Copper (aka Fiasco)

Adopted: April 7, 2011 

Copper came into the care of the BC SPCA Haida Gwaii Branch in March 2011, due to a Good Samaritan calling in to report an underweight dog tied up in a backyard. Officers responded immediately to this call and Copper was soon after surrendered by the owner. Once back at the shelter it was noticed that even though Copper was very underweight, he was still in great spirits and didn’t mind getting all the food and attention he could handle at all. Copper not only got attention from volunteers, but he was a favourite of other dogs at the shelter to play with while waiting to be adopted into loving forever homes.

Copper didn’t have any serious homes interested in adopting him so he was brought down to the BC SPCA Victoria Branch through the Drive for Lives program to help him maximize his chances for adoption.A fantastic couple came in right after he was transferred to meet him.

Copper was quite the handful at times; boisterous and raring to go, he was a bundle of energy and love. Tom and Karen took Copper for a walk and it was then that they knew he was going to be the new addition to their family.

They have been so great to him and have taken the time to let us know how Copper, now Fiasco, has been doing and how far he has come since adoption.

To Our Friends at the SPCA,

We came in to meet “Copper” at the Victoria SPCA in April, 2011. He was described to us as “bouncy”, which was a mild understatement! After supplying each of us with a complete face wash, we all went for that fateful walk where we decided the three of us should be a family. Copper started out at the Haida Gwaii SPCA. Our understanding is that he spent his days tied up in a yard, and was found almost starved. After receiving some TLC and some much needed pounds, he was sent on the next part of his journey to the Victoria SCPA. He was 45 pounds when we adopted him, with his rib cage fully pronounced. Despite his past, he greeted us with such incredibly friendly enthusiasm that we couldn’t resist him.
 
This little guy now goes by the name of Fiasco. Our vet thinks there are traits of Lab, Husky, Border Collie and Beagle in him, and that he’s a little over 2 years old now. After several weeks, he levelled out at his ideal weight of about 60 pounds, and what amazed us was how quickly he stopped attacking his meals. He simply started to eat at a normal dog’s pace, always with gusto but no longer frantic as if he didn’t know if he’d ever eat again. This showed us the level of trust he already felt in his new environment. We had wondered how housetraining would go for an adult dog that had only lived outside, but within 2 weeks we were done with just a few accidents. 
 
Fiasco was incredibly stimulated by every new environment and anything new he saw, often getting over-excited, likely due to his limited exposure to the world outside his backyard. He initially lunged at joggers, cyclists, cars and anything else moving quickly past us. We’ve attended group obedience training, and we continue to attend private training sessions to work on things as he is still an excitable guy and needs work on recall and off-leash abilities. He has come such a long way and no longer lunges at anyone. He is friendly with people and other dogs and loves to play. He is starting to show more normal levels of excitement when we go someplace new. He’s still very excited, but no longer overwhelmed by it.

He is such an affectionate little guy, and is always in the mood for being cuddled. He is a bit lazy in the morning and likes to stay curled up in his bed until it’s time for his first walk. He loves his big donut bed, except when he goes to stay at his favourite Aunt Heather’s place when we go away. At her house, he prefers to try to squeeze his body into a tiny ball and steals the cat’s bed!

Fiasco relishes every moment of being outside, whether in the woods or on the beach. He loves the water and he is very scent driven so has done his best to inspect every possible piece of driftwood and bush he can find. He is the type of dog that is funny without even trying. His antics bring a lot of laughter to us, they are just silly and never destructive (except one minor incident involving a coat rack!). It has been so sweet to see how he has settled so much over time as he understands that this is his forever home. 

Our thanks to everyone at the Haida Gwaii SPCA and Victoria SPCA for everything you did for this little guy to bring us together, and all the care you gave him on his big journey to his new home. We appreciate the work everyone does at the SPCA to make these things possible.

Fiasco and his people, Tom and Karen

How fantastic it is to know that Fiasco is now in a home where he is treated like royalty, like every animal deserves. We’re so happy to know too that “Aunt Heather” is still an integral part of Fiasco’s life, she was one of the great volunteers that looked after Fiasco when he came down to Victoria; clearly they share a very special bond. Thank you to Tom and Karen for making adoption your first option and for being such loving caregivers to such a warm and friendly furry friend!

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