Reuben's Happy Tail!

Reuben's mom Heidi writes: "We found our dog Rueben online at Petfinder.com after searching for what seemed like months.  Rueben, (Max and Spot were previous names) had the greatest story for a young dog and zest for life that we were attracted to right away.  We are actually Rueben's 4th home in just three years, and with so many different environments and owners we initially asked ourselves if we were getting in over our heads as first time owners.  But we quickly found out it was not the dog that was the problem; it was only that that he needed some extra TLC and a sense of normalcy and routine.  Rueben was originally found by an AARF foster, neglected in a backyard and chained to a fence. Rueben had been hit by a car, leaving him with several permanent scars on his front leg, underweight and a positive test for heartworms.  Rueben was rescued from his original family only to be adopted out to another home whose owners failed to follow up on his needed heartworm treatments.  Reuben came back to AARF and lived with Tim, his foster parent for several weeks. During this time, Rueben's heartworms were treated and he was able to put on some needed extra pounds. It was pretty clear that with such a unique first couple years in which Rueben had multiple names, homes and owners, he developed some territorial and behavioral issues.  However, as you can see, Rueben is a looker and the curiosity has never left his sweet face.

Although we don't know exactly how old Rueben is we guess he is around three and we celebrate his adoption day October 27th as his new birthday.  Rueben has been with us for almost two years now and he has definitely become a permanent member of our family.  When we got Rueben we noticed he was a bit dog aggressive with a determination to show dominant behavior when around other dogs, big or small.  We enrolled Rueben in   beginner and intermediate obedience classes at our local Pet Smart and we immediately noticed a pretty dramatic behavior adjustment.  Many family, friends and neighbors cannot believe that Rueben is the same dog that we walked around the neighborhood the first few weeks. Rueben is extremely smart, as the other day he wanted to go for a walk so he took my tennis shoes from my closet upstairs and dropped them at the front door.  Subtle hint, right?  Rueben loves going for car rides and if we leave the car door open for even a second to grab groceries when we get home he jumps right in and practically refuses to come out.   What we love most about Rueben is his affectionate behavior and the fact he is a total cuddler and just loves to give and receive hugs and kisses. Rueben is the happiest dog today and we couldn't imagine what life would be without him.  We are so thankful that AARF was able to rescue him and we were so fortunate to have been give the opportunity to give him a loving home.  We appreciate AARF for all that they do to find dogs and cats loving homes and caring owners and hope that in the future we can give back to them as much as they have given us in Rueben.