Rock me, Amadeus~Adopted

A little over a week ago, Amy Benz and I were discussing some rescue opportunities via facebook, making a working list of possible dogs to pull during her stay in Atlanta. During the same time Sage and Saffron were discovered, I had been taking a gander at some of the dogs in Fulton County Animal Shelter, a shelter just a stone’s throw away from my apartment and the area where Amy would be staying.

Now I’m not sure how many of you are familiar with Fulton County Animal Control in Atlanta, GA, but let me be the first to tell you, it’s not a pleasant place. It’s loud, it’s crowded–anyone in rescue knows the kind of stress this environment can place on an animal. A full 12 pages of dogs were listed on their website, many of them puppies, and many more sad, scared, and overwhelmed.
As I’m scrolling along, trying hard not to focus on the ones I know won’t receive help in time, I come across this photo.

Immediately I link it over to Amy, who had her eyes on a little sheltie at the same shelter. But in my excitement, I forgot to read the text. Big black letters stared me in the face and my heart sank.

“Not available for Adoption”.

Come to find out, he was on stray hold. I crossed my fingers and hoped he would be reclaimed, re-focusing my efforts on helping Amy find other dogs that were both in need, and available.

Flash forward to last Saturday, Aug. 6th. There I am, perusing Fulton’s page again, and low and behold, there he is. I made up my mind and said my rescue mantra.
“That’s my dog”.

I made a phone call to the shelter, and drove up to meet him same-day after work.

When I saw this dog’s shelter photo, I knew he was something special. So special, in fact, Steve and I decided he was worthy of one of the names on our “TDL Wish List”.

This list is basically a compilation of names that Steve and I find to be unique, clever, and sometimes downright humorous, each name having a certain idea of a dog to match. Originally, we had intended to call him Wolfgang, the first name of the classical composer Mozart. After tossing the name around for a few seconds, the question of calling him Amadeus was posed.

Even from his original photo, it was evident that there is a certain presence to this dog. It seemed fitting that he carry a name with an equal amount gravitas, and with the inspiration from a name like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, where could we go wrong?

Now clearly, Falco’s “Rock me Amadeus” and Mozart’s “Moonlight Sonata” are two separate entitites entirely.
One is all class–high class, even–and the other is…well, it’s all beans, if you know what I mean. So why the switch, one might ask? For us it was easy–We let his personality do the talking!

Walking through the rows and rows of faces, my mind was racing as to what I might get out of this dog. There’s no denying the fact he is a husky mix; the border collie portion is more of a speculation. As someone who is more acquainted with herding breeds, I was only thinking the worst. I was expecting energy–bounce, drive, for all intents and purposes, a dog with ADHD, and too much personality for one person to handle.

What I got instead was a dog who was cool, and collected. He lay on the cold concrete floor, quiet, and calm, observing us.
I cooed to him softly, and he rose gently to his feet, gave a slight tail wag, and walked calmly out the door with the shelter worker to the “meet and greet” yard.

This to me, is where it became apparent this dog was a real diamond in the rough.

When speaking with the shelter, I asked the basic run-of-the-mill questions. How is he with kids? Cats? Other dogs? They had mentioned he was friendly, but little else was known about him. The answers were left for me to find out.

In the yard across from us, was a family of three children. They were meeting with a small little terrier, who seemingly had zero interest in anything but his own affairs.

I was informed Amadeus had never been around children before, so I was a bit apprehensive, though very surprised to find that he paid the children and their screaming no mind at all.

He did not so much as whimper or whine when the other dog passed, but rather trotted nonchalantly around the yard, happy to stretch his legs and catch some sunshine. Between you and me, I think the family was a little envious of Amadeus; he behaved himself so well!

Within ten minutes I had Gisele on the phone.

“What do you think?” She asked.

Now I don’t remember my exact words, but I think they were something along the lines of “He’s AWESOME!”

A few moments later I was in the adoptions office filling out the paperwork. Monday he was vetted, and on Tuesday he was in the car on his way home.

Today, Amadeus has shown himself to be the most gentle, loving, and incredibly comical soul of a dog I’ve seen in a while. Though he may have been picked up as a stray, he knows where his bread gets buttered. He knows hands are for petting, and he’s always coming up with creative ways to grab your attention!
It’s hard to believe this boy was once roaming the streets of Atlanta eating garbage and who knows what, because already he has more manners than a few lifelong housepets I know of.

I am very excited to see where his personality takes him, for even in a short 24-hour period he has shown a remarkable recall ability. I feel he would make an excellent “project dog” for someone interested in obedience training, and could even be a candidate for Canine Good Citizenship, or therapy.

Like my other fosters, Amadeus will accompany me to work where he will be able to interact with the other dogs at the facility, and continue his socialization skills. Who knows, maybe I’ll teach him a few tricks before he goes home, too!

As it stands, he could use to gain about fifteen pounds, but I foresee him packing on the weight petty quickly now that he’ll have daily meals! It seems he may have had a rough past, but it is very clear that he is willing to put it all behind him for the hopes of a brighter future, and his own family.

What does all of this have to do with the name Amadaeus, you ask?
…Okay...Okay, so call me a sucker for cheesy 80’s bands. But seriously, this dog is a rockstar in the making!
More updates to come as he unfolds himself to us!

Amadeus is being fostered by Khaz Brooks in the Atlanta, Georgia area. If you, or anyone you know is interested in adopting Amadeus, please review Our Adoption Process and send all inquiries to Khaz.thedogliberator@gmail.com!

This gorgeous boy has been adopted, and Khaz will fill us in with the details!