We started with a skinny, blind, frightened, intact, and unnamed male Brittany who had had no vetting or training and lived outdoors tied to a box for his whole life, approximately 1-2 years. 

That paragraph scares me even now. None of those characteristics are in our comfort zone nor have we had experience with most of them. We do seniors. 

Now, 4 weeks after bringing Brady into the NBRAN family, he’s learning to be a dog. He likes his soft bed. He can chew on a kong filled bone but he still doesn’t  like peanut butter. He poops outside and calls our attention to that need. Peeing isn’t  as consistent but he’s getting the hang of it. He usually wants to go out about 2AM, but goes quickly back to sleep. 

He’s been neutered and is up to date on all immunizations.

 The first week he wouldn’t step off the covered porch into rain. Even rain on the roof spooked him. Now he doesn’t mind going out in drizzle and the thunderstorms we’ve recently had haven’t fazed him while he lounges on his soft, dry bed while chewing on a cheese-filled kong. 

There are 4 concrete steps for him to navigate from the house to the yard. We say “step” to warn him, but he’s got his territory mapped in his brain. He knows where his pee spot is and how to get there and back inside. We have commands: go to the grass, go home. He knows where the obstacles are and how to avoid them. His words are “watch” or “this way”. Occasionally he’ll still spooks, but he seldom goes flat belly down now. 

He mapped out his room very quickly. He knows where his crate is but only eats in it. He spends time sitting in front of a window appearing to watch the world go by. 

He is still shy of new people and especially doesn’t like short (young) people. He has a little warning growl and quivers behind us. 

The cat can spook him but he seems to tolerate her. 

He hasn’t had experience with other dogs yet as our homeboy isn’t fond of male interlopers. We’ll work on that starting next week. 

He rides in a crate in a car quietly and without fear. 

His leash walking is getting worse the more confidence he builds. At first he would follow us on a loose lead. Now he knows where he wants to go, and we have a normal Brittany teenage puller. 

He was 40 pounds at his first vet visit. He has gained some but is still a good looking dark orange or more likely a light liver Brittany. 

He now jumps in our laps for back scratches. Even with 2 feet on the ground that’s a load of Brittany. 

He’s a sweet but strong boy who needs a fenced yard he can roam and play in and an experienced owner who can help Brady continue to grow into dog-hood. 

At first I thought he’d need a seeing eye friend, but I think he gets enough light to manage on his own.  

Brady may benefit from an optic specialist. Our vet thinks he has a congenital degenerative problem but his retinas are healthy. 

 We picked up 2 nameless pitifully shy small and young Brittanys in Mundys Corner. They had already been in a car for an hour. Tracy rescued them from a farm in East Brady that has no electricity or running water. She said outside was cleaner than inside the house. They were stinky but didn't have fleas or ticks. They'd had no medical attention so they had tails and dewclaws. Although they are small for the breed and thin, they don’t appear malnourished. Both are definitely food motivated. 

After we dropped Paul and the boy at home for a bath and lunch, the girl and I headed east to Mifflintown to meet her foster, Whitney. She spent the hour long ride under the passenger seat or in the foot space. Took a while to get her out with cheese and a burger. She’s very small, maybe 25lbs. 

I'm guessing they are 1-2 yo. They seem to have grown into their paws. Their orange markings are strong. Except for his black nose and eyes, they look like Brittanys. He's from East Brady, PA so we are calling him Brady to memorialize the special place in hell for people who do this to animals.

He doesn’t shake or quiver or cower fearfully. He just stands still or lies down until he’s comfortable-ish.  He doesn’t seem to be able to walk far—100 yds wears him out. Doesn't lift his leg to pee. Hasn't marked yet. He may have muscle atrophy having been tied to a crate for much if his life. He’s resting on the hard but cool tile floor although we have a pillow bed and a couple of rugs near. The only sounds we’ve heard are heavy breathing of restful sleep. So far, he’s as comfortable as he can be with such a jolt to his system. 

He drinks the whole bowl so we are giving him  1/2 c at a time. He probably has learned to eat and drink every bit when it’s available because there’s no telling when there will be more. 

We'd agreed on Reacher as his name but this boy is no Reacher. He needs a Reacher to watch over him. We are pretty sure he is blind in both eyes. Maybe some light gets in but not much. 

He's not house broken or leash trained or anything else.  He “sees”  (or maybe visits is a better description for him) Gambol's vet on Tues for a full work up: shots , tail looks broken to me, has a few open sores on his legs, needs the Big Snip too, 

But so far he's ok.