Name: Tanner (approx. 6 y/o), Knox (5-6 y/o), Charlotte (2 y/o) & Cooper (7 mths old)
Family Members: Anna & Seth (humans); Jack and Pearle (feline siblings); Diamond (canine foster sibling)
How long has Tanner, Knox, Charlotte & Cooper been in the family? Tanner - 3 years, Knox - 2 years, Charlotte - 1 year & Cooper - 4 months
Professions: Anna is a Certified Public Accountant & Seth is an Engineer with an Atlanta-based 3-D printing company
Location: Kennesaw, GA.
Nicknames:
Tanner: Mr. Tanner Buds, Taun Taun (yes, like the Star Wars creature), Beans
Knox: Knoxie Boo, White Dog, Queen Queso, Deborah, Knoxie
Charlotte: Piggy, Pig Pig, Char-Char Binks, Binksie Boo, Binks Binks, Char-lotta, and very, very rarely actually just “Charlotte” : )
Cooper: Coop Coop, Coopa-Troop, Cooper Pooper Pottamus, Cooper Pooper, Pooper
Tanner
Knox
Charlotte
Cooper
5 of the best words/phrases that describe these four?
Tanner: 1. Eeyore-ish 2. Goofy 3. Loyal 4. Expert on weird & uncomfortable sleeping positions 5. Handsome!
Knox: 1. Total goofball 2. Diva 3. Sassy Pants 4. Needy 5. The Queen of the Castle
Charlotte: 1. Non-stop energy 2. Curious to a fault 3. Snuggler 4.The one with the little dog syndrome (she’s 35 lbs, but the runt of our group) 5. The Athlete
Cooper: 1. Needy 2. The Vocal One 3. Laid Back 4. Mama's Boy 5. Hilariously uncoordinated
What makes these pups unique? Tanner is my “test dog”. Whenever we bring in a new foster, he helps me read the foster’s energy and understand how they will respond to other dogs. He is never reactive, and always even-keeled. He’s the strong, silent type and has incredible patience with people and dogs alike.
When Knox is excited about something, she knows she’s not supposed to run around, jump, or be wild. Instead, she sits perfectly in one spot and does this little dance with her front paws. She can’t sit still, but she’s so set on being obedient. It’s her signature move and always gets me smiling.
For Charlotte it's her tail. When we first got her, she actually had “Happy Tail” syndrome…she basically split open the end of her tail from constantly wagging it against things! Thankfully, we were able to get her fully healed up. Every single person who meets Charlotte comments on her tail because it is ALWAYS wagging and is VERY painful! She’s got some serious muscle behind that wagger!
Finally, with Cooper it's his fur. He has got to be the most strange mix of dog breeds ever. His mother is 100% typical blocky headed, lovable pittie, but his father (unknown) has to be something else. He has all this crazy, curly fur in spots on his body!
Handsome Tanner indeed!
Happy Knox couch surfing!
Charlotte aka Piggy, holding her favorite namesake toy! (notice tail in motion)
Look at those sweet puppy eyes!
Rescue Stories: Tanner: A friend of mine (Anna) was fostering Tanner, and I stopped by her house to pick her up for a dinner date. I remember walking through the front door, laying eyes on Tanner, and being completely overwhelmed. He was standing silently, with these big, sad eyes while all the other dogs in the house were running around, jumping, and barking. I had to know him. I had to have him.
We don’t know much about Tanner’s history, but the scars on his face, chest, and legs would tell us that it wasn’t great. At first, he was incredibly reserved. He seemed grateful for the warm place to sleep, but he was slow to really trust us. He was sweet to everyone he met, in a sheepish, sad sort of way. I remember sitting on the couch, practically begging him to come sit beside me for the first months after we adopted him. He was heartworm positive when we adopted him, and he didn’t react well to the treatment. So our first months were spent with him feeling sick, confined to a crate on activity restriction, and us struggling to understand what he needed.
Fast forward three years later, and we’ve worked through numerous health issues that were likely due to medical neglect in his previous life. Today, he is happy, healthy, and has finally come out of his shell. He loves to sit with me on the couch and gently lay his head in my lap. He’s goofy, playful, and a wonderful part of our lives. He is such a testament to what consistent dedication and care can do. It literally took years to get to know the real dog underneath all that past hurt and sadness, but the relationship we have today was worth every minute of the wait.
Knox: She was one of the very first pulls with the rescue I devote my volunteer time and resources to, You Lucky Dog Rescue. She was, unfortunately, difficult to place as adopters and fosters became frustrated by some behavior issues she was exhibiting. After being in the rescue system for three whole years, I saw her on the website and decided I wanted to meet her. I wouldn’t say it was an immediate love match; she was pretty wary of Tanner at first, and we weren’t sure how she would warm up. However, after about a week, Seth and I both knew that our “foster” arrangement was quickly becoming a “foster fail” arrangement. She is such an incredibly loving dog, once you get past her initial fears and anxieties. We have learned so much from her. She’s really taught me all we know now about reading dog body language, advocating for an anxious dog, and being the leaders she needs us to be. She is also the way I got connected with You Lucky Dog, which has been such a rewarding and life changing experience. We owe lots of happiness to this girl! It took her a while, but I know she was just waiting on the perfect forever home with us.
Charlotte: Charlotte was found on the side of the road and was picked up by a You Lucky Dog Rescue volunteer. She needed to be transported between vets one day, and Seth volunteered to do the transport. He was smitten. Charlotte was scared, meek, and totally calm and precious for the entire interaction. He came home and asked if we could foster her, and of course I said yes.
Fast forward a few weeks, and we quickly figured out all that meek, quiet behavior was a total front. Charlotte has a TON of energy and is always ready to go. She is such a funny and endearing personality, though! One thing we love about her is that she brings out the playful side in Tanner. With Charlotte around, he acts like a goofy puppy sometimes. We loved the dynamic and knew we had to keep her. Cue foster fail number two. :)
Cooper: Coopers mother, Molly, was pulled from a high kill shelter back in December of 2016 when she was very pregnant. On New Year’s Day, she gave birth to a litter of 15 puppies, 9 of whom survived. Cooper was one of the runts of the litter, and survived thanks to his wonderful foster mom who bottle fed him for the first weeks of his life. We first met Cooper when he was 8 days old, and we never stopped thinking about him. I was completely smitten with mama Molly, and I knew if the puppies grew up with her personality, we would fall for one. I suppose you can fill in the blanks since three months later, we decided to adopt Cooper!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? Tanner loves grass. Unfortunately, our yard has almost zero grass (but lots of weeds). One of our favorite things to do is take Tanner to the park to let him bond with his best friend, grass. He loves to roll around on it, rub his face on it, drag his belly on it, and just lay in the grass. He will literally stop in the middle of a walk if he sees a beautiful lawn…he just can’t help himself!
Knox is such a quirky goofball. Anytime we find a way we can let her live that out, we always have so much fun letting her indulge that part of her personality. She is obsessed with plush toys. She doesn’t really want to play with them, but she wants to deconstruct them. And not in the crazy, amped up way you’d think. She very prissily sits down and daintily deconstructs the toy, stitch by stitch, and piece by piece. She never tries to eat any of it, she just wants to make sure she gets it fully de-stuffed. It’s one of our favorite things to watch. She is so funny when she does it!
With Charlotte it's anything to do with water!! Whether it’s a creek, kiddie pool, or just a water hose, she LOVES water. She’s hilarious jumping around, biting the water, and just generally loving life. If she can find a puddle to wallow in, she does.
Cooper loves to play, and he is hilariously uncoordinated and athletic. We get such a kick out of watching him run, jump, and try to keep up with the bigger dogs.
What is life like since you adopted these pups? Tanner is like having a live-in best friend who’s a wonderful listener. He has taught us so much about patience and loyalty. I know our time with him won’t last forever, but I’m so grateful we’ve been able to give him a good life. I sometimes still tear up when I take time to really look at his scars on his face and body. He is so submissive and sweet. I cannot imagine what happened to him in his past life. When we adopted Tanner, Seth and I both knew that the stigma against pitties was real, but we had no idea what we were getting into. We have dealt with so much feedback and so much bias from family, friends, and even strangers. We intended to adopt a dog, but in the process, we’ve become huge pittie advocates. Tanner is an incredible breed ambassador. He’s won the hearts of toddlers, special needs children, family friends with real bias issues, and even neighbors down the street. When people tell me they don’t understand pit bulls or don’t see how we can love them, I challenge them to come spend an afternoon with Tanner. I have yet to see someone who took me up on that who hasn’t been a convert.
Having Knox has totally changed how I view dogs. I knew she had behavior issues in the past, so I was sure to work closely with the person who had helped train her through the rescue to start off on the right track. We learned a TON about running a multi dog household, encountering other dogs on walks, letting strangers approach her, and how to keep her feeling safe and happy. I always thought that having a dog meant that they needed to love everyone, go to the dog park, and be really social to have a happy life. Knox is definitely not a super social dog. She loves her select group of people, and she’s content to observe most of the world at a distance. She taught me that kind of situation is ok. They’re like people, they don’t all have to be extroverts! Now that we understand her personality and how to advocate for her, we have zero issues. She goes on walks, meets new people, and does all kinds of things without problems, but all because we know how to read her and manage the situation in a way that keeps her feeling safe.
Having three dogs wasn’t easy, but we recognized that having Charlotte added something to the family dynamic we didn’t have before. We’ve been much more active in general to keep her busy, which is good for us and for her! She also loves to meet new people, so it’s been fun to have a dog we can take to a restaurant patio or out for a play date. No matter how much energy she may expend during the day and no matter how much she may sometimes be a handful, she still melts my heart every single time she cuddles up next to me at the end of the day. She definitely fills the snuggler role in our house, which the people in the house so needed!
With Cooper, Crazy!! Having three adult dogs and a puppy has proven to be a lot. Potty training has been an adventure since mom and dad have never had a puppy before! All things considered, Cooper is a wonderful puppy. He is very laid back, loves to cuddle, and is the perfect personality for our pack. I can’t wait to see the dog he grows into!
Photographers Note: When I arrived at Anna & Seth's beautiful home, I was greeted by Tanner & Knox. Quick greeting from Knox but Tanner hung out with me while his parents finished getting ready. I received some ear sniffs and a few tentative kisses from Tanner. (there is a short video on our Instagram account of Tanner keeping me company) He is such a sweet boy. Then it was time for all the rest of the pack to come out and greet the stranger. The first thing I was struck by was how well trained all these dogs are, even the 7 month old puppy. Having 4 dogs is not an easy feat and these guys made it look like a piece of cake!
I will also say that Anna & Seth's household is the epitome of "Every dog is an Individual". The way Anna describes them all above shows that. It was so great to see these 4 very different personalities living mostly in harmony (it is 4 dogs, not that I witnessed anything different but I was told otherwise) and very intuitive humans that know what each of them need to thrive. Then there is the notion because all of these dogs look a certain way, they should be a certain way. Look at Cooper....I said to them, " surely he is not a pit mix". Anna's comment was, if we hadn't met him right after he was born and seen his 100% pit bull mamma, we wouldn't have thought so either. Just goes to show you can't always identify a pit bull and why should you even try...they are just dogs!