Solo’s Story

It dawned on me last night that I haven’t told you Solo’s story. How did Solo come to live with us? I am not exactly sure how it started, but somehow we started thinking that Annabelle needed a sibling. We had had Annabelle a little less than a year. We were also in the process of selling one house and building another. PERFECT timing for adding a new family member.

I found a picture of Solo on PetFinder (I am now banned from looking at PetFinder). He was about 6months old, listed as a doby-mix, a mini-me of Annabelle, and had a full cast/bandage on his front leg. His story said he had been hit by a car, but was expected to make a full recovery and was feeling better. Michael didn’t exactly jump on the bandwagon with everything else we had going on, so I dropped it. For a while.

I went back to PetFinder awhile later (couple of months). Solo was still listed as available for adoption. At this point our house had sold but the new house wasn’t ready so we were looking for an apartment for a few months. Solo’s picture had been updated to a more recent shot and his breed now said Black and Tan Coonhound. I wanted to meet him and Michael agreed. We contacted his foster mother and made arrangements to meet him at their adoption fair that weekend.

The first meeting was uneventful enough. He was bigger than his picture and his leg was fully healed. We wanted him to meet Annabelle before making any decisions. So his wonderful foster mother Pam agreed to come back after work one night so that they could meet. Introductions went smoothly enough, and then something remarkable happened. Something we had never seen before. Annabelle found a stick, walked up to Solo and offered him one end. The two of them then laid down, nose to nose, each chewing on an end of the stick. We had NEVER seen Annabelle offer to share a toy with another dog. In fact, she had been in some trouble at daycare (pre-CampBowWow)for not getting along with other dogs. We knew then that Solo was going to be part of our family.

There was one last obstacle in the way: our living situation. We were already (or about to be) living in a small apartment with a dog and three cats. Another dog was not an option until the new house was ready. Pam agreed to continue fostering Solo until we moved into the new house. And to regular play-dates with Annabelle so that they could get to know one another. Pam was amazing.

That was in the fall of 2006. Solo came to live with us full-time in February of 2007. And that was when we learned the rest of his story. He had just been a puppy when he was hit by a truck. His front leg was broken and de-gloved. The other legs were banged up and scarred. He had multiple surgeries, unbelievable amounts of pains meds and antibiotics and seemingly endless visit to the vet. He has pins and plates in the front leg and bears the scars of his accident. He is fully healed, but absolutely uses that leg to his advantage. When he really wants to manipulate us, he lifts the leg up and curls his paw under and leans slightly. It’s a sight to see! Someday the pins may need to come out and we will certainly have early arthritis issues to deal with. But he is our Bubba. And the story just makes him more special._