HENRY

WORDS FROM HENRY’S NEW ADOPTERS: Like many people, we first found out about RAD through social media. An active dog rescue organization in our city on the gram doing great things was an easy follow and why wouldn’t it be? These dogs offer an abundance of cuteness!

Once my girlfriend and I found out about RAD and the upcoming rescue mission, we decided to go ahead and fill out the application form. We always knew we wanted a dog – we moved out together three years ago and both our families had dogs. That being said, we knew it was a responsibility. With both of us often working way beyond the usual 40-hour work week, we didn’t want to commit just yet. But then came the pandemic. That helped us realize that we often have more time than we think, and more flexibility in regard to our responsibilities. It was time for us to prioritize something we knew would bring us joy and could make a small difference. This is why we decided to foster.

When we first applied, we didn’t know what dog to expect. My fiancée and I are major dog lovers, and we were excited at the prospect of simply having a dog around, whether young or old. We told RAD in the application process that we were open to fostering any dog, and then, we waited. A few days later, we received a FaceTime from the lovely Teny. She’s awesome. We did a very thorough inspection of our home, and Teny told us everything we would have to do to make our home dog proof, also taking the time to explain why it was so important.

We found out we would be fostering Cooper (now known as Henry) a small two-month old pupper who’s apparently a mix of a Labrador, German shepherd, and husky. We received a few pictures before picking him up, which obviously increased our excitement. Finally, we picked him up as the RAD team arrived from Manitoba. Henry being a calm little guy, he was one of the last one’s to be processed, but we didn’t mind, since it gave us a chance to meet the other dogs and foster parents. About an hour later, Lucio had little Henry in his arms and started walking towards us. Our hearts melted. We knew at that moment our foster would be an epic fail.

RAD provided us with EVERYTHING – from a cage, to barriers, to toys, to pounds and pounds of food. Henry spent the first couple of days getting to know his environment but was so trusting from the very beginning. We would walk down the street and he would just demand belly rubs from anyone that walked by. He didn’t have an ounce of aggression. Whether it was kids, cats or dogs, he would sniff and flop. He even started sleeping through the nights quite quickly. RAD gave us the perfect dog, truly! We were ready for rehabilitation and to have to work for the trust and love, but Henry made everything a breeze. 

From our first phone call with Teny all the way to signing the adoption papers, RAD has shown a tremendous amount of care and dedication to making sure these dogs lead their best lives. Henry has been amazing. He wasn’t a rescue with a lot of imprinted issues, but he was a rescue saved from a life of eating trash and struggling daily to survive. We’re so happy to have been able to be a part of this mission and I don’t need to tell you how nice it is to have a dog around. We’re so happy to be a part of the RAD family, because it truly is a family.