Hector arrived at our home two weeks ago after a long journey from Turkey. While in Turkey, he had been living in the home of one of the rescuers we work with, waiting for his time to come to Minnesota. 

Hector had been seen wandering an area outside of Istanbul and was finally rescued when he was found shaking and fearful under a bus. He was covered in bite wounds from other stray dogs and had suffered an impact injury to his hips, most likely from being hit by a car. He needed time to heal prior to coming to Minnesota, but once he was ready, we joyfully welcomed him. 

Despite a hard life for the first few years of his life, Hector is such a happy boy. He gets along great with all dogs he has met and absolutely loves his people.

His favorite thing at our house is all of the toys available; it is rare we see him without something in his mouth - he just prances around with his tail wagging, enjoying each and every toy he finds. He has fit so seamlessly into our home.  

Hector visited the vet soon after arriving, and I am happy to report that he is very healthy. However, he is very overweight - while in Turkey, he survived living on the streets by begging for food, and I have no doubt that due to his jubilant personality, he got way more than his share of food.

We have him on a strict diet and exercise regime. He will need to lose about 30 pounds to get to his optimal weight. Luckily, he is doing well with a smaller diet and he absolutely loves to go on walks and explore, so both of these things will help to get him to a healthy weight.  

Since I work from home, Hector has not been left alone yet for long periods of time. He is not a huge fan of his crate, but we are working on getting him trained so that he is used to it. He may be just fine with free roam in a smaller area as long as there are no items he can get at that he should not have.

His toys usually occupy his time, but he has no trouble helping himself to other things that may look interesting, such as a pair of reading glasses, a newspaper, or a basket.  

We took Hector up to our cabin last weekend, and he was in Heaven! He did not have any interest in swimming in the lake, but he just enjoyed spending hours exploring the acreage, laying by the fire in the evening and smelling all the new smells that were there.

One thing I want to make sure Hector has in his forever home is the opportunity to get out and explore the world. He really does get antsy just sitting at home and just lives for his walks.  

Last week, with all the storms that rolled through, we did discover that Hector is not a fan of storms.  His anxiety is not terrible, but he is definitely stressed, with some panting and pacing, and he wants to be near his humans as cracks of thunder sound in the air. A Thundershirt helped somewhat to ease his anxiety, and as soon as the storm moved on, he was back to his happy, lovable self.

Hector is such a wonderful boy and would fit into almost any home environment. He may, however, need some time adjusting to being left home alone for long periods of time, only because he has not experienced this, both while in his rescuer's home in Turkey and in our home.  

More to come on this wonderful boy... His journey towards finding his perfect forever home has just begun.