We’ve known Boss since he was a five week old Rottie puppy weighing about three pounds. His people made the mistake of buying him from someone advertising in the paper in Guatemala City. They never met his parents nor his siblings.
After buying the puppy, they started to read up on how to raise one, and were horrified to find that they had done pretty much everything wrong. Added to this, Boss began to growl when handled at an alarmingly young age.
So his owners contacted us and asked to bring him with our adult dogs in order to get him socialized to other dogs. They worked very hard to train him, and he became a pretty nice dog with all their hard work. Life was peachy for a couple of years. The couple adopted one of our dogs and the two dogs lived happily together.
Life changed for Boss when his owners split up, one left the country, and the other ended up in jail. None of his owner’s friends could or would take Boss or our little Foxy. We took them both, of course. We hoped that Boss’s owner’s situation would be resolved quickly, but it wasn’t. After several months, we found another home for Foxy.
Finding a home for Boss was a bit more challenging, however.
He is a lovely Rottweiler in most respects, but has a growly streak in him typical of many male Rotties. We really wouldn’t want to push him if he has decided he doesn’t want to do something. Sending him to the US was not a possibility due to his character, and placing him here wasn’t really an option as people in Guatemala generally want a dog that looks like Boss to be a guard dog and chain them up, or try to manhandle and dominate them. Boss thrives on positive reinforcement, and would deteriorate very quickly with punishment. So Boss has lived with us for two and a half years while we waited for his owner to be released and to be able to take his dog back. Although he very much wants Boss and visits him reguarly, almost a year after his release, his owner still is not in a position to take Boss back.
Boss charmed volunteers Thomas and Marycarmen with his lovely personality and great manners. He has a sweetness that defies description, and is just an overgrown puppy most of the time. They have recently moved into a great condominium and expressed interest in fostering, perhaps adopting Boss. They built a solid fence to ensure his safety, and have just taken him home… So far, all is going well and we are delighted for both them and for Boss. Living in a home again, loved and with TWO people to spoil him! He is in doggie heaven!
