Gilly's Story

Meet Gilly, a 4 year old Husky Pit bull mix who we adopted when he was 4 months old from our local Humane Society. Likes include treats, paper towel rolls, squeaky toys, ice cream, trips to his grandparent's house and his favorite... hide and seek. Dislikes include thunderstorms, skylights, Pedi-Paws and oddly enough, walks.

Now I take credit for some of his oddness...since as my husband points out, all of our animals are weird and that just can't be coincidence, but some of Gilly's quirks are from having a rough start in life.

Gilly ended up at the Humane Society after being scooped out of the local water treatment plant where someone, and I still can't fathom why or how someone could be so cruel, dumped him.

At the shelter his outlook still wasn't looking good. Day after day he was passed by...watching other dogs find their forever homes. Gilly's strikes in life were nothing he could control, people are wrongly afraid of pit bulls and have been misinformed of their nature and temperament. Pit bulls are actually great dogs who are gentle and love people, do well with children, and make great family pets. Any dog can be made to be mean and aggressive, blame should be placed on irresponsible owners, not on specific breeds. But I digress... Gilly's second strike was his timidness. Check out any dog adoption tips and they tell you to steer clear of the shy ones as they could end up becoming fear biters or have other issues. So sadly Gilly sat alone in his dog run for weeks and months.

When I saw Gilly he was cowered in the back of the dog run. While other dogs were running to the gate to get petted and say hello, Gilly was in the corner trying to make himself as small as possible so as not to be seen. Even when the shelter workers tried to put on a leash and bring him out to meet me he trembled and shook. I didn't bother trying to take him outside since I could see how afraid he was. After realizing that I wasn't going to hurt him he curled up in my lap and let me pet him and it was all over. I had to have him. The rest, as they say, is history.

Gilly is now a happy clown of a dog with quirks that make him even more endearing. He is leery of strangers (who could blame him) but once he figures out you are okay he turns on the charm, winning over even the most adamant self proclaimed "not a dog person". He is a lovable goofball who has become my best pal, my shadow, my furry best friend. We gave him a home but he has given me, my husband, and our family so much more.