Meet Heidi the Homestead Hound

This week’s Critter Spotlight is on a member of the (mis)Adventures that wasn’t supposed to be. What do I mean by that? Well you see, for many years we had an amazing dog named Mazzie. When he passed, we decided a few month later that maybe we should start looking for a small dog for the country kids. Why small? Well because Mazzie had seizures near the end of his life and he was really hard for me to carry back into the house when he would collapse.

Now you noticed I said small dog and that we would START to look, not that we were going to go to a shelter and bring home the biggest dog they had. But, that is exactly what happened. *smacks forehead* While none of the smaller dogs were clicking when we would visit with them, the littlest country kid had squatted down in front of a pen containing a lab/mastiff mix and was becoming bestest friends. Fine, we would look at her. She was a nice dog, but way to big. And she was young, just 10 months old. This was NOT the dog I was looking for, but it was obvious that we where who she was looking for. And so my hubby went to start the adoption paper work. As I stood there crying and saying “I don’t think this is a good idea” Heidi the homestead hound became part of our family on November 14, 2013.

We stuffed two kids and a giant dog in the backseat of my hubby’s tiny Kia and headed for home. Needless to say, that giant dog didn’t fit in the back seat and road home with her butt in the back and her face in the front with me. As soon as we got home she passed out.

We later learned that Heidi had come from down south, where people didn’t often adopt big dogs, so our rescue had sent some small dogs there and they got Heidi in return. She had basically been tied outside the majority of her short life, which explained the healed injury on her leg. The rope or chain she had spent the first part of her life tied to had wrapped around her leg and caused a nasty cut.

Having been an outside dog, it should not have come as a surprise that Heidi the Homestead Hound tested positive for heart worm when we took her to the vet. Despite the cost to treat here, which we really couldn’t afford, we managed to work out a payment plan with our vet to get her treatment. I am so happy to report she is now and continues to be heart worm free!

Adopting Heidi was not a fairy tale of love at first sight, nor was she the perfect pup. For the first few month she was with us she chewed EVERYTHING. Her favorite thing to destroy were books. Not sure what that was all about, but thankfully with proper toys and consent reminders of what she was allowed to chew, she finally learned to leave things alone that weren’t her’s.
Unfortunately, Heidi still has a thing for digging. *sigh* She is so proud of her work…….. We have had to go so far as to buy fill dirt from a landscape place to repair her handy work. Why is is that there is never enough dirt to go back into the hole it came out of when they are done?

One thing about Heidi, other then she is a small horse and still very young, is that she is VERY active. She loves to play! Being from down south, Heidi had never seen snow before, but she LOVES it! She loves to try to catch snowballs in the winter, but if you throw one at her, she will take you down. Ask the oldest country kid who took a doggy beat down last winter when he tried to start a snowball fight with Heidi!

From the way Heidi acts, I don’t think she was raised around other animals in the first few months of her life. She is starved for friendship, and tries to befriend every animal we have. Unfortunately her size and abundant energy tends to scare them. Every time we have hatched chicks or ducks, she has been deeply curious and so tender towards the new additions. I wish the other animals here would realize that the big, scary predator really just wants to play and be their friend. I guess the country kids will just have to do as her playmates.

What can I say about the dog I didn’t want? I am so glad she picked us! It has been a roller-coaster ride with her behavior, but her tender heart and desire to love and be loved has made her the perfect dog for our homestead. Age will mellow her, time will find her accepted by the other animals, and life is the way it should be…….

A rescued dog, enjoying being part of a mixed up family of misfit critters, with people who love her, even if she is terror on four paws!

32 thoughts on “Meet Heidi the Homestead Hound

  1. Hey, it`s me! Don`t think I`ve abandoned you!! I`m house and critter sitting and have to use this @#$%^&* tablet instead of a proper computer. We don`t always get along. But I must say I love your puppers! What a sweet face! She is a meant-to-be dog! And loved the post on Mr. Bill, even though I didn`t get to post……(stinkin` tablet…….) Dona

    1. Awww Dona, good to see you! I noticed you haven't been around. Good to know it is the tablet and not me!

  2. What a beautiful doggy! Hope you have a wonderful week <3

    Blessings,
    Edye | http://gracefulcoffee.wordpress.com

  3. I've enjoyed meeting Heidi! We have Molly, BUT when that day comes, we've talked about getting a rescued dog. Hopefully, Miss Molly will be around for a number of years yet!

  4. Hello! I clicked on your blog post, to be honest, because I have a question. How in the world did you train her? I have a mixed breed, a small dog of course, and she is un-trainable! Could you help me? Thank you! Abigail.

    1. Patience, no yelling, positive reinforcement. It took over a year before we could leave the house and leave her out of the kennel without her destroying everything. LOL Find your dog's currency. For Heidi it is small dog biscuits. If they don't do what you want, just ignore them. If they get it right, praise them and give a treat. Yelling will get you know where.

  5. Aww, Heidi looks like she is loving her new home! Great photos!

  6. I saw this happy face on a link up and had to stop by! What a story and what a beautiful dog. Hang in there– i have rescued all three of my dogs and it takes time and patience but it pays off. My second one took a few years to bring her out of her she'll since she was seriously abused but the results and the blossoming dog she became made it all worth it. In a few ways your story made me think of her. 🙂

    1. I am so proud of how far she has come. She is so bright and loving. Now we just need to work on her not being so timid and food aggressive. Contradiction, right? LOL

  7. She fits right in! So glad she has such a great home! What a sweet story! Stopping in from the Blog Hop!

  8. Aww! Such a sweetie! Rescue dogs usually take more work to train, but they are wonderful members of the family. All of ours are rescues and each have their own personality, but we love them all!! You have a real sweetie and she will love you forever!

  9. Awww…what a sweet dog! We also have a rescue from the south and she is a complete sweetheart. Our lab from the breeder…not so much! He chews EVERYTHING he can get his jaws around! But he is amazing with the kids, so overall, he's a good boy:)

  10. First time visiting and I'll be back again! I saw your post on Katherine's Corner and Heidi's sweet little face gave me a huge smile.

    So happy she found her forever home with you.

    Linda
    BestofLongIslandandCentralFlorida

  11. Lovely that Heidi is part of your family! We have a shelter dog and a kitten we found with a broken leg–all better now! Visiting from Our Simple Life.

  12. labs (or lab mixes) are the best! Thanks for sharing with us on the homesteader hop!

  13. So sweet! We've contemplated getting a dog before, but haven't yet taken the plunge. I think sometimes it would be so great to have, especially *before* we incorporate any other kind of animal. Besides, I think the boys would definitely enjoy a dog they can grown and hang out with. The memories that can be made are tremendous. 🙂

    1. People often ask why we have so many critters and its because kids need memories! They will always remember the craziness of our critter friends.

  14. It's so lovely to 'meet' Heidi, Mindie! She does look like she's a terror at times, but you all clearly love her very much and she looks very, very happy! Thank you for sharing this post with us at the Hearth and Soul Hop.

  15. This is the sweetest story ever. My family and I just rescued our 3rd pup. She is an 8 year old lab/pit/beagle mix. And like you, she picked us. As soon as she saw me she just came up to me pushed me down, and sat in my lap like a big baby. We have only had her about a month now, and you can tell in her eyes how much she loves us. We are so blessed with this big baby. Let me tell you the last two rescues were anything but easy, we were due a good one LOL! Although, we have loved them all! xo #HappinessIsHomemade

    1. LOL She sound wonderful. I always tell my mom, that my second son (who is so much easier to deal with then my first) was my "I'm sorry" child, that the universe felt bad for me, so they gave me an easy one.

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