Name: Maverick (2 y/o - 3 in May) & Avery (approx 2-3 y/o)
Family Members: Brandi & Jason
How long have Maverick & Avery been in the family? Maverick was rescued at 7 weeks old and Avery was rescued March 2015
Professions: Brandi - Director of Sales and Events for the Atlanta Hawks & Jason - Sales Rep for United Rentals.
Location: East Atlanta Village
Nicknames: Maverick: Mav, Mavy, Bubby, Bubs
Avery: Avy Girl, Baby Girl, Avery Jane (only when she is in trouble!)
5 of the best words/phrases that best describe Maverick & Avery?
Maverick:
- Sensitive
- Regal
- Strong
- Perfect (no really, to me he is perfection)
- Relaxed
Avery:
- Chaos
- Wiggle Butt...actually full-on wiggle body
- Rough and Tumble
- Fierce Cuddler
- Can't hold her licker
What makes Maverick & Avery unique? I'm not sure Mav has a behavior that is unique or maybe I think everything about him is unique. When he was a puppy, I called him Houdini. He could find his way out of any crate or gate, no matter what. When I realized the crate wasn't for him, I had an iron gate put into the doorway of my kitchen so I could gate him in there while I was gone. There was NO WAY he could get out; too tall to jump and too heavy to move. By day two, my strong boy figured out how to pull the gate up from the bottom and squeeze underneath. Needless to say, from about 4 months old on he was never crated. I may have lost a few things during the teething stage, but overall he was pretty amazing. He's a fast learner and has learned just about everything quickly and easily. He's incredibly smart and knows exactly how to read situations; with other dogs, other people, he just knows.
Avery may be the complete opposite of her brother. She's wild, she tests her limits, she acts deaf (but we are positive she can hear), yet she will literally squeeze as close to you as possible and love you fiercely. She has a way of picking up on your emotions and she reacts accordingly. When you're sad, she'll lay her head on your shoulder or anywhere, and won't move until you do. Oddly as rough and tumble as she is, she almost has a motherly instinct, she just wants to take care of everyone. She's a tomboy, will puff out her chest and basically protect her brother if she feels it's necessary. At the same time she just wants love from anyone and everyone. She craves attention and the reassurance. Avery loves with her whole body, she loves to love. Too close doesn't exist, either does personal space.
Siblings on a bench!
Handsome Maverick
Avery's Smile
Rescue Stories: I (Brandi) had been interested in adopting for a while, but was scared about the time commitment and the amount of time I spent working. I’ve grown up with dogs and have always loved them, but had never been able to make the commitment on my own. I had grown in my career and as a single girl, knew my heart was open to a dog and had started the search for the perfect one. I searched all the adoption websites and there were so many beautiful dogs in need of a home, but still never saw one that just flipped the switch, until Maverick. His name was Vito originally, he was one of 10 puppies born to a dog at the GA SPCA. Five of his siblings were small, almost looked like boxers and the other five were bigger; all with the bully face. He was the only blue and his photo was perfect. He was play bowing with a look that just screamed “I’m going to cause you so much chaos but I’m going to be completely worth it.” It was simply love at first sight. I called immediately, they were closed of course and the very next day I was headed out of town. They had an adoption event that Sunday and I was first in line, but he wasn’t there. He was supposed to be, so I was convinced he had been adopted, my heart sank. A sweet volunteer saw the look on my face and called the SPCA directly for me and found out they had only taken half the litter to Petsmart that day. So after driving an hour, I waited until the SPCA opened 2 hours later. They let me into the visitation area and he came barreling towards me. Jumped right into my lap, army crawled up my chest and burrowed into my neck. After all that time analyzing and contemplating, it took less than 2 seconds for me to know he and I were meant to be a family. It was hard and he was exactly what you would expect from a puppy, but he was perfect and IS perfect. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.
We don’t know the entirety of Avery's story as with many rescues. We weren’t even sure we were ready for a second dog. She wasn’t a bait dog or a fight dog, she didn’t have a heart-wrenching story or beat the odds. All we know was she was picked up as a stray in Fayette County and we found her at the Atlanta Humane Society. She was beautiful and from our vet, DNA tests, and her trainer, one could almost gather she was the product of backyard breeding. She’s 75% Staffy and 25% American bulldog, so who knows what her former owners had in mind. At nearly a year old she severely lacked in socialization, most likely crated or chained based on her fear of restriction but her desire to please was overwhelming, infectious and we couldn’t live without her. Avery joined her brother, Maverick and as much as I love a good fairy tale, ours was not. We lovingly designated her our firecracker, mischief-maker, instigator pup. If there was a line, she was crossing it. The pups were both the same age, under a year old – but Maverick, rescued at 7 weeks, had a social understanding that escaped her. She couldn’t go to daycare like he did and we had to research and find a behaviorist for help. So we learned to take a deep breath. As frustrated as we were, she didn’t know any better. Avery taught us patience and understanding, that nothing is perfect and change doesn’t happen overnight. She is only as good as we give her the opportunity to be and sometimes, that means slowing down, losing the expectations, and taking things one day at a time. Avery has seen more of the discrimination against her kind maybe because she looks the part; stocky body, block head, and she is definitely more territorial. She doesn’t like to be confined and has shown her fear. Often her fear is mistaken for aggression and it breaks my heart. She’s just an amazing dog. We still have to work with her all the time, every day. Give her time in new surroundings with new people. Not knowing her history has been a challenge and we don’t always know what upsets her or makes her react. A year later Avery is still learning, we are still learning and every day we are more proud of her than the next. She wasn’t perfect then and she isn’t perfect now, but she’s perfect for us.
Maverick's play bow!
Avery's Gotcha Day!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Maverick loves the water. He hates baths, but loves the water. We take him and Avery to the mountains and to the lake where we play for hours. Living in the city and until recently in a townhouse, being able to let them run free is my favorite thing to do. We get dirty and muddy and smell like lake water, but it’s the best time and it’s always full of laughs.
Like, Maverick, Avery lives to run freely. She’s not great at the park especially if there’s a ball around. It doesn’t have to be hers, they are all hers in her mind. She’s not the sharing type, so we learned not to put her in a situation to fail. So we go to the lake and to the mountains. Where it’s quiet and she can just be free to be her and take in her surroundings.
What is life like since you rescued Maverick & Avery? My life has never been so full. For a while it was just me and Mav and my every day was dedicated to him. I rearranged my schedule, learned that working all the time wasn’t the key to happiness, stopped going out as much and traded in the “scene” for staying home with him. He grounded me, made me less selfish, more aware and lead me to the world of rescue. While I was never naive to the plight of many dogs in our area, I didn’t fully grasp it until I had him. I started following more rescues, reached out and did what I could to help. While I wish I could volunteer more of my time, I donate, share, advocate and hope in some small way I am making a difference. More importantly, Maverick has helped change the minds of many when it comes to the bully breeds. He’s not the typical body type and quite a few people don’t see him as a “pit” – and I guess really, he’s not. He’s a mixed breed, a rescue. I don’t label him and don’t let anyone else do so either. He’s everything I’ve ever wanted and he’s perfect. Staffy or otherwise. He’s the best decision I’ve ever made.
As with any change, there have been challenges and there have been triumphs. Maverick was easy so bringing Avery in changed a lot of things. But she opened my heart even more to the sheer greatness of these dogs. I’ve never met a dog that wants to love more than she does. She makes us laugh every day and her actions/antics can’t be described. I smile just thinking about it. She’s certainly one of a kind and has brought such a joy to our lives. She also challenged us to learn and to be more understanding; be patient. Take things one day at a time. Some dogs just need the right family to come along to make them the best they can be. She lives the good life and no matter what her life was before that, it’s a distant past.
Photographers Note: Brandi made the suggestion we meet at Oakland Cemetery for the photo shoot. For those who aren't familiar with Atlanta or this particular location. It's a beautifully historic cemetery dating back to the 1850's, with many of it's residents in the history books for this great city. You may think an odd choice for a photo shoot, but it is a photographer's dream. It also happens to be very dog friendly and a favorite spot for locals to walk their dogs.
Both of the dogs did great, a new place and some other pups around, but they handled it well. Mav just cracked me up because his general facial expression is very laissez faire, so to be able to capture a different expression was a fun challenge. Then there is sweet Avery, who has that beautiful pittie smile and the most beautiful light blue eyes. She was definitely having a ball with all the new smells. I thought she did great, it was clear all their hard work with her was paying off. Which brings me to the comment that Brandi makes above, which I love, "Some dogs just need the right family to come along to make them the best they can be". This is so true for all dogs that are looking for their forever homes, no matter what they look like. Every dog is an individual!