Mr. N's Origin Story

As with most rescue dogs, Mr. N's life history before he joined our family is spotty. This is what we know.
I refer to his early years as his "Oliver Twist puppyhood." His first family had him from a puppy until he was two. The adults were working long hours and going back to school and he was crated 10-16 hours a day. He also suffered through being stepped on twice by their children which resulted in a leg fracture. Luckily, they had a Banfield Wellness Plan for him.

Eventually they decided that this lifestyle wasn't the best for him and surrendered Mr. N to his foster.

Completely shaved down and wrapped in clothing.

When he arrived at his foster family's house, he had to be shaved down due to mats in his hair. She had to put two layers of clothing on him to compensate as it was the middle of winter. Mr. N was too afraid to take treats from people's hands. Toys were foreign. He didn't know what to do with them. He wasn't housebroken or neutered.

He was also underweight by two pounds or so. Currently, he teeters between 6.5 to 7 pounds depending on the day. When you're that size, two pounds is a significant amount of weight to lose.

His owners were feeding him chicken kibble and he wouldn't eat it. Before having a dog, I thought that if you put food out for a dog, they would eventually eat it if they got hungry enough. And then I met Mr. N. He disdains kibble. Even the expensive, organic, grain-free kinds. He might eat a mouthful or two if he was really hungry but he never ate as much he was supposed to.

He was with his foster family for almost a year. With much love, time and effort on their part, he slowly became rehabilitated. Now, he loves taking treats from anyone. Even babies.

She has food! I love food. 

 And toys are scattered all about our floor. I really must teach him how to put toys back in his toy box one of these days.

What should I play with today?