Name: Optimus - 2.5 y/o
How long has Optimus been in the family? 2.5 years
Family Members: Andrea, Martin, human brother Victor (8 y/o) and Baby on the way (due Feb. 2018
Profession: Andrea is an Account Manager at BB&T. Martin is a Catering Assistant at Northside Hospital (Forsyth) & Victor is a student at Little River Elementary.
Location: Woodstock, GA.
5 of the best words/phrases to describe Opitmus?
- Big Baby
- Loving
- Patient
- Attached
- Lazy
What makes Optimus unique? He has been socialized since we got him and he is such a people person. When we are in public he doesn’t bark at anyone. He is so friendly that he wants to say hi and give kisses to everyone!
Hot pup!
Rescue Story: At the time, I was a single mom and my son was begging for a dog. One day I took him and a friend to the Atlanta Humane Society (Howell Mill location) to just “look” at dogs. Well, on that Sunday, Victor found “Finnigan”. He was the smallest of his litter. He was 8 weeks and 8 lbs. His mom had a litter of puppies and the family couldn’t keep them, so they took them all to AHS. That Sunday, we walked away. Victor really wanted the dog and I couldn’t stop thinking of him either. It was April and Victor’s birthday was coming up in May. That Monday, I kept going on the website to check if “Finnigan” was still available. I even called AHS to see if they could put him on hold but they told me “first come first serve”. That day I had my parents pick up Victor and I went straight after work to AHS and adopted the cutest little Pitbull/Terrier Mix that was black with white markings. I showed up to my parents with an early birthday present for Victor. He was so excited and we started going through names and we came up with Optimus, as in, Optimus Prime from Transformers. He has been the best addition to our family. He sleeps with Victor every night. He is our love bug that always wants to be by your side.
Little Optimus heading to his forever home.
What is your favorite pastime as a family? When time and weather permits, we like to take Optimus to Piedmont Park. We take him to the dog park there, buy him a King of Pups Popsicle and walk around while Victor rides his bike.
What is life like since you rescued Optimus? We always tell Optimus that he won the lottery with us but it’s definitely a “who rescued who” situation. I noticed a big change in Victor after adopting Optimus and now they are always together. They are best buds. It is very true that a boys need a dog to grow up with. I know that we always feel better when we get love from Optimus and he has been a companion for all. Even though Optimus is super sensitive, super allergic and breaks my bank account, I wouldn’t change him for the world. I love him and I know he loves each and every one of us right back. Life without Optimus would be a life without laughter.
Photographers Note: I was able to meet up with Andrea, Victor & Optimus (unfortunately Martin had to work) on a gorgeous Saturday morning at Woofstock, a lovely park complete with walking trails and a dog park. It was not hard to find good spots to take pictures because there were many. Our bigger challenge was trying to avoid photo bombers from all the other pups that were out with their owners enjoying the lovely day. Optimus wanted to greet and play with all of them! One of the things that I love most about their family photo above is, if you look closely you will see that Optimus is standing on Victor's foot. After reading Andrea's comments about what a pair they are and how bonded they are, this made me smile. Even in this situation, Optimus wanted to be as close as possible to his boy!