Leroy: The Resilience of Rescue Dogs. Toledo Ohio Dog Photographer.

From Rebecca:

Leroy’s “parents” have been fostering dogs for many years. I have been lucky enough to get to know Theresa and Tim through my volunteer work. They are truly giving people and they have impacted the lives of many, many rescue dogs in need. One of their foster dogs never let their home once he arrived. Sweet Leroy was skin and bones when he was found and he had a rough history.

I wanted to photograph and feature Leroy and share his story because he is a wonderful example of the resilience of rescue dogs. Many dogs who come into rescue have had an amount of abuse or neglect. Some develop deep behavior issues and negative coping mechanisms due to this mistreatment. However, nearly all of the pups can thrive, heal, and find a safe home when they are provided with the right resources. I imagine going through the tings that my own rescue dogs have been through and imagine how I might have not been able to overcome in the same capacity they have.

Leroy is one of those dogs who survived hell and yet maintained an adoration of all people, a love of companionship form other dogs, and the ability to positively represent his breed and rescue dogs everywhere.

Be sure you scroll to the bottom to see me getting smooched by Leroy!

About Leroy from Theresa:

How long have you been a foster? And organization do you work with? My husband Tim and I are beginning or 13th year fostering dogs. Planned Pethood.
Tell me about your family. What do you and your husband do? How many dogs (brief description of each)? My husband Tim and I have been married for 16 years. We do not have any children so our dogs are our family. I work for the Lucas County Board of Disabilities as an early intervention developmental specialist and Tim is a stay at home dog dad/retired. We adopted our first dog (Violet) from Planned Pethood when she was 9 weeks old. When she was 2 years old we starting looking for a second dog so I contacted the foster that had fostered Violet and she suggested we think about fostering. We thought about it and decided to give it a whirl. We have had several "foster failures" (dogs that we fostered and ended up adopting). We currently have 3 dogs of our own. Tanner is a 12 year old male chow/shepherd/lab/collie mix (we had his DNA tested), Flip is an approximately 13 year old male Chihuahua and Leroy is an approximately 7 year old male American pit bull terrier.

Share Leroy’s history and how he came to be your dog. I was the dog intake coordinator and was contacted by the Wood Co. Dog Warden and asked if Planned Pethood had room for an emaciated pitbull? I was sent pictures and couldn't believe the condition of the dog. He was skin and bones! You could see his ribs and spine and the look on his face was that of a dog who was barely hanging on. I reached out to our foster volunteers but we were pretty full at the time so I knew it might be difficult to place him. I kept going back to his pictures and finally told my husband we had to make room for him at our house. I asked the dog warden how Leroy ended up at the pound. They told me that a woman dropped him off saying they found him on the side of the road. My husband went to meet him and another volunteer helped assess his temperament. He was a sweet boy who needed a lot of love, food and vet care to get him back to being healthy.

Once we got him to our home and vet we got him on some special food so that he could slowly gain weight and not shock his body. A few days later we were contacted by someone who claimed to be Leroy's owner. Leroy was held for a lot longer at the dog warden than legally required and no one stepped up so legally he was property of Planned Pethood and from the condition he was in we were not planning to give him back. The "story" this man told us didn't add up (he said he was hospitalized for 3 months and left Leroy in the care of a friend who he found out left him in an empty house with another dog and no food or water. The other dog died in the home. The person who took him to the warden was a friend's girlfriend who found out he was alone in the house and she told the story of finding him so as not to get into trouble for his condition. After some of my own research I found out the "owner" was actually in trouble with the law and was likely incarcerated and not hospitalized for 3 months.). After realizing Leroy wasn't being returned he left it alone.

As Leroy started gaining weight and gaining strength we realized what an amazing boy he was. He got along with ALL of our dogs, had the best temperament despite what he had been through, never guarded his food or toys and listened and learned commands quickly. He is very affectionate and very loyal, we couldn't let him go so we made the decision to add him to our family.

Tell us how he impacts your lives in a positive way. He is always the "welcome wagon" for any new foster that enters our home. He reminds us every day why we foster dogs. He brings a smile to our face every day by how excited he is just to be alive, have a warm place to sleep and good to eat. He likes lap time, snuggles and sleeps with us in our bed most nights. He is also an excellent example to do many that are still unsure of the "pitbull" breed. He doesn't have a mean bone in his body so when people meet him they are greeted but a lot of wiggles and an excited dance because he absolutely LOVES people. It still baffles me how he is so forgiving of humans after being left to die.
Why is fostering dogs important to you? Fostering is important to us because we know there are so many dogs in our area that are found, surrendered or find themselves in other situations where they can't help themselves. Opening our home to these dogs and helping them find their forever home makes heart smile and is something we can do from our small home and costs nothing but our love and care.
What would you say to someone who might be considering fostering? Do it!! You won't regret it! Yes, there will be tears sometimes when your foster gets adopted but they are always happy tears. We, as the fosters, get to interview the potential family and we select the forever home (along with the dog who gets to do a meet and greet). Then we know that makes room for us to save another dog! Fostering is so rewarding and you get paid with lots and lots of kisses, butt wiggles and cuddles.

All photos were taken at the Rebecca Trumbull Photography Photo Studio in Toledo, Ohio.

REBECCA TRUMBULL IS A PET FAMILY AND HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHER LOCATED IN TOLEDO, OHIO. SHE HAPPILY SERVES TOLEDO, OHIO AND ALL OF NORTHWEST OHIO WITH HER PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY AND COMMERCIAL PHOTOGRAPHY WORK.

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