Name/Age: Homie - 1.5 y/o
Family Members: Traci
How long has Homie been in the family? March 31, 2019
Profession: Graphic designer/business owner
Location: East Atlanta Village, GA.
Nicknames: Handsome Homie, Homeslice, Homes, Shnuggs
5 words/phrases that best describe Homie?
Playful
Intelligent
Curious
Stubborn
Sweet & loves to snuggle
What makes Homie unique? He has no aggression towards people or dogs. None. He just wants to play with any dog he sees – it’s magical. He also likes to put his head on my shoulder when we are relaxing on the sofa. It’s so cute!
They don’t call him Handsome Homie for nothin !
Rescue Story: I lost Copper, my 15 year old pit bull (a former Shine A Light ATL dog!) on January 23rd, 2019 and I was devastated. After a couple of months I finally started to look at adoptables – not doing anything, just looking. One day in March, a friend of mine sent me a message on Facebook with a post about a couple giving away their young blue nose pit bull due to housing issues. I had told my friends and family that I wanted a blue, around 1 or 2 years old, and thought I’d like a boy when the time was right to adopt again. It felt like it was meant to be so I drove to Stockbridge with my folks to meet him. His name was Homie and he was 11 months old and quite a handful! He was most definitely a puppy and jumped on everyone but was sweet and sat when told. The family was desperate to get rid of him and because he was young and not neutered, I felt like I needed to rescue him from a potentially bad situation of him landing in the wrong hands so I took him home right then and there. Little did I remember how much energy a young dog has after living with my geriatric dog for so long - but, after some training and getting my mind right, we are like two peas in a pod! Homie came from a breeder, a friend of the couple and they had him since he was an 8 week old puppy. His birthday is May 2nd. I know from their pictures that he LOVES the snow so I hope he gets to play in the snow with me one day!
Settling in to his new home!
What is your favorite pastime as a family? We love going to a small dog park near EAV to play. We take walks around the neighborhood, play fetch with sticks and tennis balls in the backyard (though I am still trying to get him to DROP!), snuggling in bed or on the sofa, visiting his favorite people at Park Pet Supply (they give him treats if he doesn’t jump!), and playing with his squeaky toys. I took him on his first trip to Blue Ridge and he LOVED the woods and creek at my friend’s house – I’d like to take him on a hike or some nature trails soon.
What is life like since you rescued Homie? At first Homie was too much for me – physically and mentally. I was grieving my loss of Copper and I’m also injured from an accident many years ago so I have some limitations. He was strong. Untrained. Super energetic. I was in way over my head and for a short time I was looking to rehome Homie. I was so sad. I realized that I felt a lot of guilt for putting him back in a system that was overrun with pit bulls that needed homes. So I woke up one day and decided to change my mindset and get into training mode and make Homie the dog I needed and that he should be. So, I started doing just that – had help from a trainer for the day, remembered my skills when I trained Copper, and though Homie is still a handful, he is SO much better. He is mine and I love him and will continue to train him and keep him happy.
Social Media: Instagram: @HandsomeHomieEAV
Photographers Note: I was so happy to hear from Traci again and happy that she had decided to rescue another pibble in her sweet Copper’s memory. We met up at Oakland Cemetery and Homie was so distracted at first. Then again who wouldn’t be, so many new smells and because the weather was finally decent there were a lot of people walking their dogs…SO MUCH TO SEE & SMELL. After a few minutes, he relaxed and just turned on the full doggy model mode. I mean this boy can pose and he is definitely 100% handsome as his nickname indicates. What I love about this story is Traci’s honesty about how things were really tough in the beginning. I am sure so many people feel this but often their response is to put the dog back in the shelter or in more severe cases just dump them. I love that Traci said “decided to change my mindset” and she hunkered down to ensure that Homie got the structure he needed to be a happy balanced boy. He is still a puppy in many ways but he is really smart and picks up things quickly, so they are both on the road to Forever Happiness for sure, not to mention I think he has a future in advertising….just sayin!