Fearless

The funny thing about adopting my dog is that I was scared of dogs when we got him. I’d always been scared of them, apart from the rare couple that I could feel comfortable around because they were very calm. And although I was scared of dogs, when my parents asked if we could rescue, I was so excited. One part of me had always wanted one.

We rescued Eric, our scrappy little wire fox terrier, from a shelter in Romania. My stepdad discovered him on a Facebook page dedicated to fox terriers (they are his favourite breed) and instantly fell in love with him. It had been over a year since our cat died and we were ready to introduce a new pet into our home and our hearts.

Eric had been found by a woman that worked at the shelter in a field. His fur was overgrown and matted, he was shaky and jumpy, and his front left leg and tail had bends in them clearly from breaks that had healed badly. From her estimations he had been wandering by himself for about six months. She believed he was from a breeder who threw him out after he broke his leg because it would have decreased his value. After a couple of weeks at the shelter, she published his photo and a few videos of him walking around to Facebook appealing for a family to take him in. The shelter didn’t have a lot of money and they could only afford to feed the dogs with bread, which isn’t the most nutritious option, but it kept everyone alive until they could find an owner.

When Eric arrived (after a week’s travelling and quarantining in Essex) he had been shaved down to almost bare his fur had been that matted. He was shaky, scrawny, and we could only touch him on his head, but he was a ball of energy. He learnt very quickly how to use the stairs and spent the day running up and down them and jumping around his new bed. I was still very nervous at this point and got very scared when he became jumpy. But after a couple of weeks, we bonded, and I started to wonder how I could have ever been scared of him. Although he was still nervous around us and wasn’t very cuddly or affectionate you could tell that he had found his home with us and was happy.

We’ve had Eric for almost seven years now. We think he was around two years old when we got him, just barely a puppy still, and now he’s almost nine years old and is a loveable grumpy old man. It’s only within the last couple of years that he’s actually been up for cuddles and giving lots of kisses (he’s become soppy in his old age!) although he likes to pretend that he doesn’t. He may not be as energetic anymore, but he still loves a playfight.

I’d be lying if I said his troubles ended when he came to live with us. He still has anxiety issues and has to be drugged whenever he needs to go in the car. He still sort of sleeps with one eye open and growls when you get too close. He still limps on his leg after a long nap – unfortunately there was no fixing it. And a couple of years back he was shot by a stupid teenager in the woods and has some serious PTSD. But, despite this, when the sun is shining and the doors of the conservatory open, he lays out with his eyes closed bathing in the light and the warmth, and you notice the peace that he feels. He’s got his rats and squirrels at the end of the garden to chase, and we let him lead the way on walks. He’s even gotten used to snow, but you would never catch him in the rain. And every summer we head to our cottage on the Norfolk coast, and he spends his days digging, running around the fields and chasing his ball on the beach.

This dog has been through so much; he’s had very high highs and very low lows. And even though he has his bad days, you could never tell. He’s loveable, grumpy, excitable, ditsy and can be a bit of an asshole. He’s helped me as much as we helped him. Eric is the best thing to happen to this family. He has the perfect personality for us, and he fit in seamlessly to our lives.

Who knew that raggedy little pup from Romania would become the best part of us?