today, I present to you Bambou and his mistress Johanna.
Johanna, Bamboo's mistress
I have always loved animals. I have had rabbits and guinea pigs since I was little. It's a bit ingrained in me, like a custom. We create a lot of links and unsuspected complicity with these little animals.
The desire ofhave a dog has always been present. I had to fight with my man to convince him because we had a small apartment and already a rabbit. Initially, he wanted a small dog. I learned about the character of jack russels and yorkshires. The hunting side of the jack did not reassure me. I was afraid to go home and not have a live rabbit anymore… And we didn't like the look of the york.
So, we questioned those around us who lifted our preconceptions about having a bigger dog in an apartment.
Bamboo adoption
Every day and several times a day, I looked at all the https://www.la-spa.fr/ in Île de France. One day, I spotted a cute little staffie cross in the photos. We went to see her but finally arrived at the SPA (Chamarande refuge), the staff advised us against adopting this little dog. She had already bitten twice… As it was my first dog, I wanted to make my adoption a success and give our future doggie every chance. I preferred to leave it to a family better able to take it in hand.
After asking us lots of questions about us, our habits and our living conditions, the staff introduced us to Bambou. At the beginning, my darling did not find him attractive at all, then we said to ourselves that we had to ignore the physical appearance... He corresponded exactly to what we were looking for: car ok, child ok, clean...
We adopted Bamboo on the 2nd visit. After the first meeting, we wanted to weigh the pros and cons financially and offer him an arrival worthy of a doggie coming out of the SPA.
The story of Bamboo, adopted dog
I did not necessarily have a lot of information about his past via the Chamarande SPA. However, I was able to contact the former master of Bamboo. And she was able to tell me a bit… Bamboo would have been found by the pound attached to a rusty chain. He is said to have lived with Travelers where he learned to hunt hedgehogs for food.
Bamboo was adopted for the first time before arriving in our life. His mistress already had 2 cats, one of which triggered a serious illness when Bamboo arrived (too much stress?). After 1 weeks of adoption, it was back to the SPA for him. The person preferred to take care of his cat. I pass no judgment on his decision. And finally, it allowed me to meet this great dog!
The dog's new life
The beginnings were difficult with Bambou. He seemed aggressive towards other dogs. He pulled a lot on his leash when walking. We contacted an educator who gave us some advice that we try to apply over time. And finally, after a year, we realized that he loved dogs. What we took for aggression was not… He does not get along with all dogs of course, but he is very demanding and loves to play with friends.
Bamboo is a dog that gets used to new places and new people very quickly. In general, he is a dog full of love but who also asks for more. Very attached and endearing, his favorite game is to be chased by other four-legged friends.
When he does something stupid, which is rare now, he goes straight to his basket.
Cuddle level, because he loves it, he approaches the person who is sitting in general, puts his head on his knee and pushes his arm with his head to make him understand that he wants attention. If that doesn't work, he licks his hand. If he still doesn't get what he wants, he gets in front of us and starts whining. If we do not show up, it emits low noises that resemble barking. Cunning!!!
He loves the sun and sitting on a wicker chair on our balcony. He lies down on it and observes what is happening outside. It's a real curious.
He hates water. To make him take the shower, it's a hassle. We have our turn to trick…
Holidays with your dog
We left several times on vacation with our dog. Our goal is to make him live great moments knowing what he has been through and where he comes from, until the end of his life.
Our first vacation with our dog was in Brittany, camping. I think it was the first time he had seen the sea. I was delighted to show him that.
Since then, we have gone to Lyon and Toulouse with our dog in rentals that accept dogs. Not far from Toulouse, we went electric boating, with Bambou of course. It was funny, he had a face too cute.
A little anecdote to tell you to end in style? Maybe not extraordinary but too funny I think…. Bamboo loves the car!!!! Once, on a motorway service area, there was a car next to ours. The doors were open and the owners sat inside resting, Bamboo settled in… People laughed. Phew!
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I am very happy to have been able to share with you the lovely story of Bambou and Johanna. It illustrates a point to which I am deeply attached. You have to adopt the dog that best suits your lifestyle, otherwise it's almost doomed to failure. Shelter staff are generally trained for this. No need to leave with the most beautiful dog in the kennel if he can't stand children and you have three. Do not leave with a super sporty dog if sport, for you, is limited to watching it in front of your TV. This doggie has already suffered an abandonment, do not inflict a second one on him.
I chose Musher, a labrador retriever, because like her, I'm a fan of water. Also, together we do lifesaving, paddleboarding, swimming… we share lots of water activities together because we both love it. He is also a hunting dog at the base, suddenly, I make him do olfactory activities: digging, tracking… to make him work on his natural aptitudes. We both love that. A dog is not chosen for its look but for its character. This is ESSENTIAL to understand. Johanna was very well advised and since then she has had happy days with Bambou. Thank you for your lovely testimonial.