Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The Middle Child: Wrigley Bean


Oh Wrigley. Where do I even begin? Wrigley came into our lives approximately a year after Maizy did. We had decided on adopting another larger, young dog to play with Maizy and to give Cornholio a little peace. As with Maizy, we had hunted around Petfinder and I had been in contact with a rescue in central PA when the internet struck!

Custom collar from CollarMania.com

A friend in a pit bull community online mentioned that someone had posted about a dog being kept in south Jersey in need of a home. His picture was cute and I showed it to my husband. The girl who knew about the dog was named Kristine and that Friday after work, we picked her up (Shawn, Maizy, Wrigley, and I) and headed to where the dog was located.


Wrigley in his first days home.

The story was never fully clear about where Wrigley came from, but he was being kept chained up under a trailer in a field. As I understood someone had left him with these people while he went on vacation and never returned to pick Wrigley up. He was homeless and nameless. He was 5 months old and living life on a heavy tow chain. We had to use a flashlight to go see him because by the time we got there it was dark. Wrigley was happy just to see someone holding treats, Maizy was happy to chase the flashlight beam (this borders on an obsession with her), and Cornholio was generally disinterested, so he passed the test. We couldn't have left him there, anyway, and so we headed home. When we dropped Kristine off at her house, she gave us a black bath towel in case Wrigley had an accident in the car (he hadn't yet, but you never know with puppies). Years later, Wrigs still sleeps with that towel in his crate.



That night we got Wrigley home and went to bed. We didn't have a crate for him because we hadn't been sure we were going to get him, so we tried to sleep with him in bed with us and Cornholio (Maizy was crated). Wrigley wiggled his butt off in sheer excitement for hours while I had a fitful sleep until I finally went downstairs and got a large cat carrier for him to spend the rest of the night in. It wan't ideal, but we all slept better after that and in the morning Maizy got a new crate and Wrigley got his first hand-me-down and a new life!

Wrigley with his favorite towel.

Wrigley was always a happy-go-lucky pup, but as he matured, he became increasingly anxious and difficult outside of the house. Getting him to the vet is nearly impossible and he is so anxious on walks that we might make it three houses down the block before going back home. He barks when on leash and at anything on the other side of the fence. We have tried training and are now working on supplements. It's amazing to me because Wrigley is the sweetest, most well-behaved dog inside the house, but once he is outside the house or the backyard, he is a totally different dog.



Despite his issues (likely due to a lack of early socialization with people and dogs), Wrigley is a giant sweetheart who wants only to please people. He is a true pittie, despite the fact that he is probably a mix (we think Pit Bull/Black Mouth Cur). Wrigley has grown to match Maizy's 75 pounds, but with a much stockier build. So, that's Wrigley... my problem child. He is sweet as sugar once you get past that barky, unapproachable shell. And despite how he acts when you're standing outside, once you're inside his fence, you become his best friend.

14 comments:

Liz @ The Shrinking Owl said...

MR. WRIGGLESBEAN!!!

Nicole said...

Yes, Wrigglesbean!

And you are the "friend from the internet" that made it happen! :D

Ozzie, Rocky and Lola said...

We found your blog through our Budz Joe Stains & Tanner! You look like really cool pups! We haven't met too many pit bull mixes. Welcome to the wonderful world of dog blogging!
Ozzie & Rocky
Pee S--That Cornholio looked like he was one special little dude!

Nicole said...

Welcome to the blog, Ozzie and Rocky! You would like Maizy and Wrigley, because they lived in a house where Cornholio was KING! They both use their most polite behavior when a boston terrier is around. :)

Lacy said...

w00f's, joey and Tanner sendid me to c ya too...me iz rocky and me iz 2 years old...can us b friends??

b safe,
~rocky~

Petra said...

Hey Wrigley! Joey and Tanner sent me over to say hi. Are you a Chicago Cub fan like me?! With a name like Wrigley, you gotta be!

Lindsay said...

Hey Brown Dogs, I'm a Brown Dog, too. Welcome to the internets! We read about you on Joe Stains' blog today and had to come see you. The Girl loooooooves pitbulls and pitty mixes, so we'll be keeping up with your adventures!

Brown dog kisses,
Dannan and The Girl

Lindsay said...

I forgot to say that Cornholio sounds like he was an awesome guy, and we love the tats.

Dannan and The Girl

Shannon said...

Ok...you are now saved in my "dog blogs" favorites (by way of Joey and Tanner;) We have one brown dog and one black dog :D Cornholio (what a great name) sounds like he was a great guy! Can't wait to hear about brown dog #3!

Pug(s) and Bugg said...

Hi Brown Doggies!!! We found you through Joseph Stains, what a gentleman he was to post about you guys!!! We wish our neighbor would be as cool as you, she has a doggie just like the brown doggies that is nice to mommy but attacked me (Sophie). Mommy says she wishes I could meet more nice big dogs like your brown dogs. My sister Dixie is stupid and an alien and so she doesn't care if a dog is big or small or mean or nice she just tries to play. We look forward to more stories!!! I like bigger dogs already now looking at your nice doggies!!!!
-Sophie (and Dixie!)
ps-come visit us! http://pugandbugg.blogspot.com
pps- Mommy and Daddy love Chicago. They live in Indy. And Mommy USED to live east coast (NJ near NYC) so she looks forward to more entries too, I guess I'll let her read!

Anonymous said...

Joey and Tanner just told us you were blogging again! YAY! We are excited to see the Brown Doggies! We miss Corndog very much but are excited about seeing Maizy and Wrigley!

Bruin and Barb

Mack said...

What handsome poochies! And Mr. Cornholio (I just love that name!) was quite a handsome BT (kinda like me!)
Anyhoo, You have a really cool bloggy. I would love it if you come visit mine.
-Mack T. BEANS

Moco said...

I bet he is afraid that he will get left again. My brother Foley doesn't like to go outside the house unless Grammie goes with him. He wants right back in the front door. He was found by animal control wandering on a dike. We think he is worried about being left somewhere again. Wrigley sounds like a dear and you are lucky to have gotten him.
We came over from Joe's blog.

Sophie Brador said...

Well, it's pretty darn clear that I would just love you guys. I have issues with lots of dogs, but almost never ever with pitties or pittie crosses. Besides, Joe Stains is my #1 BF and if he says your cool, your cool.

xo
SB