Someone had just left him there — but he has the best family now!
A group of friends were walking their dogs through an Oklahoma park one morning when they saw a little puppy laying in the grass. He was really emaciated, had some patches of fur gone, and appeared dejected. However, as soon as he recognized the group, he brightened up and began to follow them — and they quickly realized they couldn’t just leave him behind.
The group arranged to take the little puppy straight to the vet to get him checked over and scanned for a microchip, but unfortunately he didn’t have one. They kept him for two weeks, posting about him online and searching everywhere they could think of for someone who could be missing him, but they came up completely empty, and thus began the search for his new family.
Katy and Jacob Bywater were acquaintances with the folks that found the puppy and had planned to adopt a dog in the coming months. Their friends asked if they wanted to take the puppy, and despite knowing nothing about him, they had a feeling he was destined to be their dog.
They named the dog Strider and welcomed him into their home. He was first quite shy and seemed uninterested in playing. It was almost as if he didn’t know how, as if no one had taken the time to educate him. He was around 10 weeks old at the time, and after taking him to the doctor, it was decided that he was most likely a cross between a red heeler and a beagle, and that he wouldn’t grow to be very enormous.
The couple was overjoyed since they’d been seeking for a smaller dog — but as the weeks passed, it became evident that their little puppy wasn’t going to stay little for long.
“By the time he was 6 months old, he was about 40 pounds, so we decided he couldn’t be a beagle, but we were certain he was a red heeler since he has the physique and color of one,” Bywater explained to The Dodo. “We bought a DNA test kit online and discovered that, while he is a red heeler, he is also a Great Pyrenees.” Of course, this new information did not affect our feelings about him, and he remains a member of our family. He’s roughly 50 pounds today at 8 months old, and we’re not sure how large he’ll become.”
Strider was a pleasant surprise, but his adoptive parents would not alter a thing about him. He appears to be growing larger by the day, and he is also coming out of his shell more with each passing day. He’s developed from the fearful puppy discovered in the park into a lively, funny dog that likes running about and playing with his family whenever he gets the opportunity.
“He certainly came out of his shell after a couple weeks of having him,” Bywater added. “He’s always playing – it’s difficult to say whether his favorite thing is food or playing.” He enjoys running, playing with every toy he can get his hands on, tug-of-war, and roughhousing on the sofa or bed. He is spoiled and sleeps with us every night, and we wouldn’t exchange him for anything.”
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