I am so excited.. Today is a big day at our house!! We are celebrating Tesla! Today is his birthday and it is also his Gotcha’ Day!! I wasn’t sure what a Gotcha’ Day was – but then I learned I have one too! Gotcha’ Day is the day we celebrate the “anniversary” when someone new joins the family, for us it is the day when a new pup joined our pack.
Wow! Tesla – we get to celebrate your your Gotcha’ Day, your anniversary of becoming my big brother, and it is also your birthday! Mom explained we don’t know when your real birthday is – so they made it the same day as your Gotcha’ Day! We are pretty sure you are 10 years old today!
Mom explained that celebrating Tesla is really important so he knows he is loved and is cherished by his forever family. Mom and Dad rescued Tesla three years ago through the Oregon Humane Society. Tesla and I are both rescue pups. But his story is much different than mine and knowing what he survived makes me admire and love him all the more..
Tesla was first named, Abraham Nightshade. A kind of silly name, but with a serious meaning. This name is long for the initials A.N. Where they found Tesla was a terrible place and A.N. was chosen as his first name, as these are also the initials of his evidence marker for the location where they found him. Mom said to imagine a grid with letters across the top and letters along the side – then find the place where the A and N intersect. This is where they discovered Tesla. Tesla came from a puppy mill in Jackson County of southern Oregon. Tesla was one of 51 puppies who were saved that day in January 2015, 41 came to Portland and the remaining puppies stayed in southern Oregon to be adopted. The video of his rescue came up in Mom’s FaceBook memories this morning and it made her cry. It is the only link we have with Tesla’s past and it is a sad memory.
OHS estimated that Tesla was seven years old when he was rescued. When people don’t know the birthdate of a pup, they estimate this based on the condition of a pup’s teeth. So Tesla could be younger or he could be older. OHS told Mom and Dad they were pretty sure Tesla had stayed in a cage most all of the first seven years of his life. Can you imagine? They also think he was one of the stud dogs (he is beautiful), as he needed to be neutered before he could be adopted. His fur was a mess, he was very thin, in addition to needing to be neutered, he was dewormed four times, and had both eye and ear infections. His teeth were so bad he had to have 14 pulled and then Mom and Dad had another two pulled last year (they had broken off from long ago). The worst of all is that the bad people who had him before crushed his vocal cords and so he has this little, “old man” bark. It is a bark we love..
Tesla had a “medical tag” when he was adopted, because of all his surgery. But otherwise he was a very healthy boy. Tesla was fostered a few weeks before he was placed up for adoption because he needed time to recover and to become more socialized. I was fostered too, so I understand why this is important. Sweet Tesla, wasn’t potty trained, had never been on a leash, didn’t know what a toy was and didn’t know what treats were – can you imagine a puppy not knowing what a treat is?? He sure knows now!! It took almost a year for Tesla to run, as he only fast walked with Dad. The first time Tesla ran made Dad cry!! Wow I can’t imagine – I run everywhere and every time I get a chance!
Mom said that more than anything, Tesla needed to be loved, like so many other ShihTzu puppies, and so many other rescue puppies – and boy did he find a lot of love in our new forever home! He still gets a little grouchy at me and I have learned not to startle him, because this scares him. I think he lost some of his hearing from being an older dog and all the ear infections. But when I am a calm puppy he loves hanging out with me!
So today we celebrate Tesla! Tesla asked for his favorites – steak, baked potato and Honest Kitchen Cupcakes with peanut butter icing!!! I’m sure he will be saying double prayers today – he is so funny, he circles his Dog dish and gives little tiny barks and then he will eat. I think today we will join him in saying prayers! We are all blessed little puppies!!
Happy Birthday – Happy Gotcha’ Day Tesla!! We Love You!!
Tales of Shelby the ShihTzu 