One morning some friends were walking their dogs in an Oklahoma park when they suddenly found a puppy lying in the grass. He was very skinny, had lost some of his fur, and generally seemed very depressed. However, as soon as he found the group, he woke up and started following them.
The group arranged to take the pup straight to the vet for a checkup and microchipping, but sadly that didn’t happen. They kept him for two weeks, posted his condition on the Internet, and searched everywhere to see if anyone was missing, but found nothing, and the search for a new family began.
Katie and Jacob Bywater, friends of the group that took in the pup, spent the next few months looking for a foster home for the dog. When their friends asked if they knew anything about the puppy, they felt he was destined to be their dog, even though they knew nothing about him.
They named the puppy Strider and decided to welcome him as a member of the family. At first he was very shy and didn’t want to play much. It’s like no one ever taught him how to do it. He was about 10 weeks old at the time and when he was taken to the vet it was decided that he was probably a mix of ginger sled dog and beagle and would not grow much.
Bywater said: When he was six months old he weighed around 40kg so we didn’t think he could be a beagle but we were pretty sure he was a Red Mane because of his body and color . Of course, this new news has not changed our view of him and he is still part of our family. He is eight months old and weighs around 50 kg, and we don’t know exactly how much he will grow.
Stride was a real surprise, but her new parents wouldn’t have changed anything. He is growing day by day and seems to come out of his shell more and more over time. Strider was no longer the scared pup found in the park, but a mischievous dog who enjoyed running around and playing with his family whenever he got the chance.
After a few weeks, he came out of his shell, Bywater said. Either he liked to eat or he liked to play, I can’t say which, but he played so much. He loved running around, playing with any toy, tugging on the sleeves and frolicking on the sofa and the bed. She is very sweet and sleeps with me every night. You wouldn’t trade that girl for the world.
