Peanut/Henry (Adopted!)

* * * UPDATE * * *

May 2013

Peanut (now Henry) was adopted by a loving family in Iowa, USA! He said goodbye to his foster mom, Patarin, and journeyed here this week, alongside his good buddy, Mona. They arrived on Friday, May 10.

Henry was welcomed into the United States by Dawn, Chuck, Ayize, and myself at O'Hare Airport. He was a brave boy who stepped right out of his crate, ready to meet the world, with his eager expression and gentle curiosity - a reserved boy at first, but once he realized we meant no harm, he was cuddling like a pro. He stole our hearts within minutes of meeting him.

After a quick checkup by the vet, he and Mona stayed one night with Dawn before setting off on a grand adventure to be united with their forever families.

Dawn, Chuck, Ayize and I drove both doggies first to Aurora, Illinois, where we met Henry's new mom, Caitlin. He immediately warmed to his mom's kind, patient ways - so touching to watch! 

 

Poor Henry had gotten car sick at the very end of the one-hour journey, but he was a complete doll - he stood patiently and quietly while we spot-bathed him with damp towel, even holding up his feet dutifully for us to wash between the toes. Such a good, sweet boy!

Mom waved goodbye to us and loaded him up for her return journey to Iowa City - a four-hour-plus drive! Mona and he seemed to say a tender goodbye, just before we all parted ways. It was really sweet to see.

Mom reports that he did fantastic during the long drive home, and eagerly inspected his new surroundings as soon as they arrived.

He is doing very well in the house, is completely-housebroken, and follows her around like a little shadow. Henry and Maizey, his new sister, are learning to adjust and share space and Mom quite well, in just the course of the weekend. 
We are so happy to hear about all of his adventures! Despite everything he has endured, Henry is truly a very sweet, affectionate, and special little boy underneath it all.

  

 

Chuck and Dawn dropped Ayize and I off on the return journey and then headed to deliver Mona to her new mom and dad, Kelly and Nate, in Chicago, which also went very well.

We are so thrilled for both of these lovely doggies!

Thank you to all who made this possible, from Patarin and the Magic 10 Club for pulling, transporting, vetting, and fostering Peanut/Henry; to all the kind-hearted international sponsors who generously donated to help cover his costs; and to Henry's adoring new mom who welcomed him with open arms.

* * * * *

My name is Peanut.

Oh boy - look at me now...
I'm in foster care with Patarin and feeling like a million bucks!



My name may sound diminutive, but don't be deceived.
I'm a big boy, weighing in at a hair under 40 pounds - and a young man - just 2 to 3 years old. 

I'm a shaggy, handsome guy - but if you part my bangs and look into my eyes, you'll see the sadness there. 

I lost my brother and best friend, Butter, here at the shelter. 

He was not strong like me, and though I tried my best to protect him, I feel as if I failed. I'm not coping with his loss very well, and have withdrawn into a sad and shy place. 

But with the help and generous affection of my foster mom, I am 

learning to love again. 

I will carry beloved Butter in my heart with me wherever I go.

Pat reports that I am smart, very obedient, and generally pretty quiet. 

I enjoy the company of my many girlfriends here at the house - Foxy, Peanut (yes, Pat has a little girl with the same name as me! How embarrassing...) and Gravy - but I'm still having trouble making friends with the boys. They're not my brother, and they remind me of other male dogs at the shelter who were not very kind to me. 

Even a big boy like me gets scared sometimes...but in the meantime, feeling safe, secure, comfortable, and loved here at foster mom Patarin's house is helping me go a long way towards healing my broken heart and frightened spirit.

I dream that one day I'll find a special someone who will open their heart and home, someone worthy of all the love and loyalty I have to offer, who can help me work past my sadness over all that I have endured.

Now that I've comfortably settled in at Pat's house, she reports that I've really opened my heart to this new way of life. It's true - I just love to cuddle! I want to be held and I want to be hugged and I want to be someone's very-oversized lap dog, because I've never experienced real love before.
Now that I know what it is - I can't get enough!!

I am a victim of the dog meat trade.

I grew up on the streets of Thailand, in a "survival of the fittest" climate, where I had to fend for food and avoid many dangers. One day, some men approached me and tossed a wire lasso over my head. They threw me in a small cage with many other dogs. It was so packed that none of us could move more than an inch in any direction. Then the crate was thrown high into the flatbed of a truck, and more and more cages began to be piled upon the top of, and around the sides of, ours. In order to conceal us - the live contraband being smuggled - a huge, heavy, plastic tarp was thrown over the entire truck's cargo, cutting off even our access to fresh air - the last resource we had.

We sat on that truck for several days. Of course, during this time, we were given no food or water. I felt that the end must be near - I was sure I would suffocate from the heat, from this extreme overcrowding, and from the long stretch of time that slowly ticked by. Indeed, many dogs around me perished. 

One evening, as dusk fell, the truck rumbled to life and attempted to make a run for the Vietnam border. But near the river's edge, where we would have been once again thrown about like so much live garbage, this time into overcrowded smuggling boats, new sounds reached deep into our desolate quarters, and gave hope to those of us still alive and still conscious.

Voices - angry and commanding - fell upon our ears. Much to my surprise, I was rescued that day, and owe my life to the caring individuals and government officials who came together to save us survivors from yet more suffering and eventual torture, before an unimaginably-horrific end. I will be forever grateful to them.

We were slowly transported another long distance to the Khemmarat government-run shelter, one of three large livestock centers in the nation. There, our cages were unloaded slowly with the use of cranes and hoists and manpower. Then, one by one, our cage wires were cut and we literally had to be unpacked and unfolded from the positions we had been held prisoner in for so many long and torturous days.

Next, those of us who could stand and move still were herded into a large dog kennel. To be able to move freely again, and to have access to large vats of water and a long trough with food, was nothing short of miraculous, after all I had endured.

But although my life was marginally-improved now that I'd been "saved", we all still suffered - this time from widespread disease and massive overcrowding. Food was scarce; we lived practically one on top of the other; dog fights were frequent and often vicious; and there was little to no medical attention available. Once again, I was surrounded by terrible suffering and watched as many fellow dogs died around me at a rapid rate. 

But somehow, through some magical stroke of fate, Lady Luck intervened on my behalf. Someone, somewhere, saw my photo, looked into my eyes, and knew that they could not leave me behind.

Patarin Phadungpisuth removed me from Khemmarat and had me transported to a veterinary clinic in Bangkok. There, I saw a veterinarian for medical attention, was put into a well-padded, spacious cage of my very own, and enjoyed unrestricted access to my own personal food and water bowls. 

As if this was not enough, in a week's time, my foster mom - Pat, again! - came to the vet clinic, and instead of her customary "Hello, how are you?" and loving pats, she collected me out of my cage, and into her arms. And then we walked outside to her car, and she drove me to her home, and…oh, if you could only know how my heart sang aloud when this happened to me!

 For the first time in my strife-filled life, I saw the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. 

In my foster home in Bangkok, I was shown kindness and affection; I learned confidence, and polished my manners; and I discovered the meaning of family, and the meaning of love. It was a glimpse into a life I never even knew existed: lives where doggies have homes and families to call their very own, lives where they will never know fear again. It's a life I so desperately want now…but one which will be brand-new to me and often confusing. 

I have so much to learn about life as a pet dog. 

I know I can do it - I've made it this far already! - but please, won't you gently show me the ropes, and have patience with me when I make missteps sometimes, as I surely will? In return, I will repay you a thousandfold. 

I just need a fair chance at a life I could only dream of when I was that terrified dog, crammed into a crate, baking alive in the tropical heat, who had given up all hope.