Otis was my first real experience with fostering, though it was still pretty informal. He was owned by a friend of mine who adopted him in Kentucky after he was saved from a hoarding situation. They loved him and everything was great about the adoption, except that this poor gentle giant was terrified of their five year old daughter.

In order to save him from his own fears, my friends decided to re-home him. They told me they were going to bring him into the shelter when they returned from vacation. I offered to watch him while they were gone, which obviously turned into keeping him until he found a home.

I only had him for two weeks because the first day I brought him to work, a woman came in and fell in love. Those two weeks were great though. It was the middle of the summer and we spent almost every evening after work hiking somewhere. Otis is extremely timid, but once he realizes something won’t hurt him – he loves it! To watch him go from an unsure, shy dog to a leaping & bounding happy pup was so rewarding.

Unfortunately, Otis’ chapter might not actually be closed yet. Otis’ new mom adopted another female dog at the same time, hoping the two would become great companions. It turns out that because Otis is so incredibly submissive and shy, his sister’s high energy and dominant personality really freak him out. Because he is so sensitive to change, we are keeping him at his current home for the time being, but we have his best interest in mind and think he will be happier in a different situation – perhaps one without kids or other pets, looking to find an extremely calm and gentle dog to share their days with.

So if you know of anyone looking for a Big Friendly Giant, Otis is your guy. He is so sweet and loving… anyone would be lucky to have him as a forever dog!

For more information on the big friendly Otis, email peacelovefoster@gmail.com.