Bringing Rizzo Home, I

A dog is the only thing that can mend a crack in your broken heart.
~Judy Desmond

If you have ever lost a pet, you know how devastating the loss can be. They may not be human, but they are part of the family, and their passing leaves a hole in your heart. Getting another pet is not replacing the one that left but filling up a bit of that hole.

Even though Riley was 16 years old last year, we thought he was in pretty good health. He had sight and hearing deficiencies, but he was still peppy for an old guy. When I got home from Italy last June, however, I noticed he had slowed down considerably. By the end of September, he was just not the old Riley. We think he had a stroke sometime in the summer, and combined with other old dog ailments, he went downhill very quickly. The decision, while the right one, was difficult to make.

We decided that waiting to get a new puppy or dog was a good idea. The holidays were quickly approaching, and we had plans to travel around Christmas. In addition, we had decided to “live” in Italy for a few months to test the waters (for Mike).

That did not stop me from looking at dogs online, though. Mike thought we should adopt, but I was a little hesitant. Kasey had been a puppy mill rescue, and while she lived almost 15 years, she had a few health and social problems. In addition, we wanted a smaller dog who could travel with us, and when I would look at rescues in the St. Pete area, all I saw were large dogs.

“We’ll take our time,” Mike said. “We’re not in any big rush.” Well, he wasn’t.

The Prequel

Italy is one of the most dog-friendly countries in a world full of dog-friendly countries. Dogs blend naturally into Italian life. Walk into or by stores, bars, restaurants, and you’re likely to see a dog or two (or three or four) helping with shopping or lounging under the table. Should you step onto a bus or train, you might see a canine passenger or two. And, the Italian civil aviation authority (ENAC) changed regulations and now allows medium and large dogs in cabin. (There are, of course, rules one must follow.)

We headed to Italy in February, spending the first six weeks in Lucca. If you’ve ever been to that beautiful small town, you know it is dog-friendly. We couldn’t walk a block without encountering someone exercising his/her four-legged friend. Most of them are small, although an occasional big dog would walk by. I, of course, had to check them all out, ask the breed, pet the dog.

One morning, we saw a couple walking down the main shopping street. They had a small grey and white dog on a leash. I approached them and said (in Italian), “What breed is she?” They looked at me and told me they didn’t speak Italian. I could tell from their accent they were American.

“What breed is your dog?” I repeated in English.

The woman answered that they really didn’t know as she was a rescue that they got in California. “We found her on Adopt-a-Pet,” she added. “You need to check them out.” I know I had a doubtful look on my face, and she added, “You can put in all parameters—age, size, breed, location.”

I was still a bit doubtful, but you know I went back to our apartment and pulled up Adopt-a-Pet.

Adopt-a-Pet

Adopt-a-Pet (AAP) much like Petfinder, is a centralized database that pulls listings from shelters and rescues all over the US, Canada, and Mexico. It is an online nonprofit and lists thousands of pets available across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The site provides search tools, adoption resources, and guidance to simplify finding and adopting a companion while supporting shelters, rescuers, and the animals themselves. In addition to dogs and cats, you can adopt reptiles, rabbits, birds, horses, and even farm animals and tarantulas (UGH). I found AAP easier to navigate than Petfinder and much better than trying to look at individual rescues.

I put in my wishlist and spent a few hours each day looking at the dogs that were available. Having already checked out rescues in our immediate area to find only large dogs, I was pleasantly surprised to see small ones on AOP. I looked in the Tampa/St. Pete area, of course, and expanded the radius to 250 miles (Taking me to Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and South Caroline). In addition, I looked in the Columbus, Ohio, area since we have a place up there and could easily get a dog there.

We wanted a dog that could travel with us, so he/she had to be small; the dog also could not shed. While terriers don’t shed, most are too big, and, to be honest, there are not a lot of the small ones in rescue. We preferred an older puppy or young adult, and housebroken would be perfect. I put all of that into the search engine and narrowed the breed selection to Havanese, Miniature Poodle, Maltese, Bolognese, and mixes of those breeds.

Side note: For some reason, I got it into my head that I had to find a chocolate/brown miniature poodle. “We can call him Fudge,” I explained to Mike. He was not as enthusiastic.

.

Believe it or not, there were a lot of dogs who met my criteria in the rescues. I sent in applications (Most wanted everything but blood of potential adoptees) for several dogs, including the ones above. We lost out on several dogs due to the fact that we travel (He throws up in the car); are seniors (We don’t adopt younger dogs to anyone over 60); were simply too late as the dog was adopted quickly (Sorry. Try again, soon); or were ghosted completely.

I woke up Mothers’ Day weekend quite sad. My friend Judy had said it would take some time, but I am not the most patient person, and I really wanted a dog. Not next week. Not tomorrow. NOW.

On Sunday, Mike suggested I look at AAP again. “You’ll find something. Look at Ohio, again, if you want. You can always go up there, or we can go.” I pulled up the AAP website and increased my area criteria to 250 miles from London. There were a lot of rescues in Ohio, and I combed through the photos and brief descriptions. Suddenly, one photo caught my eye.

“OMGosh! Look at this little one,” I gasped. Grayson (as he was called at the rescue) was almost 7 months old, weighed 8-9 pounds, was a mini poodle, and was adorable. Mike agreed that he was cute and encouraged me to get more information. The only downside was that the rescue was in Antwerp, Ohio, about 130 miles from London. “It’s not that far from London if that’s the one you want,” Mike said. “You were looking at a dog in Boca Raton,” Mike added. “That’s almost twice as far from St Pete.”

He had a point on both counts, but honestly, I wasn’t sure what I wanted. I am a terrier girl, but I had miniature poodles on the brain….and Havanese are cute, as are Morkies and Maltipoos and Havapoos and … You get my drift. I guess I just wanted a dog.

I wrote to Team Rescue, the shelter that had him, and for once I had timed it right. Within an hour, I had their application and more information on “Grayson.”

Meet Grayson.   Gray with tri. Purebred mini poodle.  

Born 10/30/ 25.  9 lbs  Very close to adult weight. 

He does not shed and will always need groomed. 

Nice boy who gets along with cats, kids and other dogs.  

Doesn’t cause any problems here.

He is a little shy at first with new people. 

Loves loves loves other dogs!   Very playful! 

I was in trouble…good trouble. Never had I completed an application as quickly as I did that one. Once I sent it back, I waited to hear, checking my email every five minutes….That’s not quite how rescues work, though. I won’t bore you with the details, but it wasn’t until the next evening that Team Rover let me know that Rizzo was ours if the match was good when we got there.

Mike and I had talked about it, and we decided that we would drive to Ohio on Thursday and Friday, leaving Saturday for the two-and-a-half-hour trip from London to Antwerp. Lynne agreed, and we set Saturday at 10:30 for adoption day.

Team Rover

I had never heard of Team Rover before Adopt-a-Pet, but it is a small, self-funded dog rescue in Antwerp, Ohio. Lynne Mansfield, founder, dog rescuer extraordinaire, and genuinely nice person, has made it her mission to rescue dogs from the Paulding County animal shelter as well as from puppy mills in northwest Ohio and northeast Indiana for 20 years.

If you don’t know, Ohio and Indiana are hotbeds for puppy mills. Northwest Ohio does not have as many as central and southeast Ohio, but northeast Indiana does have a number of Amish breeders. Lynne says that many of the breeders actually have very clean kennels and take care of the puppies. Unfortunately, though, by keeping the puppies four, five, and six months, they do a disservice to the dogs by preventing them from having human interaction. Thankfully, Lynne has developed a relationship with some breeders who will give her the “leftovers” instead of getting rid of them by, well, you know.

Before we drove to Ohio, I did check out Team Rover. It is registered with the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and there are stellar ratings online for Lynne and her work. All rescues charge you a fee, be it $50 or $500 or even $1500 (Yes, one in the Ft. Myers area charges that). Lynne neither asked for a deposit or payment. “You pay me when you see if he is a good fit and if you like his vet report.

I will add that all of Lynne’s dogs are vet-checked, up-to-date on vacs, and either spayed or neutered. Two of Grayson’s baby teeth had not fallen out, so her vet pulled them at the same time of his neuter surgery. Instead of keeping them in cages, crates, or kennels, she has them in big room attached to her house or a finished “barn” that is not really a barn. It is a huge room with tiled floor, x-pens, a sofa, and more. The puppies get to play together and go out in the fenced yard that’s between the “barn” and the room addition.

Lynne sat with us and explained a lot about Grayson before she handed him off. Once we understood his personality, she let me hold him a bit. He sat stock still, and we petted and scritched him. “What do you think,” she asked.

What did I think? I thought there was no chance that I was handing that dog back to her.

Rizzo

I held newly named Rizzo on my lap during the two-and-a-half-hour drive back to London. He was quiet except for the two times he threw up on me, following the tradition set by Decker and Riley before him. (Rizzo, in case you don’t know, means “curly haired” in Italian.)

Having a shelter dog is different from getting a dog directly from the breeder. For much of his life, Rizzo didn’t have much human interaction. He was quite hesitant and skittish with us, and he did not eat at all on Saturday. He resisted the leash at first, but after two or three times, he was walking fine. For some reason, he would not walk from the kitchen to the living room or the living room to the kitchen (or bedroom), and we had to pick him up and physically bring him in.

He’s been with us two-and-a-half days, and while he is still a little shy, he has not had an accident in the house. He is not as hesitant with us as he was, and he walks around the block with us a few times a day. While he has nosed the toys I got him a little, he hasn’t really played with them. This afternoon, he walked around with his tail raised instead of between his legs. He will now walk from room-to-room and follow us a little.

Today, we took him to the vet who gave him a clean bill of health except for one tooth that is growing in a little wonky. When w got home, the Golden and Beagle who belong to the minister who lives behind us were out, and they romped around a bit. Rizzo was in heaven.

As I write this, he is sitting on one of his beds staring at me (Yes, he has multiple). I keep telling him he has no idea how lucky he is and how much his life has changed. He keeps telling me the same.

I think he’s right.